At UCF, it’s really easy to pick out the STEM students at the library. They’re usually crying, having an existential crisis, or are rereading the same chapter about metabolism for the fifth time (and still not understanding it, just like the other four times they read it). So this one’s for you wild nerds out there trying to finesse an A in calculus despite the professor’s 1.4 rating on RateMyProfessor.
1. When there are 24 hours in a day, but you’re in class for four, studying for 10, shadowing for six…
Either I’m forgetting how to do math or something just doesn’t add up. In their efforts to get more “well-rounded students,” it seems like graduate schools have forgotten that students are humans (and not robots, even though that 7:00 a.m. Starbucks line says otherwise) who do need some sleep.
2. When you find that one account on Quizlet that has all the best study guides.
The true heroes of American society. They walked so we could run. (But honestly guys, that moment you find the Quizlet for that assignment you’ve been stuck on for hours … IYKYK).
3. For my STEM ladies, those classmates that can’t help but mansplain every slide.
It’s not like we’re in the same class, with the same professor, reading the same exact Powerpoint right now or anything. But thank you Brad, honestly, I really needed you and your nonexistent bachelor’s degree to tell me exactly what our tenured professor is trying to teach us at this … very … moment.
4. When you mess up a sample/experiment/program you’ve been working on for days.
Oh, did you accidentally sneeze over that open tube of fresh culture you’ve been using for your microbiology assignment? Sorry, back to square one (after you deal with the wrath of your TAs).
5. A moment for those who know the pain of waiting for the loop to cool.
Sure, the loop is only in the micro incinerator for ten seconds max and they say it’s only another fifteen seconds for it to be cooled down enough for use, but it feels like an eternity when you’re just staring at it, waiting to start your sample. (Then there’s us impatient ones, who keep stabbing at the sizzle spot in the agar until it stops hissing).
6. When you take anatomy and suddenly become the unofficial-official doctor to all your friends and family.
To be fair, you can barely remember the difference between the cranial nerves… but everybody else doesn’t need to know that. Your grandparents and paranoid uncles trust you more than any doctor they’ve ever had in their life, even if your answer to every ache they have is, “Uh, have you tried turning it off and on again?” Still, you dream of Dr. Samsam’s mustache every night and his Golden Sentences are whispered in your ear until you dream of the contents of the vertebrae, so eventually, you’ll come to love your position as a less apocalyptic WebMD.
7. Remember, love what you do and do what you love.
As put perfectly by the iconic Elle Woods, whom we all love and adore. Sometimes, through all the struggles of balancing our schedules, workload, and what is expected of us by professional schools, we tend to lose ourselves. We are unique individuals who are more than some grade in a chemistry class, or even the research we pour our hearts and souls into, even though it’s easy to let our lives become centered in only that. It’s important to accomplish your goals, but don’t let it consume your life to the point where it’s the only thing that you find your own value in. Even the most studious among us still fail a test, but that in no way means that they themselves are failures. There will always be bumps in the road, especially in fields as competitive as STEM, but the key characteristic of every successful person is not their GPA, their connections, or their essays.
It’s their determination to get to where they want to be.
In between all that studying and hair-pulling before application season, remember to give yourself a pat on the back for all that you’ve accomplished so far. It’s easy to forget to be kind to yourself when you’re constantly comparing yourself to those around you. You are you, and no one else will be able to take that from you.