Single Digits

Day 31. The one month anniversary. This experience so far feels like it has been long enough for it to be given its own chapter in the story of my life. 

Yet, it’s only been 4 weeks. But those few weeks that seem so meager on paper have been densely packed with activity–quite literally there have been many days of sunup to sundown productivity, grinding away at assays or typing out obscure information about some Cdc protein in a trance. In fact, we can look to today as a model for what SSP has been like (just like U. maydis is a study model for all Ustilaginomycetes; shoutout to Payton and Eric you guys presented great today!): we started bright and early with 12 consecutive student presentations, which was promptly followed by an interesting lecture by Micah on Animal Crossing? Then followed by hours of computer work with MOE and the report without a single moment spent in the wet lab… So maybe today isn’t a good representation of the SSP experience, but maybe that should be expected. Yesterday’s closure of the wet lab marked not just a significant checkpoint in our projects (end of data acquisition), but also a transition towards data presentation–primarily in the form of our reports. So as the coming days menacingly approach us with the hours of report writing they have in store for us, we will keep our heads high and valiantly face off, holding close the hope of the new light (all-nighter party) that lies beyond the darkness (the hours before Monday 8:00 am). 

But what about what has happened so far? Is an anniversary not a celebration of what the present has become as a result of the things that’ve passed? Indeed, as I write this entry it’s been just hours over the exact anniversary–a month past the moment at which entered Honors North for the first time, welcomed by the long reception tables with name tags and Ms. Belote and her camera. Not to mention, of course, the orientation speech that Mr. Bowdon delivered just hours after to an audience of uncertain, unacquainted underlings oblivious to what lay ahead of them. And I’d love to continue delving deeper into early memories like when we sat on the gnat-infested grass as we met Mark for the first time or when we calibrated our pipettes with unfamiliar people at the then unfamiliar benches on the first day of lab, but I think I’ve got my point across: it’s been a long time (I guess I did roll away at memories after all lol). 

When I look at the current state of our program in this context, it’s hard to not look warily at the future, anxious about the inevitable end that’s to come. So let’s hold on dearly the remaining time we have together. ‘Cuz from here on out, the days we have left with each other can be summed up in just a single digit.

Micah’s fascinating lecture on Animal Crossing and the profound impact it has recently had on society.
A snapshot of the many hours of hard work we spent on MOE and inhibitor design after dinner. An image of Dr. Hall, a biochemist, was appropriately chosen to be the custom background of the MOE viewing window.

Hey guys! I’m Brian and I am a rising senior at Portola High School in the great city of Irvine in Southern California, the (objectively) best state. In my free time I enjoy drawing, watching anime, and exploring new academic topics.