Health Science Reviews

by Gabrielle Hemming

After entering into my first year as a postgraduate student with excitement and anticipation, I can confidently say that the experience has been a difficult one.

Having completed my undergraduate studies at the University of the Free State, where I was challenged by my severe lack of Afrikaans vocabulary, I was eager to move away from the cold Bloemfontein winters, brandewyn and vellies. However, the transition was also a particularly hard one. I had spent the past 3 years living in a digs with my big sister, with one of my best friends staying not a 5-minute drive away. My science mom (a master’s student) was always around to help me when I needed it, and my (future) brother-in-law consistently around to provide the jokes. Being a 6-hour drive from home, I was able to see my parents and hometown friends relatively often. But despite all of this, I was ready to move on to greater things and pursue my honours in a town where people mock my KZN accent for the first time in my life (or “laafe”).

I arrived in Cape Town at the end of January, and moved into my room in res where I have a pretty cool view of the mountain. With orientation at the beginning of the semester, I met some very cool people who have since become my good friends. I can’t say the semester started out strong, having to move online for the first week or so of class, but who doesn’t love not having to get out of bed in the morning? We began with a 2-week long general techniques course, followed by 3 weeks of stream-specific techniques. We learnt about some interesting applications, but I would have liked to do more practical work in the lab. From there, things started to look up, as we were spending more time together as a class, and getting to know each other a little bit better. Soon enough, I was buying coffee for my hungover friends for morning lectures in the NI (if you know, you know). The coursework portion of my degree was super interesting, albeit wildly disorganized (note to the department: do better next year), and I ended up with a really fascinating research project in the molecular autism lab. My supervisor and co-supervisors have been extremely supportive and helpful, which I’m super grateful for.

Saying this, being so far from home and living more-or-less by myself for the first time has been quite a challenge. As a definite introvert, moving across the country to a city where I initially knew no one was pretty daunting. And for the former half of the year, we as a class seemingly shared in the same feelings of neglect and so-called “imposter syndrome”. But being in the lab more recently has definitely allowed me to regain a small sense of belonging. It certainly has not all been bad, and I fully intend to continue my journey with neuroscience into masters, but this year has for sure been a tough one. I remain very much in love with the city of Cape Town, and all of the friends I’ve made along the way. So, here’s to ending the year off strong and finding clarity in masters!