Ex's and Currents CAN be friends afterall...
I visited a research lab at the Manassas campus of GMU to speak with and photograph, Dr. Yuntao Wu, a pre-eminent HIV/AIDS researcher. He was a very friendly person who was gracious enough to take me around to his lab, office, and even the weekly journal club lunch meeting.
Other than photographing him in his environs, we spoke about science. It all took me back about 10 years. I was a graduate student then, having recently finished my undergraduate program, I began my march towards my MA in Experimental Neuropsychology, and likewise my futile march towards a career in science.
While conversing with Dr. Wu, I struggled to frame my questions coherently. I could visualize what I wanted to say, but the terminology escaped me. Five years was too long to be away from science. The facts were too foggy to recall and I simply admitted my failure, and followed with mentioning that this was probably why I was ill-suited for the field. Early into my career as a neuroscience researcher, I found it to be exceedingly difficult to keep up with the trends, and research. I couldn’t keep up with those above and below me. I was being outworked. I should’ve realized then that I was doomed to fail, but it took me another year or so before I finally found myself behind the counter of the coffee shop at Barnes & Noble, wondering what I’d do next.
While talking to Dr. Wu, I remembered what made lab research so exciting and enticing, but I could equally remember what I didn’t like about it. Long hours secluded inside a lab, continuous work with results that followed only months or maybe years later.
After I finished meeting with Dr. Wu for about 5 hours, I left to edit the photos back at the office (looked at my email, of course), photographed a basketball game, then raced into DC meet up with some photojournalists to discuss the merits of working for non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
See, 15 hour days aren’t so tough after all. I felt wonderful by night’s end. I met all sorts of people. I made some nice pictures, and learned about many different things.
I reflected on the collision of two careers. Walking into that lab felt like bumping into an ex-girlfriend. Maybe the relationship didn’t work in the end, but I worked at it and finally came to realization that we just weren’t meant for each other. So it seemed that in this case, I could introduce my new "girlfriend" to my ex, and there wasn't an awkward moment to be had.
Other than photographing him in his environs, we spoke about science. It all took me back about 10 years. I was a graduate student then, having recently finished my undergraduate program, I began my march towards my MA in Experimental Neuropsychology, and likewise my futile march towards a career in science.
While conversing with Dr. Wu, I struggled to frame my questions coherently. I could visualize what I wanted to say, but the terminology escaped me. Five years was too long to be away from science. The facts were too foggy to recall and I simply admitted my failure, and followed with mentioning that this was probably why I was ill-suited for the field. Early into my career as a neuroscience researcher, I found it to be exceedingly difficult to keep up with the trends, and research. I couldn’t keep up with those above and below me. I was being outworked. I should’ve realized then that I was doomed to fail, but it took me another year or so before I finally found myself behind the counter of the coffee shop at Barnes & Noble, wondering what I’d do next.
While talking to Dr. Wu, I remembered what made lab research so exciting and enticing, but I could equally remember what I didn’t like about it. Long hours secluded inside a lab, continuous work with results that followed only months or maybe years later.
After I finished meeting with Dr. Wu for about 5 hours, I left to edit the photos back at the office (looked at my email, of course), photographed a basketball game, then raced into DC meet up with some photojournalists to discuss the merits of working for non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
See, 15 hour days aren’t so tough after all. I felt wonderful by night’s end. I met all sorts of people. I made some nice pictures, and learned about many different things.
I reflected on the collision of two careers. Walking into that lab felt like bumping into an ex-girlfriend. Maybe the relationship didn’t work in the end, but I worked at it and finally came to realization that we just weren’t meant for each other. So it seemed that in this case, I could introduce my new "girlfriend" to my ex, and there wasn't an awkward moment to be had.
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