What are you enjoying about your new environment, both in and out of the workplace?
Come August, I will have lived in four different cities this calendar year: Warwick, NY; Copenhagen, Denmark; Boston, MA; and New Orleans, LA. Each of these places holds a special meaning to me. Warwick is where my family is; Copenhagen is where I found a new sense of independence; New Orleans is where I made my second home; and Boston is where I learned what adulthood really means.
In research, you can’t refer back to one textbook for an answer. It’s not buried beneath the scribbles of your lecture notes and it’s not always at the front of your boss’s brain. The best part of working in science is that the answer is often times not very obvious and requires more than a Google search to understand. It took me two summers to realize that it is ok to not always have an answer and even better to ask the most seemingly obvious questions before continuing without assurance.
A large difference between working in the lab and studying for a class is that it is unacceptable to pass the test and then forget the information. I have made countless mistakes during my time here at CCGD, however, I am proud to say that I have never repeated one. I have flooded the bio-analzer, added too much water to my DNA libraries, forgot to pipette sample #12 in to a qPCR plate, left my samples in the fridge rather than the freezer, jammed the printer and forgotten to dilute my samples before bio-analyzing. I might hold a record for most times “lived and learned.” I cannot thank my lab mates enough for their infinite patience during my learning period. They were always there to answer questions, remedy my mistakes, and catch me before disaster. But the willingness to help learners extends beyond my infallible coworkers; a tech in our neighboring lab took the time to teach me how to fragment DNA- and kindly pointed out that I had mis-loaded the samples and even forgotten to turn on the machine.
I apologize for gushing about my coworkers, but there is a reason I hold them up on a pedestal. They were my best friends these past two summers and have always been so welcoming. It was nice to return to a job where I had people to catch up with and new people to meet. Finally turning 21 meant that I didn’t have to be the baby and stay home when my friends went to have fun. Last summer, I learned the ins and outs of Boston’s historical sites, main drags, and harbor area. This year, I explored the other side of Boston, away from the tourist sites and closer to the heart of its residents. I went to the beach off of Boston Harbor, got drinks after work in Brookline, went to a rooftop pool party in Newton, danced in Copley Square, row boated in Jamaica Plain, and tried Polish food for the first time in Dorchester. I couldn’t have had these adventures without the guidance and company of my wonderful lab mates.
Boston became a new city for me this year. While navigation was no longer an issue, it seemed as though I had explored very little of the area last year. I can’t thank my friends, coworkers, and family enough for showing me different sides of Boston these past two summers, and for giving me so many serious reasons to consider moving to this beautiful city upon graduation.
Until next time,
Suzanne