Hey Everyone! I hope you all took a moment and checked out our posts on Imposter Syndrome from last week. If you haven't, be sure to do that ASAP! This week, however, we decided to talk about what keeps us motivated. I'm both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated and I think for what I'm doing in grad school that's important. Yes, external motivators, like your family/friends, publishing papers, getting that A are all good to help push you to do what you have to do, but at the same time you have to want it yourself. Grad school is a long journey and if you don't have that fire in you to keep going, it's hard to finish. But don't get me wrong, the rewards are nice.
My main sources of motivation, besides myself, are my friends and family. As you can see in the first picture of this post, I have a decent amount of friends, and not even all of the people I hold dear to my heart are in that picture. What I love about my friends is that even though none of them have a clue the chemistry that I do, they still try to understand it. They're my biggest cheerleaders and a lot of the time are more excited about my accomplishments than I am - and proceed to brag about it to any and everyone. It's such a great feeling having the support system that I have in them. I can call them to vent about what's going wrong, or to tell them what's going right. If I need a weekend getaway, they're there for that too. It's just an overwhelming amount of love and support I get from them. So for those that are reading this post, THANK YOU! I love you to absolute pieces and I'm so blessed to have you in my corner after all this time.
Now onto my family. I have my immediate family pictured here, but I'd be lying if I said that my extended family wasn't as much of a motivator as they are. My parents have been there every step of the way and I can't thank them enough for encouraging me on this journey. Neither of them are scientists, but I truly appreciate them for letting me explore this interest, and paying for it. They do their best at trying to understand my world as a grad student and for that I'm thankful. I couldn't have done any of this without them or had the strength to continue on. Sidenote: Mom, please get it together and stop crying. Next is my brother. My Munchkin is also a motivation of mine. If anyone is an older sibling they know that one of the best things you can do for your younger sibling(s) is to set a good example. I make sure I'm doing well so that he can see and follow my example - even though he's not going into science. I push myself so I can make them proud and so far it's paid off.
As I end this post, I have to shoutout all my aunts and uncles, biological or otherwise, for all the love, support, prayers, texts, and gifts that I've received over the years. You all are appreciated and I love each of you from the bottom of my heart.
What/who motivates you? Tweet me some responses.
-The Chemist
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