A dissertation defense, especially the proposal stage, feels like the committee is against you. But getting through it gives you a confidence that sticks. You realize you can handle almost anything after that.
It can feel like, yeah, they gang up on you at a defense, but you do make it through. And when you make it through, especially your proposal defense, because that's the hardest one really, because you're getting approval to do something that's never been done before. Once you've made it through that, you feel like you can make it through anything, and you really can.
