Health Science Reviews

by Tebogo Malope

At the beginning of my honours year, I was full of excitement for many reasons; to start my journey as a scientist, do something new and different, finally get to focus on only what I am interested in and get a break from medical school. I thought this was going to be the best year of my life.

Chapter 1: The coursework was interesting yet challenging, it forced me to grow in my thinking and learn to not just receive information but question it. The different activities we had like presentations and group work seemed like a “nuisance” but looking back now, it was an invaluable experience. They revealed my unknown weaknesses and refined my strengths. At the end of semester 1, to say I was filled with excitement for the next chapter would be an understatement.

Chapter 2: I thought this would be a labyrinth, that all I had to do was follow the plan outlined in my project proposal and I will make it to the “exit”. Within the first few weeks my fire went out and I learned that this was a maze, it was not about following plan A. Plan A was just to get me started. I had to learn to use the lessons from my failed plan A to come up with plan B, and the lessons from failed plan B to come up with plan C. It was through the unexpected results and failures that I learned a lot. Like a maze, the challenge and the learning are in the process and not at the “exit”. The process redefined what “success” meant to me. I am not there yet there, but I have definitely come a long way in my journey as an aspiring scientist.

My main takeaway from this year: The learning is in the process, once the process is over the learning is over