You might have to spend four weeks reading random journal articles and watching your cells grow before you can start doing anything of value. You might have contamination. Regardless of what it is that makes you have to wait, it's worth it.
2. The things you think don't matter end up being what you should care about.
This organelle is a great example....
3. NEVER go for a run without checking the weather first
ESPECIALLY in the Midwest. On day one, I was caught in a random hour long rain shower on a campus that I could not navigate. Thank goodness I did not have to go in to the lab that day!
4. Biologists oppose "proper lab attire."
Imagine which one I am...minus the flip flops. I have some sanity still.
5. Hiding in the back corner of your lab does not keep you away from your PI.
I am still not entirely sure why he scared me so much considering I have had professors openly say that I am incapable in class, but I was terrified. So much in fact that I sat in the same position in the back corner for nearly a week.
My PI came to talk to me instead of waiting.
6. Asking for help is the best thing you can do.
I had a lot of work to do for my REU meetings, and I did not want to sit around anymore, so I just grabbed the nearest person and they helped me move along. I also found that by asking simple questions but still showing my capabilities I was able to work more efficiently and enjoy myself even more.
7. Laughter is the fastest form of bonding
On the first evening, my REU group had dinner together. We laughed for over an hour with very few breaks. To this day, I find myself laughing constantly when I am around them.
My lab has a few funny people as well. Interestingly enough, no one really started to talk to one another until we started making a few jokes here and there. Sometimes it is as the expense of another lab member, but it is all in good fun.
8. So is food
It was so worth ditching the movies to have this with my new friend
One of the girls who I have grown close to in the program is from Hawaii. She shares her snacks with us and tells us about her cultural values and other It is almost like they are southern. They are family oriented and kind to everyone. In many ways, I think Hawaii is more like what the south actually wants to be.
10. A long walk can make anything feel better
You can go on a walk around the lake by yourself, or you can walk to get food with someone else, but it always helps. Being an extrovert, I need to be around people in order to function. One day I felt like crap, but as soon as I took a walk with a few of the girls, I felt significantly better. Fresh air is so important.
11. Notre Dame does not have the Blessed Sacrament available whenever you need it, despite being a Catholic school.
And there is always space at Mass it seems...
There is another undergraduate in the lab who sits in the back room with me. There was one day where he didn't have any work to do, and I was procrastinating on my proposal, so we ended up organizing the room. I found files from 1996 and my PI's Gen Chem book. It was the first time I didn't do anything that related to my research in my lab, and I started to feel like I belonged more once I did that. Odd.... I know.
13. Scientists actually get in to fights at conferences
I went to a meeting for research on the disease that my project relates to, and it was surprising how bad it got...
14. Never try to explain a mechanism to your biologist PI.
Because apparently...
"Chemists make stuff and biologists figure out how it works"
Or...
"Biochemists think they are chemists, but they really are biologists who can't make up their mind."
15. Belmont is still the most beautiful campus I have ever stayed on, but ND is gorgeous
But the winters suck apparently...
It surprised me how when I talked about my positive results that no one said, "Good work." In fact, they all asked me what I was going to do with that information and how that would contribute to the project. This is the same with most things here at ND. You are expected to be successful and to contribute to something greater with those successes. I guess, "Contributing to the world's work in the community where I am placed" is very applicable in the Irish community.
17. Knowing who Ben Rector is makes you a hipster
Seriously this guy is amazing...
18. Wearing anything related to Greek Life is completely unexpected and people will give you a double take
I wore my letters on my first monday in the lab, and my mentor just stared at the sparkly polka dots all day without mentioning it at all. Apparently, even though all of the guys act like they are in a frat, Greek life is highly misunderstood here. That's ok with me though. It just means that I can show them something greater by my life!
19. Yik Yak can be about things outside of sex and parties...and is hilarious.
The post Doc in my lab told me today that she liked me because I was "not like anyone else." She liked that I was willing to talk to her instead of sit in silence all day and avoid conversation. I had been feeling lonely as well, and now I have started to form friendships in my lab, simply because I grew up and chose to be my happy-go-lucky self. It's amazing what happens when you are open and happy and free.
21. Success does not come easy, but it is worth it.
Pictures of my protein soon...
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