The level of excitement I felt when I opened and read the email that let me know I would be participating in my first ever research experience this summer was immeasurable. That moment was definitely one of the top ones in terms of top jumping-up-and-down moments in my life. However, once the excitement settled in, I had to face the overwhelming fear that came with knowing I’d be participating in research: what exactly is research?
Sure, I’ve read some research papers and plenty of newspaper articles about research. I’ve always enjoyed reading new scientific findings and I always find myself fascinated with the fact that someone or some people were able to run experiments and studies to reach such incredible findings. After all, that is why I love science so much: there’s always so much to learn, so much left to discover about the world. Thus, I want to be part of that, I want to find more pieces of the puzzle, so to speak.
The question is: how do I do that exactly? Well, stay tuned! This summer, I expect to answer that very question. I hope to gain the hands-on skills necessary for working in a laboratory. By this, I mean I hope to learn everything from being a master of speed with pipetting to using the extremely impressive machines in my lab that I have yet to learn the name of (but plan on doing so soon!). I also hope to know about what the daily life of a researcher looks like; everything from preparing experiments, to sharing data with others, to making mistakes and learning from them.
