It’s been a strange quarter. As some of you may know, I’ve been dealing with a leg injury that dates back to July (torn joint cartilage that required surgery), and I’m still getting physical therapy twice a week to help strengthen my left leg. On one hand, I’m grateful that I have been recovering, and that I should be fully recovered in a few more months, but on the other, it feels as though this process has been testing my patience. Being a former athlete and a semi-regular gym attendee at UCI, it’s hard to go 4+ months of relative physical inactivity. No jumping, running, shooting hoops, strength training at the gym, you name it. I guess since I’m inching my way closer to recovery, I’m getting that itch to start doing stuff again like before, but at the same time, I feel as if those aspirations are still in the distant future.

I thought it might be worthwhile to reflect on my second year as a graduate student so far. It feel much less hectic than my first. As a graduate student researcher (GSR) at UCI, I don’t have to be a teaching assistant, which was my occupation all last year. I’m still wrapping my head around how I was able to pull off taking 2-3 classes while TA-ing simultaneously last year, but it was a different time with a different set of circumstances I suppose. I remember as an undergraduate wondering what it would be like reaching the point where my research would overtake my classwork as my top responsibility. I was nervous, as although I did do research as an undergraduate, it never was my top priority. Getting good grades and working my job at the time were, and research was something I would try to make time for but not stress over (well for the most part). Now, as a second year graduate student, research definitely feels like my main priority. Although it can be hard at times, I can safely say that I am enjoying the process of developing a Python-based model to estimate black hole masses. Each day presents a new puzzle to solve and new lines of cone to debug. I celebrate little victories when things go right, (such as when my code actually runs), and try not to dwell on the parts that stump me. I think that’s the fun part: constantly trying to solve problems. It’s like a little puzzle that’s presented to me, and my task is to solve it before long. Funnily enough, when my advisor gives me instructions on how to perform certain tasks, they at first sound very complicated, but with enough research and hard work, the solution reveals itself in time.

Now, with the 3 day weekend approaching, I’m going to try and relax a little bit, gather my bearings, and prepare myself to make a push towards completing an important step of my modeling code before Thanksgiving.