Health Science Reviews

By: Robyn-Lee Manchest
Honour, best described as surviving beautiful chaos with a lab coat on. For me, moving to a new university for this intense year felt like being part of a complex experiment… only I was the test subject, and there was no control group in sight. Suddenly, I was navigating unfamiliar hallways, learning unfamiliar systems, and juggling a workload that didn’t pause long enough for me to catch my breath. Between ethics applications, data analysis, and trying to have a life outside the lab, Honours became an unexpected crash course in survival, science, and self-discovery. Welcome to my honest take on what it really takes to rebuild your rhythm while chasing research dreams.
Undergrad felt smooth in comparison. We were all equally uncertain, which somehow made it easier to bond. There was a natural rhythm to things. Packed lecture halls, spontaneous study sessions, and endless coffee runs that built lifelong friendships. The energy was shared. The struggle was communal. The vibe was electric. Then Honours came knocking, and for some of us, it asked for a lot more than academic performance. It asked us to let go of the world we’d just figured out. All those shared memories, late-night cram sessions, and solid support systems? Gone. In their place was a campus full of strangers who already seemed to have their people, their rhythm, their place. And just as I started to rebuild… reality hit. The workload didn’t just increase, it tripled, and between presentations, lab hours, deadlines, and data, there was little time left to breathe let alone make friends.
Eventually, I realised that surviving Honours, especially in a new environment, isn’t just about mastering your research. It’s about intentionally creating your support system. That means stepping out of your comfort zone even when your brain feels like it’s at capacity.
Here’s what helped me:

1. Get Involved
   Don’t just attend lectures and lab sessions… Engage!!! Start small: greet people. Ask someone how their experiment’s going. Offer help if you’ve cracked something they’re struggling with. These small acts build bridges.
2. Show Up. Even When You Don’t Feel Like It
   Go to seminars. Pop into workshops. Say yes to those optional departmental events. You’re not there to just “network” in the formal sense, you’re there to find shared experiences. That’s where connection lives.
3. Linger in the In-Betweens
   It’s tempting to dash home after class, especially when your to-do list looks like an unsolvable equation. But take a breath. Sit on the lawn. Suggest lunch with someone. Those small, unstructured moments are where the best conversations (and unexpected friendships) are born.
   Honours will stretch you, mentally, emotionally, and academically. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to do it alone. You’re not just building a thesis; you’re building resilience. And having good people around you makes all the difference. Whether it’s a classmate who shares memes about deadlines, a lab partner who reminds you to breathe, or just someone who offers to grab coffee, these moments matter. They keep you grounded when academia feels like it’s spinning out of control.
   So, to the future Honours students out there: yes, it’s tough, but so are you. And even on the hardest days, trust me on this, you’re doing better than you think, and you’re not in this alone.