My presentation went smoothly, and got a lot of respect from the class.

Being motivated to make the best effort possible has really helped in terms of doing outstanding work. With an end in sight now I'm really putting my entire heart and soul into what I do, in spite of my fears that it will never pay.

Over the next week or so, I need to venture into new territory with my research: paleography, the study of ancient writing styles. According to my professor, I've made a convincing enough case that the date on this manuscript I'm working with is wrong that this is probably the best direction to take my work this term.

If nothing else, my grad school application has just become that much easier!