INTRODUCTION: Our second semester was less than ideal because we’ve all been stuck at home. In our research stream, we would be trying to figure out the effect of the APOBEC proteins on cancer, instead, we are stuck at home, doing work that shows what we would be doing if not for the pandemic stopping all work to be done. The sudden transition from in-person to online class has been difficult in the sense that doing school work feels optional now, it’s obviously not optional but being at home in a more comfortable place, motivation has been lacking, this is obviously a problem for very difficult classes like chemistry essentially needing all your attention. But the end is near and we are almost done with our first year of college. Hopefully, we are able to be back on campus for our fall semester so we can continue our research.
COVID/BIO TOPICS: Although Tyler and I are stuck at home we still stay in touch by having zoom calls where we work on RISEbio homework and study biology together. We found that working on homework together makes things feel a lot more normal, less boring, and a lot easier to deal with. Even though this can be hard for us we are still pushing through and are making sure that we still do our best on the assignments that we are given.
What we would have been doing before the COVID situation happened, is amplifying our miRNAs, you know, so we could get to the good stuff and actually start answering questions and hypotheses. But instead, we do things like, analyzing protocol or looking over and taking notes on scientific papers. This last week we read through a scientific research paper about the topic we were researching before. Being able to read and understand scientific research papers is something that is important since most of us are going to need this in school as we continue our education. Although some of these assignments that we are doing might feel boring they are still good skills and techniques that we need for the rest of the research that we are going to be doing down the line.
We both feel that staying occupied during this quarantine is important for our mental health so like many other people we have turned to video games as a distraction from what is happening around us. Tyler and I have both started playing an ungodly amount of Call of Duty with each other and find it as a good pass time while we aren’t busy doing school work, It allows us to chill out from all the craziness going on in the world. RISEbio has allowed us to make friends with the people around us thanks to our shared interest in biology and research. It really is terrible that it’s all over until next year and the one-time school is fun it gets shut down, really a shame. It was a wonderful first year and Juan and I are grateful we got to be a part of the experience while it lasted. So hopefully some crazy stuff doesn’t happen next year!
Conclusion: In this strange time, It sucks that we aren’t learning normally and getting to do hands-on things like chemistry lab or RISEbio lab and instead we are doing worksheets but it’s what must be done to ensure the safety of others. Hopefully, this is all over by next year and life can get back on track, and normality will continue.
