Reply to What did COVID-19 pandemic do to you?

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[quote=Anonymous]I realized how much I love my personality, my confidence, my ability to research on my own, form my own opinions, and follow my own convictions.

Although residing within me for years, and growing more and more with new experiences, I now know with all certainty what I want out of life, and what’s to be prioritized. My current and future employers, managers, colleagues, etc. who merely view employees as cogs in the wheel, can go summarily fu*k themselves. Granted I plan to screen future employers for sane folk.

I was extremely conflict averse in the past, sought to do good for the sake of doing good, be the bigger person, extend a helping hand, etc. But honestly, I’ve only got one life. The respect and basic decency I give to others in certain aspects of my job, things I made clear were important to me, weren’t reciprocated by others, and I’ve tossed in the towel.

I mean, anyone who works/worked in academia, particularly the research sciences, will understand the overt and systematic  toxicity. Everyone has an agenda, and it’s seen as a good thing to suffer, work long hours, work weekends - these hours not even reflected in one’s pay mind you - haul ass to publish before getting scooped externally and sometimes even internally by a sneaky colleague, etc. PI’s want results, and are often upset when students, such as myself, endeavor for other career paths instead of remaining an asset to them, or staying in academia. They’re considered with titles, publications, and the prospects of former students that make THEM look good.

Basically, in addition to saying screw all that (I’m still respectful, an efficient worker, and a good student), and having an excellent work/life balance since I started my PhD program, I now go out of my way to encourage my classmates, schoolmates, and fellow lab mates to set boundaries, have a good work/life balance, and do what they want, in spite of what others may say or think, much to the chagrin of many higher-ups. I’m a little dissenter, but hey, I’ve always been somewhat defiant. I’m just more apparent now. 🤷🏾‍♀️

My first priority is my current and future family and friends, as well as helping others in my community, particularly through fostering and adopting. While I’ll be an excellent worker in my chosen career path, I won’t be a slave to it. Money isn’t what drives me. I’ve never been materialistic, and a roll with a like minded group. I just want a happy life with my family and friends, so that when I die - be it today, tomorrow, weeks, months, years, or decades from now - it’s without regrets. 😌🙃[/quote]

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