As of right now, I feel confident in my argument and in my writing. The feeling is somewhat disconcerting, though. It’s as if I have been forced to choose a disposition on a topic I naturally don’t concern myself with on a day-to-day basis. It’s hard enough to pay attention to my own eating habits – let alone the habits of an entire generation (or three). But, I continued to write not unknowingly. I chose my topic and my thesis because each seems relevant to my life. My only concern is that I will not be able to fully defend my argument – that the millennial generation is no healthier than the previous two generations - in the absence of any real passionate sentiment towards the subject. Truth be told, I feel that I could have argued both sides evenly.
So with that in mind, making a definitive, strong argument for either side feels cheap. With limited research and development time, I know that my argument will be just as – or even more - prone to disagreement.
Personally, I am also unsatisfied with the inventiveness of my thesis. I (unrealistically) wish it were original enough to reveal a completely new, thought-provoking view of society. But I know that it is not. And really, I’m sure this viewpoint/argument/thesis has already been expressed - perhaps just not in such a discrediting way so as to be an affront to the norms of the millennial generation. That aside, my thesis does tie together fresh concepts that encourage and provoke society to examine itself in a new light. At least that’s the hope. At best, I may even be escalating one interrelated, original notion of technology, psychology and biology that has not been fully established or proven yet. (Though, I don’t hope to prove my thesis – rather bring it to the attention of others so that it can be researched more thoroughly.) However, this act of seemingly grasping for premature information leads me to my last research concern: Although a lot of my research is recently dated and timely, I worry that my takeaways mirror sweeping, misguided generalizations about a generation that spans two decades. (This is extremely bothersome, especially because I believe generalizations initially helped prime to the misconceptions concerning the health of millennials.) Of course, this leads to insecurity in my argument - I don’t want to blindly attempt to connect themes that haven’t been developed as cohesive reflection of society yet. Especially if this means my argument’s logos will be weak and susceptible to fault.
Like I wrote in my blog post after my proposal, though, my goal is to form a compelling and persuasive argument. And I apologize - I’m not simply telling you this again – I’m reminding myself. Of course the expectation here is not to have a flawless, completely researched document as the final product (one use); it’s to frame an idea persuasively (many uses).
Keeping this in mind will help hone my skills as a persuasive writer; it will turn my concern of having no ‘pathos’ into an opportunity to include more personal, emotional appeals to my argument. And perhaps, during my research, I will even develop personal pathos towards it.
