And as the journey ends

So as we near the end of this journey, I go back to the original question from that very first day Who am I as a researcher?" And while I still do not know the exact answer and maybe I shouldn't because self identity like qualitative studies are always changing, I do know the following. I really enjoy people. And while there are time that I long to be a cast away on a deserted island bothered only by a lonely iguana or two, for the most part, I need to be around people to hear their stories, share my own and find strength in that community of humankind. I know that as I long as I have an interest in hearing what people have to say and in hearing what they have learned from their experiences, I can probably slide my personality into a qualitative researcher mode of thinking.

I love the stores crate and barrel ,l home goods and the container store. Why is this important"

Because one thing I have noticed through this journey is the amount of stuff that accumulates. Stacks and stacks or articles, books I obsessively buy from Amazon (right Jeanne) pens, paper, highlighters, digital recordings, videos, post-its Anyway all this stuff in the consistent need to organize. There is a lot of organizational skills needed in this kind of research. Those with executive dysfunction disorders will have a hard time, but as long as I can continue to buy color coded folders, baskets, mesh file cabinets and stop cleaning-- I will make it through the organizational piece

I have, as I will admit, a few biases that pop up--my most aggressive one is my own enthusiasm. Perhaps it comes with age. I have raised three children, had a former career, and dispensed with a marriage that was not exactly working, so perhaps my bias for my enthusiasm because I am doing something I want to do, always wanted to do and can now do it shines through all the time. It is not hidden-- That may become a problem if it isn't already, I'll have to see

So who I am as a researcher continues to develop and I think the one final post for right now is that coding wasn't as scary in reality