Thesis status: complete!!

It was with a deep sense of satisfaction and gratitude that I submitted the final draft of my thesis on Friday 13 February. Those last days of putting the finishing touches on the thesis and preparing it for submission were quite exciting for me, not only because I was finishing my thesis but also because I was concluding my academic experience at UCT – the primary reason we came to South Africa in the first place.

In February 2008 I had but the faintest ideas regarding what I wanted to do for this daunting research thesis which was to culminate my programme. This faint idea, however, slowly evolved into a project which, for me at least, was very interesting to pursue and satisfying to complete. Having never written a thesis before, I look back at the research/writing process itself and realize that I have learned much. (Below: with my supervisor, Lucia Thesen)

Standing here at the finish line has also provided a moment to look back and reflect on the course of my academic experiences in this programme. I recall arriving in June 2007, feeling very right about the decision to come to UCT but also a bit skeptical and very curious to finally experience it firsthand. Would it be a good fit, or only so-so? I am glad to report – with deep gratitude to God for his provision – that it has been a fantastic experience. I feel that I’ve been pushed in new directions, my thinking stretched in new ways, my worldview expanded. My classes and professors and classmates, new ideas and theories, many papers and projects: I look back and am grateful for every aspect of my experience at UCT.


As for the cat: this is Pollock, one of the world’s friendliest cats! In fact, he’s too friendly. Now, some of you know that I am not a cat-person; I prefer dogs. But if this were my cat, I would love him to death: he always wants to be around, loves to be petted or picked up or just to sit at your feet; he’s constantly scratching his head again your leg; he comes running when you arrive home; he meows outside your window when he hears you get up in the morning; he runs, unbidden, into your cottage to say Hi...

However, as he is NOT my cat, all of the above attributes, perhaps so much desired in a cat of my own, become very annoying when the cat is someone else’s. Especially when that someone else in fact lives two blocks away from us while Pollock spends all of his time at our place.

I believe that God is using this cat to sanctify me.