A Quick Update

Although I wasn't in the lab this week due to more issues with chemical shipments, I still wanted to post an update. And don't worry; I put a rush order on getting the chemicals because my previous order that was supposed to be delivered one month ago is currently missing. Therefore, here are my quick updates on what has happened in the past two weeks:

1. Right before the new year, I was awarded another grant, this time from the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories. They have funded some of my continued work to assess the levels of microplastics pollution in Panama City Beach. I am really grateful that organizations are interested in the work that I'm doing, as I came into my PhD program thinking that I was looking at too small of a concept with a very small niche space. Here's the link to a little more about the award and you can see all of the other awards that students at the marine lab, like myself, have earned this past year while figuring out how to do research while still following state and international guidance on the virus: ​https://marinelab.fsu.edu/people/students/gradawards/current/

​2. What have I been doing since I haven't been in the lab? I have been doing a lot of reading and writing. In any field of science there is a lot to learn, and I would guess that most scientists learn more by reading studies published by other people. Right now I am trying to design some experiments for later in my course of study and have been reading about what other researchers have done in the past that have worked and what researchers have done that I don't think was very successful. Each paper I read gives me a lot of ideas, I make notes, draw diagrams, and determine how I can take what was done in the paper and modify it to what I am trying to accomplish. As part of my writing process I take a lot of notes and I don't always know what I'm writing at first glance. A great example is the literature review I have been working on for school: there are sections where I know I have more to say but I am struggling to generate the right thoughts, so I write myself a note directly in the paper and highlight the note so that I come back to it. In my revisions process I find all the highlighted notes for myself that say, "I want something here," or, "Add more about the history of marine pollution," and I know to approach the sentence or paragraph with fresh eyes and clarity. If you find yourself struggling to write, add some fun notes to yourself to keep you motivated. I also find that even if a paragraph is half-written and the rest is notes to myself, I feel better about the work I put in (because it looks more complete even though I know I have to come back and fix things).

Stay tuned next week for the first chapter of finding plastics in marine sediments (and cross your fingers, eyes, toes, etc.) that everything ships in time to make that possible.