As a child, I remember my friend and I would explore our neighborhood with a spiral notebook and magnifying glass in our hands. We would tape a piece of grass to a page and 'examine' it by writing down its color, shape, and other qualities. We would do the same to flowers, little insects, eucalyptus leaves, and tree bark we would find at the nearby park. Every single day, we would go outside into nature to 'explore' and identify new specimens we hadn't seen before and wonder at it in awe for hours.
I think I began to lose this spark around middle school. During this era of my life, I began to miss out on what I used to love to do and began to experiment with a lot of different activities. This was also the time where I began writing, and I thank myself for that. However, I lost out on my interest in nature, which hurt me without my own realization.
In my freshman year of high school, I took a regular high school biology class. I found myself becoming frustrated at my peers because they didn't understand a concept at the same pace I was. I noticed this and realized that perhaps I had found my strength. Although the class itself was slow-paced and not eye-opening, I came around and recollected the old memories of myself taking notes about grass in my spiral notebook. I decided to go outside and spend time alone in nature to experience my old memories once again.
The summer of freshman year, I was accepted at a summer internship at a local non-profit near where I live. Last summer, I researched on the weekdays for a couple of weeks. We collected pH and organism data from the lake and worked on restoration projects. In order to collect specimens from the lake, we used kayaks as our mode of transportation. This experience was very enlightening, and I began to become more indulged in biology.
Here is a bit of information about what we did: https://www.msnucleus.org/events/lam/interns/environ_intern2019.html
The next year of high school, I took AP Biology. This was one of my first AP classes, so I put forth my best efforts in the class. Although the class itself wasn't too fun, my teacher was one of my favorites. We had a lot of free time during class, and through educational discussions with the juniors I sat next to, I realized there was a lot more to biology than what was projected in my textbook. The only way to learn about that was to experience it for myself.
The best bet for me was to get involved in ways outside of school. I applied to Stanford University's Spring Biotechnology Session, and I was pleased to see that I was accepted! Beginning in January of 2020, I would travel to Stanford's campus to learn about neuroscience from a PhD student studying it at Stanford. I learned about a lot more about what was not taught to me in high school, and kept a journal of what I learned each session. Needless to say, this was another big step in my interest in biology.
My sophomore year summer is going nothing as planned. Due to the pandemic that just erupted, all of my summer plans were cancelled. I dedicated most of the beginning of the second semester this year to writing applications to summer programs. I applied to multiple programs, but COSMOS was my top choice. Although I poured my heart into the application, I wasn't expecting to get in as it was one of the most prestigious STEM programs in California. In early April, I was surprised with the news that I had gotten accepted with my first choice! I remember this moment clear as day. I couldn't believe my eyes. I stared at the screen at disbelief until it finally dawned on me that I got accepted. I was overjoyed for weeks. Soon enough, they had sent an email saying that COSMOS was cancelled. Though I saw it coming, I was so disappointed. I had envisioned long days working in plant microbiology, field trips to laboratories, training for my half marathon at UC Davis's campus, the weekend trips to San Francisco, and living in a dorm for an entire month, only for it all to get cancelled. I had romanticized this experience so much to the point that I was absolutely crushed when I was struck with the news of cancellation.
Instead of letting the cancellation of COSMOS completely ruin my summer, I decided to buy a microscope in order to pursue what I would have been studying at UC Davis. To genuinely quench my interest in nature, I am going to be utilizing this tool to examine specimens all around me. I will update my research on this website so be sure to check back for my recent findings!
The childlike perspective is what I aspire to see in myself today. The curiosity I once had never ceased, but I have to look deeper in order to pull it out from within myself. With schoolwork, standardized tests, and added stress from the teenage life, I find that I do not have as much time as I used to have, prohibiting me from pursuing my inner child. With the extra time I have this summer, I find myself taking hikes more often and coming home with interesting pieces of nature I find outside. Call me what you want, I know that I am not usual. I am making it my goal to indulge myself in nature and do what I love - studying it.
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