Hey Future Megan,
Week 2 of WAGSFP is about halfway through, and I’m feeling really good so far. Even though research with MiStory and Dr. Denise has always been virtual, I think the research experience during the summer has been way more fun than during the school year. I love waking up to the warmth and sunlight outside and journeying to a different location on campus to work every day. Yesterday, I went across campus to Munger, and spent the morning in the prettiest res hall community center I’ve ever seen.
Although my new project with Dr. Denise won’t start until Monday, I’ve been reading some papers that will help supplement my background knowledge on quantitative data analysis and also continuing writing that I have been working on with Dr. Denise. It’s been a long road so far, but I really want to accomplish my research goals by the end of WAGSFP. One of them is finishing that paper that I’ve been working on. Even Dr. Denise is probably itching to see me get it done. I’m just so nervous about the writing process. I feel like Dr. Denise is a phenomenal writer, so it’s daunting to show her drafts. I also feel like there’s just so much I don’t know. How am I even qualified to write this paper???!!! I think that’s what is also really stopping me: this massive feeling of imposter syndrome. I’m hoping to tackle that feeling head on this summer because I do in fact know something and must be doing something right if Dr. Denise has kept me around for this long (lol). If I miswrite something or forget a concept or anything like that, I’m confident Dr. Denise’s guidance and feedback will lead me in the right direction… I got this. My other goal for this summer pertains to my new project, and that’s really learning how to analyze patterns in two sets of data and then communicating what I see. I’m nervous to see if there even are patterns that will emerge. I’d really like to see something interesting, but I also can’t make something out of nothing. Finding nothing has meaning as well. All-in-all, I’m just excited for what’s to come by the end of summer. Oh, I’m also pumped for the in-person symposium. The only poster presentations I’ve done in college have been virtual, so talking to actual human beings will be a blast.
On a completely different note, here are some things I have been enjoying recently. I’m curious to see if any of these change by August:
- This specific noodle dish from Lan City:
- Working out at the IM building now that it is way less crowded
- Trying to befriend a squirrel
- Online shopping
- Waking up early (crazy, I know)
- Watching crime documentaries/docuseries
- Splurging on lunches
See ya,
Megan