What Do You Want to Tell People - Take 2

This year was about c. Elegans, model systems and writing a thesis paper... but it also wasn't.

Truth is, I am always trying to understand things. And this is probably the only time I will admit it, but I am trying to understand myself most of all. To find my place amidst the overwhelming, incredibly stressful phenomenon we call society.

Yes, C. Elegans were great. The lab was incredible. But it was as a result of those that I found myself enamored by a single concept. That something so small could present such large opportunity.

Writing a thesis paper was a very new challenge. It taught me scientific writing, communication, all wonderful things. But the most memorable part was that even after 55 pages of worm-talk, this seemingly impossible endeavor, still proved to be nothing more than a "drop in the bucket."

Model systems and the people who study them were unthinkably inspiring to learn about. But we have to remember that everything always goes beyond mere substance. All of the tangibles lead somewhere. They are simply means, never the end.

I want to tell people that it's hard to see the complex web of our surroundings and not feel terribly undone. Each of our places exist. I want to show them this by presenting the lowly case of a microscopic, transparent worm. They're practically invisible! And yet, they have a place. (233)