Quarter system. Why?

I go to a school on the quarter system. In other words, I learn about 16 weeks of material in 10. I'm now a senior and I've gone through many quarters, but it always hits me around week 5. This week, so far, I've had one exam, a proposal, a multitude of homework assignments, a presentation, and tomorrow, another exam. I sleep about two hours a night and I think I'm addicted to coffee. I also have to get my graduate school applications in.

I want to sleep.

GRE

Field Work

               Since I'm studying Ecology, you would think that I do tons of field work. I don't, so when my Entomology class when to a nature preserve to collect bugs, I was out of my natural environment. The tall grass, the crisp, clean air, the mud in between the treads of my shoes; I've lived in the city all of my life and you don't get this stuff here. The closely I get to nature on a daily bases is the squirrels that look at me outside my window.

               At first, I was a bit awkward. I trudged around in the grass looking for insects, while the pros ran around, catching dragonflies and damselflies. It wasn't until I caught a grasshopper that I became more excited. It was sitting on a blade of grass. Immediately, I grabbed it in my hand. The grasshopper was kicking and chirping and so alive. I felt such a thrill, throwing it into my kill jar. And the best thing was it was the first out of many. I caught some metallic beetles, yellow and black lady bugs, shield beetles, earwigs, butterflies, ants, a wasp, bees, mosquitoes and a praying mantis.

            I think I like field work now.

To my Premed friends

Dear Premeds,

       I've studied with you, I've complained about Organic Chemistry with you, and after exams, I've gorged on ice cream with you. I admire your dedication and your choice of such a noble career. However, there are some times in which I question your insight, especially when I hear things like, "I hate research," or "I only do research to boost my resume".

       

      I understand research is not for everyone. It takes incisiveness, confidence, ambition, determination, intellect, creativity, and whole lot of patience. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone but I hope you realize how beneficial research is. How did doctors figure out that cat hair can cause allergic reactions? How do we know that the genital human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer? How are the flu shots we take every year made? All of these innovations and knowledge was generated by asking questions and testing ideas, in other words, research. Medical doctors utilize the knowledge generated by researchers to diagnose and cure illness. 

     In fact, medical diagnosis is sort of like research. You observe a patient's symptoms, you make a hypothesis, you do some tests to support or negate the hypothesis, and you get results that determine the treatment of the disease. Both research and medicine originate in the scientific method. So when I hear you say,  "I hate research," or "I only do research to boost my resume", I question whether you understand what being a M.D. is. I like you guys. I like studying and hanging out with you, so one day, I hope you understand. I hope you understand how vital research and the scientific method is to medicine. And I hope you guys become great doctors.

Yours truly,

antsandpants

Happy Birthday?

       Birthdays, in my opinion, are always awkward. Either they are a big deal or a sad, silent affair. It's never a normal day. I admit, I'm a shy and awkward person. I don't like owning the spotlight, so when it comes to my birthday, I stay quiet. I don't go around in a tiara and gown, shouting the date of my birth. Going into this week, I expected a normal, quiet day at school on my twentieth birthday. Besides the quiet, "Happy Birthday", from my parents, I didn't expect much.

       I was wrong.

       During yesterday's lab meeting, the first of the term, the Professor passed around a sheet to write our information on, including our date of births. I remember when I received the paper.  It would look weird to see an empty box right next to my name, so I hesitantly signed it and foolishly hoped the Professor would ignore it. When I went home that night, there are an email from the Professor asking about my cake preference. I couldn't hide it.

       Walking into the lab this morning, I pretended it was a normal day. Most of the lab didn't know it was my birthday, so everything was fine. It wasn't until the Professor popped up, saying, "Happy Birthday!" and announcing cake time. I enjoy cake but not at the expense of my shyness. The lab was eating cake in the break room when the biology department secretary, who is pregnant, came in. I was amazed at her ability to spot the cake. Somehow, she managed to sense cake from the fourth floor. Maybe it's the pregnancy? I didn't mind sharing the cake but she called me a baby when I told her I was twenty.

        All my life, I've always been the youngest. Now that I'm not longer teen, I thought people would treat me as an adult. I feel like an adult. As a senior, I'm making choices that will affect my entire life. However, people still treat me as a child. With such conflicting messages, I really don't know where I am. Am I a child? Am I an adult?

        Happy birthday to me...

17th Annual First day of School

             Monday was my first day of school. After seventeen first days, you would think I would be a pro at this, but no. It was nerve racking, confusing, and crazy. In fact, it took me three days to recover as you can see by the date of this post. I've been on co-op for six months, six months away from classes and homework and exams. School is not like riding a bike. Once you learn, you can forget.

            I remember walking onto campus. I had a vague idea of my schedule, so I spend over half an hour looking for my first class. Molecular Ecology, was in the "Garden level", which is a new wing of classrooms. Apparently, my school considers an endungeoned basement a "garden". I had to walk through a parking lot, down two flights of stairs, through a long hallway, and a bare, white lounge. To say the least, it was creepy. Molecular Ecology wasn't creepy though. I like how it blends two disciplines, molecular biology and ecology, to discover new knowledge about the world. It's also being taught by the professor I work with, so...I have to do well.

            After my one and only class, I went to the doctor to get the flu shot and some other shot. Blah.

            Besides Molecular Ecology, I'm taking Entomology, Data Analysis, Forensic Science, and Senior Seminar. I must admit, I've been dreading my senior year and my future. However, one of the benefits is that I get to take classes I want to. I like Molecular Ecology; I like bugs; I like Forensic Science; I don't exactly like statistics but I understand why I need it. I hope this term goes somewhat well. If it was anything like my first day, it's going to be confusing and painful.

Bye Neurobiology

At my university, there is a co-op program in which you work for six months in a job relevant to your major. I spent my co-op working in a neurobiology lab that studies mRNA trafficking in neurons. Coming from an Ecology background, I was nervous. Here's a quote from my journal six months ago:

I’ve never worked with vertebrates.

I’ve never dissected mice. 

I’ve never maintained a cell line.

I haven't taken cell biology.

Fuck.

I remember the night before my first day, I tried to read one of the papers the lab had recently published. I didn't understand a thing. GFP, mcherry, dtomato, I swore I was reading fruit salad ingredients. Walking into the lab on my first day, I thought that I was going to be immediately fired. If I can't even understand a paper, let alone the techniques, how can I contribute to the lab?

Fortunately, my logic were flawed. Sure, I didn't understand what I was getting into, but I was there to learn. My mentor, PI, and fellow lab members taught me how to do experiments and the logic behind them. I read papers and grants to understand why I was doing these experiments. I'm not the queen of Neurobiology but I do know more than I did six months ago.

I also came out of the lab with more friends. Working with the same people in a cramped lab for six months, you get to know each other well. There's postdoc A. I remember one day I foolish turned on the UV light in the hood, ruining postdoc A's cell culture media. She fake strangled me and told me to speak in Spanish for a week (My Spanish is rusty, so I just didn't speak at all). There is research tech and grad student 2. Being the only two guys in the lab, they were useful for lifting and reaching stuff we girls couldn't. They were also great company during lunch. Grad student 3 was also a newbie like me, so we spent our free time gossiping and complaining about the lab. With years of experience and quick wit, Research professor ran the lab, making sure us underlings didn't do anything ridiculous. My mentor, let's call her postdoc C, has the work ethic of a thousand ants, a small voice that only be heard one foot radius, and the patiences of a monk. She taught me everything I know and she's the only person I know who can pipette while slightly drunk. Last, but definitely not least, is PI. In addition to running the lab, writing grants, and teaching, he runs the whole Biology department. He may be tough but he taught me the fundamentals of science.

During my co-op, I missed my old, Ecology lab. I'm excited to return to them but I have to admit, I'll miss Neurobiology and the people it introduced me to.