Water Jar Moment

Have you ever had a moment that changed everything for you?

It was not until the beginning of this summer that I realized the moment that changed everything for me in my research lab.

I was an REU Fellow, and I had not done anything in the lab yet. After going through sequences and reading far more papers than I thought I ever would have to read, I was starting to lose morale. My PI is an amazing advisor, but since I hardly knew what science was like, I assumed that I was viewed as incompetent.

After all, a professor at Belmont once told me that I was incompetant in front of the entire class.

My lab buddy looked at me and asked if I was going to do anything today.

“No,” I could feel the anger in my voice. 

I still remember how palpable my self anger felt in my mouth. It was not my PI’s fault that I had not gotten my hands dirty yet. My inability to understand the journals I was given, sequences I analyzed, or task at hand was all my fault. It was not my inexperience that kept me away. Other undergrads probably would understand more, and they were only kept away to save money...at least that was what I kept telling myself.

Brewing in my self doubt, I turned away from my lab buddy, trying to hide in the journal article from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the only place I thought I still had some semblance of capability.

Two seconds later, I heard my lab buddy's chair slide quickly away from his desk and felt the air push past me as he left the room.

Hiding behind my laptop screen, I continued to listen to my lab buddy’s rustling and clanging. I had no idea what he was doing, but we did not talk very much as it was at that point.

I thought he was too smart for me.

“Felicity!” my lab buddy said over Ben Rector's song "Sailboat" blasting through my headphones.

“What?”

“I am going to teach you how to Cell Culture,” he said, “Watch a YouTube video or something.”

I was slightly shocked, but I did not question it. Quickly, I went back to my computer screen and searched for Cell Culturing. I watched a few videos as my lab buddy set up the bench behind me with jars filled with water bottles and pipettes. 

After I familiarized myself with the protocol, he demonstrated, and then I was instructed to do the same.

That was the first time I realized that the little things we give to others make the difference

Because my lab buddy took the time to show me something small, I was able to gain confidence on my own. Every day for the next two weeks, I went in to the lab early, and I would grab my little water jars, pipettes, and cell culture plates. I practiced every morning for about an hour until my lab buddy showed up.

I felt like I could do something.

Anyone can find a way to help someone gain  confidence.

Success has to be their own idea.

But their idea can come from you, even if you don't notice it happening.

Sure, you can give them compliments, support them, or listen to them on rough days. You can be a driving force in their life. You can give them something to do. However, without giving someone the tools to acheive on their own, they may never realize their potential. More importantly, you have to give them something small to work off of to realize their potential.

Science is not the vocation of an individual; it is the vocation of imparting small pieces of knowledge to empower the minds around you.

After my "waterjar moment," I found little things that I could learn, and I took the time to become successful at it. And as I started to find myself in the late nights and early mornings in the lab, I started to recognize all the little things each person in the lab did for one another. 

We never have to thank one another for the impact we make on each other's lives. The truth is, I think the Vaughan lab thanks one another by simply becoming better scientists. I never told my lab buddy what that meant for me, mostly because I had no clue that that moment would make such an impact on me, but I think I am a better scientist now because of that day.

I am a better scientist because I give little things to those around me. Just as my labmates give nuggets of knowledge to one another, I give younger scientists tasks I know they can achieve, and I help empower others in similar ways. Little by little, I saw more confidence in those I tutored, friendships I formed, and lives lived.

I am forever grateful for that Monday morning and the many little memories made after it.

Fact: Little things become greater things.

Faith: God provides us with little moments every day. We just need to have the faith to see them.