So many things to do and so little time to do them... I made a list of all the things that I need to complete this semester, along with taking two classes. My list is intimidating, but possible. One thing that cannot be stated enough is that grad school and research are all about the little things. If you cannot find solace in getting a good grade on a test or finally getting your DNA to amplify after 20 PCR runs, then what is the point? The big things-the goals are good to work towards but you have to celebrate the mini-milestones in-between. Without those small celebrations it is easy to lose your drive because you do not feel like your accomplishing anything, when in fact it is just the opposite. You just have to change your perspective. Rome was not built in a day and your research will not be perfect. Things will go wrong or take more time than you originally anticipated. If it weren't difficult, it would be boring and everyone could do it. Persevering through the struggles of having to re-run an experiment because you forgot one small detail or missing a symbol in your R script that causes you go waste an entire day trying to de-bunk your code makes us into better researchers and mentors. We learn to be humble and to appreciate our work and the work of others. It is in grad school that we learn how to build upon the successes of our predecessors and become the mentors that we admire.
Good luck to everyone this semester! I hope you all are productive and succeed in whatever you are doing! -Mara
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