Looking at my first blog post, it is apparent that I had high hopes for the next 8 weeks of the program. By the end, I’d hoped that I would be able to decide if I wanted to pursue research as part of my undergraduate career (I think so), if neuroscience was just as exciting when at the forefront of discovering new knowledge (it’s pretty cool stuff), and that my legs wouldn’t be so sore after biking to French family (I stopped biking after week 2). Additionally, despite all the knowledge and insight I have gained while working on my project regarding my particular risk gene, schizophrenia, SPM programming and indirect effect models, I’ve come to realize that I have barely scratched the surface of interesting biomedical research after hearing everyone’s chalk talks and tomorrow, seeing everyone’s posters! Thus, I hope to continue exploring other labs and areas of research that are not necessarily neuroscience-related, and as many of our speakers have suggested, to have several mentors and eventually be able to find an area that I can pursue in depth.
As for “next next steps”, I still cannot say with certainty, which I have been assured is perfectly okay. However, I did find it a bit intimidating and ironic that a couple of the graduate students on our panel yesterday mentioned that the application for graduate and professional schools start now, even though we still might not know for sure if we even want to go in those directions. I guess the hope is that we will eventually be able to make up our minds somewhere along the way. There is comfort in making a systematic, linear plan and setting your mind to follow through with it, particularly when thinking about the future and your career (for me, it has always been college -> grad/med school -> career). However, I’ve been so lucky this summer to hear more about the in-betweens and the deviations from these plans of individuals who have not only made it, but have been incredibly successful in their respective fields. Moreover, being in the lab for the first time surrounded by new knowledge, people, ideas, etc. has shown me that being comfortable is overrated, and I’m incredibly thankful for that. Thank you Howard Hughes, Johnna, Dr. Hariri, the Hariri Lab, KP, and Dr. G for allowing me to take part in such a meaningful first research experience!
