Notes from a second semester senior.

A copy of my senior reflective paper over the course of my senior year. Comments? Thoughts? I always enjoy feedback.

On a completely random note, I'm in botany class now and I smell gardenias. Sadder than that, I can name the family of gardenias... Meh. I need a break from this!

Notes from a Native Plant Observer


I've often tried to imagine a world without science, without discovery, without wonder and I have news for anyone else who tries. It doesn't work. Science is inextricably intertwined with the human condition. We are built to wander and explore, to question authority, but don't tell any teenagers about that. Of course, having come to that conclusion myself,. I chose to do this with my senior project, a field phenology study done on the I. cassine aimed at discovering growth trends during the wet and dry season, with this premise in mind. In addition to this notion of discovery, I thought that my senior project would compliment my scientific aspirations nicely. The summer before I started this project, I completed an intensive summer program at MIT that covered advanced classes in biochemistry, physics, deterministic, design, the humanities, and multivariable calculus. Fresh off of this insane roller coaster ride that was MIT, I wanted a project that would mimic the research component of my college education. With the help of my mentor, Mrs. Pam Krauss, I was able to locate an option in the Fairchild Challenge, a multidisciplinary environmental competition containing options ranging from theater to research projects, that allowed me the freedom to construct an entire study from scratch. With the appeal of discovery at hand, I was ready to proceed.

The aforementioned mentor helped guide me along the path of discovery. With a master's degree in botanical science and years of field work as an environmental lawyer, her hands on experience was invaluable in learning which resources to consult as well as in figuring out which plant to study. She also helped me devise the steps in completing the project. First, a general survey of all the native plants on campus was taken and the results were analyzed based on location, accessibility, bloom time, and practicality. Ultimately, the dahoon holly was found to be the best of all the plants surveyed. Additional research was done regarding the plant and the study was constructed. Observations began immediately on a stand of nine dahoons outside of the botany classroom. It was hypothesized that because they were maintained by humans, their growth patterns would differ from those of wild dahoons. The factors used to determine this were percent flowering and percent fruit maturation. Data was collected from September to January and analyzed. More specific information is available in the paper. The hypothesis was supported. Wait, yes, I just said that. I just concluded months of editing and slaving over numbers. To see one's blood sweat and tears culminate into a polished and finished product is wonderful. In doing this project, I have learned how to step back and breathe when the work seems to be too much and to take my time when something seems like it is going to give.

All in all, I have grown not only as a researcher and scientist, but also as a person, and that was surprising. Prior to this insane but rewarding experience, I had always thought of the results of the scientific method as implicit and tangible, but never philosophical. Never did I consider that I could gain patience and insight into my own character while number crunching and squinting at dried dahoon specimens under microscopes. Don't get me wrong- science has been and always will be a huge part of my life. It got me to where I am going in the fall and gives me an insatiable thirst for knowledge that I can never seem to quench. This study changed that a bit. Now I can step back and wax philosophical in the most tense and dry of settings. It's a wonderful skill that I hope to keep for the rest of my life.

In fact, if I had to change one thing about this study, it wouldn't be a technical issue; those resolved themselves in the end. I would take my time and not think of the study as just another thing to be done. Too often I can only appreciate things when they are gone and the same thing goes for this study. Yes, I actually got used to observing the plants once a week. Like a mother hen, I watched my “chicks” grow and flourish. Midway through the study, my advisor called one of my trees “pathetic” and I immediately defended it. Okay, so that might have been bordering on obsessive, but the point is obvious. Within the limits of the scientific, I found myself.

As far as making any future projects successful and meaningful, all I have to say is this: be yourself and do what you love. There is no sense in trying to cure cancer or slaving away at a technical project when you are an artist at heart. The beauty of this project is that one has the ability to choose whatever one wants. Take that and run with it. As Mark Twain most eloquently put it, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

This is why this paper contains no facts or figures. Those are dealt with later. Rather, it contains a part of me that I am giving to the magnet program. I did what I loved. I put my heart into this project. In this way, the magnet program has benefited. They can say that they have a dedicated alum. Or if not, they can remember my name in the years to come and say, “Oh yeah, the girl who went to MIT, the one who looked at trees.”

The truth is, I can think of no higher compliment than that.