I was fortunate enough to spend my summer interning at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. I hade such a great time experiencing new things in the city such as walking the Freedom Trail, eating the best cannolis in the North End, and attending “Outside the Box”. Coming from the suburbs, I learned so much about how to live in a city. I learned how to use public transportation (I count it as a huge accomplishment that I never got lost on the T) and when to avoid public transportation (namely the 4th of July after the fireworks). I also learned how to cook for myself and make a grocery budget.
My roommate and I dressed up as Nicholas Cage from National Treasures to participate in a scavenger hunt along the Freedom Trail
But despite all the great learning opportunities I had in the city, the biggest lesson I learned was from my biomedical research internship. I have never felt that science is a guy’s club until I met my all male lab. My first day in the lab I was intimidated, not only was the youngest, most inexperienced in the lab, I was also the only female. I was afraid to speak up about my work and ask questions. For the first week, I worked on a project that bored me, but I was afraid to say anything because I did not want to seem demanding. When my supervisor asked if I enjoyed my project, I said yes because I did not feel like it was my place to say no. I was too afraid of the consequences. Finally, I realized that to get anywhere in life, I need to be assertive. So I became assertive. I asked for another project, I spoke up when I had ideas that could contribute to our experiments, I asked questions and was not afraid of looking stupid. My new assertive attitude provided me with so many opportunities at my internship. I was able to shadow different doctors, I attended lectures given by world renowned scientists, I even got to watch a few of the New England Patriots play a game of life-sized Operation with some surgeons, all because I asked.
Celebrating the fact that Massachusetts General Hospital is now the number one hospital in that nation
I know that my new assertive attitude will carry over into my life and help me in the future. Not only do I need to make my own opportunities, but I also need to feel comfortable accepting the ones that are presented to me. This year, I am making a commitment to say yes more and voice my desires. Thanks for the lessons Boston!