Thesis Journey

This, is my proud piece of work, some eight months later. I still remember how this started.

I was given the opportunity to work with offenders sometime in June last year and I really enjoyed this population. Offenders… are they really that different from you and I? Some of them were old, some of them were young. Some of them took drugs, some of them beat others up. So I guess… we are not that similar. But are we really that different?

I was humbled through the interactions I shared with these group of people and I wondered if there was anything that I could ever do that would help them live a life that they wanted. I knew very little, almost absolutely nothing about the rehabilitation setting. But I was driven by curiosity- an insatiable appetite to learn more and to find out more about how I can make a difference in the lives of offenders. I was very fortunate to be acquainted with my mentor and to be introduced to SACA. These very special people allowed me to explore my interest and they gave me a chance to give, to learn, and to contribute to rehabilitation research.

The process had been extremely tedious. It has not been an easy journey. This piece of work that I proclaim to be proud of is the most challenging assignment in my academic life. So I always ask myself during trying periods of time- is this worth it? And every time, the answer was yes. I had a greater purpose. The data collection process was the most enjoyable and the most painful experience. It was such a privilege to be able to hear the account of family member of offenders. To learn of their limitless strength, resilience, hardship, torments they had underwent , and troubles that they faced. Their stories often broke my heart. I had to do justice to these stories. I gave nothing but my best in this entire research process, the data analysis process especially. I hope that my best is enough.

I have to thank many people who have supported me in this journey. I don’t even know where to start. Family. My family have been an enormous support for me, don’t know what I would do without them. They bear the brunt of my incessant whining and the “writer’s (ok… joan’s additional) mess” when I stuck paper filled with my writings and ideas all over the walls of our house. They also shower me with love, care and concern, making this journey so much easier. My BFFs, Baoxian, Rachel, Nicole, Jolene who have stuck by me through thick and thin, they believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself and that gave me strength to press on. My amazing social work companions, who provided me with motivation and unconditional support, Joanne, Elaine, Louise, Geraldine, and those who helped me proof-read my initially shabby work and gave me helpful feedback, Sarah, Rachel, Weihao, Alvin, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would not have know what changes I could have made to fine-tune my essay.  To my hall mates, Ruiwen, Melissa, Mu, Syak, the rest of E3, and those I’m close to, thank you so much for being my pillar of support. I would have died of work if I didn’t have you guys to have fun with. Special thanks goes out to Eve who sacrificed time and sleep to help me during my most crucial period. And of course, to the people who have inspired me and allowed me to embark on this research project. My prison supervisor, Gracie, the inspiring department, internship friends, Grace, Abby, Sarah, Bern, Sheean, Atikah, Xr, Ger… without you guys, this thesis would not have happened. So a very big thank you, from me to all of you. To everyone one of you I might have carelessly missed out, who have at one point or another, dropped me an encouraging message, told me I could do this, supported me in one way or another. Thank you. Thank you very very much.

Still feels a little surreal now that thesis is over. It has been one hell of a journey. Tedious yes, challenging yes, but I would do this all over again. So… looking forward to publishing come June! Hope that my path with this population will cross again in the near future.