a good feeling

I think that all blog topics get recycled....and this is another one: Today I finished up an interview with a student, and we are completely done. At the end he asked about my dissertation -- why, what it means, how his interviews helped, etc. It was refreshing to talk about it with someone new. Every time I describe it, and most especially to someone that is outside of my program, I feel good about what I am doing because it is clear that they "get it." Interestingly, however, they've never or rarely thought about the phenomena. So I like the fact that I can help them think about something new that they have direct experience with.

Interviewing has been a good experience, although I have been incredibly frustrated at times. Pulling information out of some people can be difficult. But there are other people who are just willing to share anything. I think doing more than one interview has really helped. I feel that I have really been able to establish trust and feel good about how open people are willing to be. I wonder if I would have been as trusting when I was in college.