I Was Reading About Francis Crick And James Watson’s Discovery Of DNA In 1953…and Admiring Santiago’s

post as much as possible while the women are offline so they can have something to read for breakfast when they are awake.

Picture credits: yours truly

Tchaikovsky is playing whilst the fire burns in the stone fireplace, red embers resemble the sun, rain tapping furiously on the window, thunder, the smell of wet earth and musk, messy handwriting, bromothymol blue ink stains on my fingers, empty glass bottles, a warm emerald green and deep blue tartan shawl,wrinkled white chemise, cold Irish breakfast tea, daydreaming into the night, warm socks, writing ceaselessly, finishing my chemistry lab report, simultaneously yearning for an archenemy to fall in love with, might light a cigarette and let the rain caress my face...

Writers gather around

“Writers aren’t exactly people...they are a bunch of people trying to be one person” -F. Scott Fitzgerald 

...I am writers. Thank you Scott, for giving an explanation for my dilemma.

Day in the life of a Natural Science academic.

-I am absolutely in love with Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi. I found it quite fascinating learning about their lives and the influence both had on Modern Neuroscience.

Santiago kind of has my heart because he is everything but the stereotypical idea of a scientist. He actually wanted to become an artist but that went against his father’s wishes and Santiago became quite…the rebel in school. But with time, he was intrigued by histology and proceeded to conducting a lot of research, one of them being neurons and Golgi’s Black Reaction. Santiago was able to illustrate neurons as shown in one of the pictures above. And he improved Golgi’s reaction that was a staining method using (silver nitrate and potassium chromate).

It is gelid outside. I am drowsy from reading and making annotations for hours on end. My eyes are burning ever so slightly. There is an owl hooting outside my window. I am now in bed…drifting into a dreamless sleep.

Unorganized thoughts; equations written all over a whiteboard; black coffee; determination; cigarette breaks; messy hair; curiosity; not wanting to start and then not wanting to finish; double checking almost every calculation; old wooden desks; having anxiety attacks thinking about the meaning of life; not sharing most of your thoughts with anyone; frustration; appreciating the little things; re-reading the practise questions in hope for a new perspective; notebooks full of chaotic notes; dreams about discovering something new; 

Some pictures from today. The weather was absolutely beautiful; the sun, warm and felt rejuvenated even after my neuro exam.

Me too

how to love a dark academic:

• write them letters and seal the envelopes with fancy wax seals

• buy them books

• write them poetry

• quote shakespeare, or really any other author or playwright to them

• read and discuss books with them

• listen to their 3 am rants on how we could've heard oscar wilde's voice if he'd had lived just a tad longer

• help them study

I got these precious books today! I swear that I do not have anymore space for books in my apartment. But, I still get them anyways.

Confessions from a Chemistry Academic

I was thinking about the scientists from the scientific revolution the other day. And I wonder what drove their passion for science. I am guessing it's their thirst to know more about the world and know why it works the way it does. I think the same applies to modern scientists. But, why do teachers and professors make it so dull? It is almost as if science does not apply to every aspect of our lives, which is far from the truth. But where is the poetry of science? Where is the passion and inspiration? Stem shouldn't just be about Formulas and equations and getting high grades on the MCATs. Concepts are not meant to be only memorized. We are tested so heavily that we forget that there is beauty in science. Scientists from the past were romantics and actually took the time to understand and not just memorize concepts for an exam. We don't have the time to really understand. We are always rushed now. Professors also try to weed us out and give up on our dreams. That could be my golden age thinker bias talking, but what if it's not? I really like chemistry, but how on earth do I learn to love it? As much as I find STEM dark academia posts on Tumblr beautiful, the energy shown in the classroom isn't the same. Take the Dead Poets Society, for example. The students were able to love poetry because of their teacher, who emanated such passion that it inspired so many individuals. I am looking for a John Keating that teaches chemistry, physics, biology, and math. If I cannot find such a person I aspire to be that person. I want to inspire and radiate genuine love for stem. I want to be a chemistry romantic.