[7:45pm]
Another day, another dollar. Honestly just felt like writing that; there’s no meaning whatsoever because I don’t work. Anyway, how was today, you ask? I expected today to be a busy day; it’s my most dreaded day because that’s when we meet with our PI for updates. We’re always scrambling around last minute with experiments and putting together results and conclusions. Today was a little different though because our PI had an interview and we were helping out with that, then had our meeting directly after, and before we knew it it was 1pm (and we had been at it since 8/9am).
As I sit here thinking, I can’t help but be a little grateful. I’m still clueless most of the time in the lab, and I get frustrated and all that, but I just realized today that I’m really not where I started. In meetings, I can talk a little more, and we’re now planning experiments that I’m going to do alone. Even just discussing things with my mentor felt a little different; like I have more of a handle on a few more things now. I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice to recognize that. Two months ago, I felt incredibly overwhelmed by everything, and to some extent I still do, but the fog is clearing out a teeny bit. Shout out to my mentor as well because he has done such a great job leading me through all of this. He has created an environment for me where I feel encouraged to ask questions, and I’m quick to admit my mistakes because I know he won’t chop my head off. He also just genuinely respects me and values my opinion, and I appreciate that more than anything. I feel so incredibly blessed. Thank you Lord!
-Moonie x.
Photo Context: A little glimpse into lab life: This is a picture of a gel electrophoresis setup I was meant to run that ended up being a bust. On this day, I made so many mistakes in lab and I felt so discouraged to be honest. I even felt bad for my mentor; I never want to make him look bad in any way. My automatic response is to beat myself endlessly, but I’m trying to remember to treat myself kindly, so that I can extend that same grace, if not more, to other people.