Two days ago I sent an email to Janet and Jenni asking the question about what counts as research after reading an article about native languages
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-strange-persistence-of-first-languages-1094253299
Janet replied:
“Nice writing and topic. Why does this interest you Anna? I believe you are searching- searching- searching for something and some things. Am I correct? Janet”
I think I only appear to be searching-searching because thinking–the actual act of thinking–gives me pleasure. Like making good food, like visiting a museum, like watching a good movie, like doing things together with my family, like making a quilt, sketching, or gardening, like watching my cat. I never seem to have enough time to do most of these things unless I sneak them into my daily list of chores (for example, since I cook daily, sometimes I make something special, like Thai curry, just for me because no one else in my family will eat it ). Similarly, living in a gated community gives me an excuse to do gardening. I sometimes escape my inside chores by justifying the need to keep the HOA happy but honestly, I simply steal a few minutes from my insanely busy schedule to delight in weeding, feeding, planting, and talking to my plants.
I took my first qualitative class last fall, so for a year, I have been living in this fertile state of consciousness that not only provides me with an excuse to enjoy the activity of thinking, but also encourages ideas, wonderments, questions, and more thought. In other words, the steady, consistent diet of Qual 1, Qual 2, Philosophies, Academic Writing, and now ABR have produced and concocted the ingredients that now caused this “leavening” in my head.