See that right there? That’s a picture of me doing my first poster presentation on my thesis project that I’ve been working on for two years. Broken equipment, mailing issues, and a handful of unforeseen circumstances prevented me from having any results to show yet, scientifically anyway, but I’ve learned some crazy important life lessons on the journey…

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ACCOMPLISHING GOALS

The truth is, it’s not over yet. I don’t have results and I don’t have my thesis written. Fortunately, I’m taking classes over the summer so as long as I’m a student, I have access to the lab and time to prepare the paper. Will I spend all summer working on it? No, probably not. I have about a week’s worth of sample prep and scanning to finish, then I’m giving myself another two weeks to figure out the statistical equations, and then another week to finish writing the paper. I could get it all done much sooner than that, but I can’t do it all at once and I don’t want to because the quality of my work suffers when I do. So, the timeline is diluted and I’ll work on it in smaller chunks.

I’ve learned a hell of a lot more than just science working on this project. In fact, I think in terms of subject matter, I learned less “science” than I have other skills like networking, showing appreciation, approaching problems in new ways, time management, and asking for help. The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the past six months is that time management is imperative, but it doesn’t make you impervious. You can be the most efficient person ever, but there’s still a maximum load you can carry. And the closer you get to that limit, the less time you have for yourself and, God forbid, an emergency. It doesn’t take much for the whole tower to crumble. Jenga is a fun game, but I’m not too fond of it as a life practice.

MOVING FORWARD

Honestly, I still haven’t figured it all out, and it’s been a couple weeks now since finishing that project. Two, exactly, so I’ve had a lot of time to let these feelings sink in, but there’s still a lot of questions. One thing is for sure: I’m totally burnt out.

Right now, I’m primarily feeling burned out from school, but I miss blogging and I miss the more aesthetic aspects of life. However, I’m also feeling burned out from content: blog emails, other blogs, social media. I’ve consumed too much and created not enough and that makes me really anxious. I’m also struggling with some weight gain that has effectively eliminated at least half of my closet, which has been another source of anxiety and stress for me. I’m hoping to get back to my pre-senior year health and wellness condition and schedule soon, starting this week. I spent three hours sitting on the floor organizing my make up on my birthday, which actually left me feeling pretty inspired and energized so I know that a lack of organization is also weighing me down.

WHAT’S NEXT

Just writing this has given me some inspiration and I’ve been able to draft a few posts both in terms of content, and just adding some ideas to my “Drafts” as titles. They say the best cure for writers block, and burn out I would argue, is to just sit and do, and it seems to be doing it for me. But I’m also looking for some inspiration from readers. What would you like to see? More beauty or more fashion? More stories and lifestyle related posts? Life in College, STEM, aviation? Videos maybe? I’m itching to branch out, so tell me the ways that I can make your day a little sunshinier!

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