The part about research that always appealed to me was this idea of carving your own path. You get to ask your own questions and find your own answers. It’s all about finding what interests you and setting your mind to discover new possibilities. It wasn’t until I started my project this summer that I realized that research isn’t always as easy and ideal as I imagined.
When I first started my project, I was incredibly optimistic that I would find the results that I was looking for and be able to show the world what I had found. But science isn’t that simple. It took me a while to realize that real lab work wasn’t like doing an experiment in class where you knew what answers you were supposed to get. My first attempt at my project didn’t have great results. Ideally, the data should have followed an exponential trend line but instead, it was very sporadic with no pattern to draw results from. It was a really frustrating process to have expectations that just weren’t met. It was difficult because there wasn’t a clear set of instructions I could turn to. I just had to try again.
So with the input of my professor, I modified my protocol and started on my second try. It ended up working a lot better. It still wasn’t perfect but it was definitely progress. I realized that research is all about trial and error. You have to try different directions with your project and it may take some time and that’s okay. It’s important to not be discouraged and realize that many people have been in your shoes before. Science can be frustrating and complex, but putting in the extra time and effort is also what makes it equally rewarding.