It's Been a While

What's up, fellow geeks! It's been a while since I published a blog post. I am happy to say, however, that after a long hiatus, I am finally back.

Let me just take off my lab coat for a bit so I can talk to you, not as a scientist, but as a friend. I would LOVE to give you some insight as to what's been happening in my absence.

Starting with what was going on in March, not much was going on other than a stressful load of classes and working in my research lab. On top of that, I was also heavily prioritizing the relationship I was in at the time (spoiler alert: that ended). Between these three responsibilities (yes, a relationship is a responsibility), I wasn't able to set aside the time I wanted to in order to work on social media, consulting, or this blog. So, I was very absent when it came to those things.

After March, April happened, and finals absolutely destroyed me as a person and permanently altered my brain chemistry. Then, we get to May, where I was an emotional wreck because my girlfriend at the time was graduating and we were preparing to go long distance, as she was moving to another state for her big-girl-job. During this month, my aunt also surprised me with my first car, which meant that I now had to work on getting my drivers license. On top of all of that, I was also starting my internship at my research lab, and I even travelled to Arizona with my climbing team to compete at USAC Nationals (which was super fun, by the way).

Following all of those events, we get to June. To kick off the month, my girlfriend (at the time) and I went to Colorado to celebrate our 6 month anniversary and so I could meet her brother. The trip was amazing, and I definitely will be taking a solo trip to Colorado before I graduate (stay tuned for that on my social media). After that trip, I went back to work at the lab, which was very difficult but felt very fulfilling for me at the time, as I was still planning on getting my PhD after I graduated from my undergrad.

Within the end of June and most of July, I sadly had to take a lot of time off because I was pursuing obtaining my drivers license while simultaneously going through a breakup.

Yes, you heard that right: I got dumped. Not only did I get dumped, but I got dumped exactly 10 days after our 6 month anniversary, and it definitely forced me to go into a deep depression for most of the summer.

Between the breakup and the multiple 2-hour-long drives to San Antonio in an attempt to get my license that the DPS station was definitely not going to let me take the test for without a fight, I wasn't able to make it to the lab as much as I wanted, and my mental state simply just took a turn for the worst. Not only was I not in the lab much, but I wasn't posting on social media, really, either.

Fast forward to now, August 1st: I'm no longer working in the research lab, I just moved out of my old place in Austin so I can move into an apartment a few blocks down and live with my best friend in the entire world (I absolutely love that girl), I've figured out that I am, in fact, not a lesbian and I now identify as simply "queer", and to top it all off, I am back to social media and I am here to stay.

You see, this summer was an absolute shit-show. However, it also taught me a lot about myself. This summer has taught me that I can love, that I can handle loss (no matter how shitty it felt), that I have the best friends and most amazing support system I could ever ask for, and that I love my role in science communication more than I love working as a researcher in a lab (and that's okay).

After this huge recap of the past 5 months, you're probably wondering "what's next". Well...

I'm back, and you will definitely be seeing more from my social media, blog, and maybe even some cool speaking gigs and podcast guest appearances. So, stay tuned if you want to see more of me while I am finishing my biochemistry degree in tandem, as I graduate this upcoming May.

With that, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next blog post!