New Experiences
I began this year hoping to gain a lot of new experiences. I took an Introduction to Drawing course, which, as a solidly STEM person, was a little intimidating. Though it was an introductory course, I felt incredibly out of my depth at times. However, I feel like this class helped me to see the world in a slightly different way; one of the things that our instructor always told us was to "see what you see, not what you think you see." I feel like that's an important lesson for life, too.
I ended the course very proud of my progress and the art I had created. Learning a new skill helped me gain confidence in approaching things that felt completely new to me!
I ended the course very proud of my progress and the art I had created. Learning a new skill helped me gain confidence in approaching things that felt completely new to me!
Pieces that were in my final portfolio
Shrimp hunting: a journey in research
An artistic rendition of me in my gear, lovingly dubbed "brineface" by my friends. She looks sad, but I swear I had a good time! |
I was also learning a lot of new things in terms of my scientific background. I loved learning about genomics and tying it to my existing knowledge of molecular biology. I also found a lot of joy in my Fish and Wildlife Toxicology course, especially in the lab.
Our lab course was a unique setting for me to gain research experience. Rather than being a teaching-focused lab, we were tasked with designing, completing, and presenting a research project. I felt completely overwhelmed by my lack of experience, but I learned so much about the research process. Because it was such a small course, I also had opportunities to take initiative and directly lead the experimental process. My favorite part was actually collecting specimens; though it was freezing cold, muddy, early in the morning, and raining, I loved walking around in my waders and digging through the mud. I only got stuck a few times. I lost the picture of me in all my gear, but here is an artistic rendition: |
COLLAPSE
This year was going pretty great, right? Fun classes, in a major I liked, not nearly as much fear about the future. And then it happened! A real-life pandemic. Didn't see that one coming. All of a sudden, everything seemed to collapse. My schoolwork was new, difficult, and not in a format I found easy. As people left the dorms, my job became questionable at best, and I ended up choosing to leave my beloved home and campus and go home for the rest of the year. The opportunities that I had been looking forward to, including a study abroad trip with one of my best friends to the Netherlands, a research internship that would prepare me for graduate school, and all of my favorite traditions with friends for the spring quarter, vanished. I was incredibly lucky to stay safe and financially stable during this time, but it was certainly a struggle. The political and social climate added to my difficult experiences; I saw unexcusable hatred around me, and I was impacted heavily by the experiences of my friends and loved ones who were being targeted for the color of their skin.
Learning and living in the time of covid
Despite the challenges, life went on. At least, school did. I struggled to focus on my classes, and my instructors struggled to teach in a format that wasn't conducive to learning. I admire and appreciate the efforts that my instructors made to make the students' experience more positive; without their understanding, I would have struggled much more. Still, I felt somewhat listless and unable to retain information during Spring quarter. Though my grades were fine, I didn't feel as though I was really learning much.
Though the academic and social side of things was a struggle, I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with my family. I wasn't in a lab or in the Netherlands learning about social programs, and there were times when I felt that loss pretty intensely. This being said, the spring/summer during the pandemic gave me the time and space I needed to process and rejuvenate with my family by my side. I got to go out in nature and enjoy my hometown, enjoy the chaos of a new puppy, and prep for the GRE.