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\u201cAs you shuffle through hundreds of notes and a dozen lines of thought, you start feeling that you\u2019re…spiraling down into a black hole of confusion, paralyzed by what seems to be an increasingly complex and ultimately unmanageable task.\u201d[1]<\/p>\n
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[2]<\/p>\n
Ah, yes. The black hole.<\/p>\n
I am there.<\/p>\n
If I am honest, the black hole brings about the question: \u201cWhy?\u201d Why have years of reading not served me better to confidently embrace doctoral-level research? Perhaps it stems from believing that reading and writing on a critical and more disciplined level was always for the serious student, not something the average person would see to better themselves with. As I question my own history of these disciplines, I realize I have usually read to better myself through information. The exception is when I engage in scripture. In reading Scripture, whether in my daily quiet time or in preparation for a sermon or Bible study, I see myself engaging with the Holy Spirit so as to see if it needs to transform my thinking, questioning how it pertains to life, and often engaging other sources synoptically. However, the continual \u201cmeeting of the minds through<\/em> language\u201d[<\/a>3] requires an ongoing sense of discipline so that there is a continual conversation of life in all one takes in and gives out through a given source.<\/p>\n How one reads then obviously transfers to how one writes. As Ahrens attests, it is the natural medium of reading and learning.[4]<\/p>\n I consider myself a decent writer when I am passionate about a matter. However, when the passion leaves, the \u201cblank page\u201d plagues me. Ahrens gives hope that the \u201cblank page\u201d is a myth.[5] The truth, in his opinion, is that daily writing with good note-taking will eliminate the \u201cblank page\u201d for life.[6] Furthermore, good note-taking transcends planning. Good notetaking demands my undistracted attention,[7]\u00a0as well as a structure that connects the present learning to other learning. In this way, my thoughts can dance with not only an author\u2019s thoughts but create a large group dance that produces discovery on uncharted levels.<\/p>\n As I commit to daily writing and intentionally applying an attitude of focused notetaking throughout this program, I am hopeful that Ahrens is correct. I desire to not only end up with an impactful dissertation but also a greater love for reading and research that will evolve to greater heights of discovery, engaging itself in my writing with developing ease.<\/p>\n For now, I am still in the black hole. However, now I have hope and by completing this first assignment,\u00a0 I have moved an inch closer to the top of the hole.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] Kate L. Turabian et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Eighth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers<\/em>, Eighth edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013), 48.<\/p>\n [2] francescoch, Climbing out of a Hole<\/em>, accessed January 11, 2022, https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=climbing+out+of+a+black+hole+free&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjX<\/p>\n k72j5r78AhXgEmIAHWPLCIAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=climbing+out+of+a+black+hole+free&gs_lcp=CgNpbW<\/p>\n cQAzoECCMQJ1DFBVidC2CuDGgAcAB4AIABUIgB0gKSAQE2mAEAoAEB<\/p>\n qgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=CEu-Y9fvMeCliLMP45ajgAg&bih=707&biw=1440&rlz=1C5<\/p>\n CHFA_enUS807US808&hl=en#imgrc=yHXklxAuGCQl6M.<\/p>\n [3] Adler, Mortimer J. and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book<\/em> (New York City, NY: Touchstone, 1972), 99.<\/p>\n [4] S\u00f6nke Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking<\/em>, 2nd edition, revised and expanded edition (Hamburg, Germany: S\u00f6nke Ahrens, 2022), 2.<\/p>\n [5] Ahrens, 3.<\/p>\n [6] Ahrens, 3.<\/p>\n [7] Ahrens, 55.<\/p>\n