Category: Dear Diary
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Six Years, One Tick-Borne Bacterium, and a PhD Later
I didn’t start my PhD in 2019 with a grand dream or a childhood passion for biomedical sciences. I started with a central question that immediately made it clear how little I knew: How do Ehrlichiae cause disease? At the time, I knew nothing. Not a little nothing. Like full blank brain, zero context, no…
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Memories of Princess Luna
Dearest Princess Luna, I miss you so badly that I hallucinate your presence. 🖤 Love always, Tsian❤️
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The RV Problem
I graduated from college today. Ever since the ceremony ended, people have been asking the same question: “What’s next?” It is a reasonable question. After all, society has spent the last 20+ years preparing me for this exact moment. The expected answer is supposed to sound ambitious and reassuring. Something about career goals, professional development,…
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Raining Tacos, Falling Humans: My Skydiving Report
The plane door opened and the wind slapped me in the face like nature personally checking my decision-making skills: “ARE YOU SURE!?” Outside was stunning and deeply incorrect. Puffy clouds, tiny roads, little buildings looking all innocent… like a postcard that clearly says “LOOK, DON’T TOUCH.” My instructor started the countdown and my soul tried…
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Pitch Imperfect
If you met Max or me separately, you’d probably describe us as calm, reasonable, and fully functioning adults. Somehow, when we’re together, all of that disappears. We become louder, weirder, and significantly less supervised. I’m convinced that one of the defining features of a best friendship is the ability to bring out each other’s most…