Reading through my first blog post, I realized how much I was really able to do in a few short weeks. I came up with an idea, I set up a pretest, I designed a study, I launched that study, I analyzed and interpreted the data, I made a poster, and I started working on a manuscript to hopefully publish in the undergraduate journal of research this upcoming year. It’s crazy to me that I had never done any of this before. And yes, to past Rowan from Blog #1, this research has only made me more excited about the idea of pursuing a doctorate degree to further understand weight stigma.
I can’t believe we’re so close to the end. I’m excited for Summer Symposium. I hope I get to talk to people there who have never thought about weight stigma before and also others that have to think about it constantly. I hope they find this research interesting and useful. I’m also really excited to see what everyone else has been working on this summer. This experience has truly been wonderful, and even though we’ve only met virtually, everyone else in our cohort is so kind and supportive of each other. I hope we can stay connected after this summer.
With that, and as things are coming to a close, I want to end by reiterating what I started with in Blog #1: that I’m proud of myself. It might be corny to say, but I truly am grateful for this opportunity and all that it’s been able to teach me and I’m grateful for my past self for getting out of her comfort zone to apply to WAGSFP. The most important thing is not my research poster or the potential to publish, it’s the growth that I’ve made within myself. I used to feel immense imposter syndrome here, but I’ve gotten to a point where I truly feel as though I belong. To any future WAGSFP fellows (or anyone else), this is your sign to just go for it. Ask for what you want. Put yourself out there. Reflect on your goals and how you can make them happen. Find mentors that can help you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! There are so many people out there rooting for you.
Thank you, again, to everyone that has made this summer such an amazing opportunity. I’m so happy with how this experience turned out and I can’t wait to see what life brings next.
Rowan Klar