This morning, Umich finally released the COVID informed plans for the fall semester. I don’t think anyone really knows whether to feel relieved or worried for the semester. As much as we want things to return to normal, we can’t ignore the reality of the nature of a virus that does not have a conscience. There are a lot of states that had an early re-opening date and are seeing higher and higher numbers of daily cases, which is terrifying. I’m relieved that there is a campus to return to in the fall with my friends, and I’m worried that there is a campus to return to in the fall with my friends. Does that make sense? It’s kind of like when I take night walks alone on campus even though my friends advise against it due to the possible dangerous outcomes. You want to do it, but know you shouldn’t, but then you do it anyways because the safer alternative is a world you don’t want to accept still exists.
Anyways, that’s just what I’ve been contemplating about the current developments in the public health area of things. Political and social issues is a whole nother upheaving topic that has been overtaking our lives as well, but I would say that it’s all well justified. It’s uncomfortable for those who are privileged, which just goes to prove that this world has been very much worse than just uncomfortable for those without privilege for far too long.
It’s been several weeks since research has started. I’ve learned a lot so far. I was introduced to SPSS, have gotten familiar with APA 7th edition for writing research papers, and working with Zotero. So far, what I’ve learned that there is a lot of editing and extra steps to go through to get your work published and recognized. The misconception that research is basically test tubes and microscopes is startling. The reality is much more boring. Just kidding! There are so many steps to research. Creating a research question, planning the methods, executing the experiment itself, and then putting all of this together in a coherent presentation of why it all matters. The tediousness of the research actually makes me value my work a lot more, however. It goes to show how much work and thought truly goes into research. People dedicate so many years of their life, going through data and numbers they’ve interacted with for years because of how important it is for people to understand what they are putting out there. I remember when I was in middle school when I had classes that were just starting to write research projects. It used to be about our favorite animal. Even then we were constantly told to check our resources. Back then, I never would have clicked on a journal article. Why would I need that when nationalgeographic.com would tell me all the fun facts about pandas? The warning against Wikipedia was quite common as well. Any bored stranger can log on and change the facts, my teachers would say. Now that I’m working with writing that takes years to reach its final product, I can fully understand the extent of which “credible resources” can extend to. The fun facts I used to pull fom a simplified list with dispersed panda photographs had to be rooted in a long, and complicated study done by a scientists many years prior. Tthe easy knowledge that I took for granted (like how pandas have opposable thumbs like humans) could be traced all the way back to what might’ve been someone’s life’s work. Just something that I’ve been pondering these days; sorry for the ramble!
Best wishes,
Joyce Ho