Lab Break

 

Photo by Rodolfo Clix (Pexels)

I know I am not the kind of person who takes a break two weeks in a row but Uni is wearing me down. Whenever I am home after a day in the lab I just want to rest and not think about anything until I go to sleep.

This in retrospect did not help with thought processing at all since thoughts have been piling up unprocessed or at least not processed as organized as before. Which is somewhat like a cloud over my head but I will survive.

What I am trying to say is that I don’t have any time to spend time. Therefore, I am going to make this article short and sweet. Today I am going to write a little bit about the lab I work in, in the future I would like to write a longer article but for the time being this will have to do.

If I can be honest, I like going to the lab. I adore that I can make things happen. The simple fact that I can do something with my hands just excites me. Even if the theory can be complex, I still want to spend hours understanding why the reaction I witnessed just happened.

Nevertheless, the lab can also be arduous. Weeks before the experimenting even begins, the stressing over the preparations begins. Since lab work is not just about doing experiments, it is about understanding the experiments and their dangers. No one should get hurt in a lab.

Then comes the actual experimenting. Walking around the lab is like having to carry around a weight on your shoulders all day. The anxiety and paranoia that you will mess up or someone else will mess up is always lingering even if everything is working out fine.

Even with all the preparations and careful work, accidents are bound to happen. Dangerous chemicals are going to get spilt (ideally on the floor/workspace, problematic when it falls on the skin) and glass is going to break. There is no stopping it.

What makes lab work worse for me personally is the experiments themselves, or more accurately when the experiments don´t work according to plan. The best that could happen is the reaction did not happen and the worst would be that an unplanned reaction happens.

Don´t get me started on the paperwork that comes with each experiment. The preparations, the notes and the protocols. It is a lot. Another thing that can be a lot is the time spent standing. In the lab, you are on your feet all day and it can get exhausting.

What I am trying to say is that lab can be fun but also exhausting. Nevertheless, I would not change a thing because even though there are dangers and if I am exhausted, I still like the lab very much. It makes the bland complex theory just a tad more colourful (in a literal sense of the way).

The reason why I am writing this is not only to write about how lab work can be but also to justify why I need to take a break from writing because when I come home I am just drained and would wish nothing more than to relax.

So lots of love

Aurelia