I'm a Biologist

For my non-science readers,
consider this your intro into
molecular biology. This is how
the genetic code is able to make
a functioning organism. DNA
is the instructions, RNA is the
messenger and proteins both build
the cells and perform all the
functions inside your cells. This
is what I study :)  

As I approach the end of my 2nd year in grad school, I can't help but notice how much I've learned in biology. When I started out in school, I could only understand every other word at the seminars -- now I pretty much understand it all and can formulate my own opinion on people's research.

The other week I wrote probably one of the most challenging papers of my graduate career. The objective was basically to design a cancer therapeutic. And writing it, I pretty much felt like I had no idea what I was talking about, like I was just making things up. But when I got it back, I had gotten an A. And very positive feedback from my professors. Just that was a "wow moment". I had successfully proposed a cancer therapeutic, something I could never imagined having done two years ago.

Sure, I'm still working on building confidence, especially when giving presentations. But I think things are coming along...slowly...but I am definitely moving forward in becoming a scientist. I'm also learning about my strengths too -- I'm learning that even in biology, I truly enjoy writing -- synthesizing ideas and thinking about big picture concepts. I guess that's not surprising, I have plenty of practice here on this blog and I really do love writing...that's why you're reading this :)

So yeah, I'm starting to feel like I can say, "I'm a biologist" and not be just faking it.