Posted on by johanne_marais

Master the Science of Making Progress: A Day in my Life

I read a book this year called Cortex and Mind. I often draw on a thought from that book, which is remarkably applicable to both neuroscience and society. Joaquín Fuster says: “Networks and knowledge are open-ended. Never in the life of the individual do they cease to grow or to be otherwise modified…” I think this statement holds true for how life is founded on networks growing and communities encouraging interpersonal change. In a recent panel discussion, my friend and colleague Ursula Mariani reminded us that we are allowed to change our opinions; to say “I said this, but I no longer think that way.”

At this point in the year, if you have been following my blogs throughout 2023, you’d likely have a well-curated mental construction of who I am. If you recall my blog about winter, you may have gathered that I am an early riser; an advocate for gentle adaptations; and that I’m a neuroscientist researching sleep. Well, in my Spring edition of the Day in My Life vlog, you will encounter evidence of this and (visually) a better image of me. There are many close-ups, and many snippets of my cat Frosty.

My top priority every day is clear: serve King Frosty, the King of Everything. 

Second to that, a typical week has a fair degree of structure. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have a lot of energy and excitement for the tasks that I get to do. I often commit to the emotionally and cognitively demanding tasks on those days: data handling; writing; research; planning the week’s work (and play) … These are often full days on campus, and I then spend the evenings in the Wits Sleep Lab.

Behold my dehydrated self!

Tuesdays are often SASSH membership capturing days; general administrative catch-up on emails and prepping for Thursday supervisor meetings. Thursdays invite calm, mid-week rejuvenation in the form of a morning meditation offered at the School of Physiology for staff and students. Then, at 09h00 I have my weekly meeting with my supervisors. I try to schedule all other meetings that arise for Thursdays too, since I am comfortable to be a bit more passively present in engagements than absent-minded in solo tasks. At this point in the week (though I am often able to shake things off), I can feel that my sleep debt is quite strong and my capacity to human effectively is tapering. I try go home early and assume the horizontal position imminently upon my return to the haven. 

Otherwise, what I outlined in my first vlog as a typical plan of action is mostly the same: breathe deeply; move often; rest, digest, invest.

I think my greatest lesson learned as an MSc student so far is that what we study is not what we do nor who we are. It’s increasingly apparent to me that this is where academia previously slurped me into the vortex of productivity over passion. I’m still learning how to build a house, but I have a much better idea of how I’d like to live in it.

Posted on by MukhtaarWaja · 1 Comment

Readers’ Wish Fulfilled: Greatest Student Alive Posts Another Vlog!

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, dear reader, but dreams do come true! Specifically, your dreams! That’s right, I – Mukhtaar J. Waja, the greatest student alive – have allowed you another glimpse into my wonderous life. My second Day in the Life vlog is a massive improvement on the first in every way… That is if you enjoy existential dread and the ramblings of a 24-year-old who acts like he’s 80, and his grandchildren don’t visit him. Youngsters these days just don’t care… While you wait for your neglectful grandchildren to visit, why don’t you treat yourself to a good time by watching my video below. You deserve it, dear reader, you’ve been doing so well… I see you.

2023 has been, like all years tend to be, extremely long to live through and shockingly short to look back on. It is very easy to forget how much you are growing and changing when you are in the midst of all that growth and all those changes. The year began with me collecting data for my Master’s research, and now I’m trying to get medical data for my PhD, and am hoping to publish my current research once it’s completely complete. Before, my days consisted of conducting and transcribing interviews… and now, all these months later, my days consist of me writing up the findings of my work. That is progress, dear reader! And I am proud of it!

At every point in my academic journey, I felt like I would never reach the end of the year. At every point in my academic journey, I also felt like the end of the year was barrelling towards me with a hatred I can only describe as “personal” and “unappreciated”. Yet, every year – there have been six in total – I have actually done well! Humans have a terrible tendency to cling to negative memories over positive ones. It is a wonderful and effective way to bum yourself out, and convince yourself you don’t deserve praise and admiration. Sometimes, when I think back on my postgrad journey, I remember the chaos, the panic, that stressful, suffocating feeling you get when your work on the page is just so far divorced from what’s in your head, and you wonder why anyone let you get this far in the first place. It was their fault, really. But I’m trying not to do that anymore. I’m trying to remember the good times. I’m trying to remember the achievements – the final draft, not the first.

I am so proud of where I am right now. I think the people who inspire me to do this are proud of where I am right now. My vlog begins with a joke that has upset everyone who loves me (though my father did find it funny). It begins with a joke about how every day of my life will repeat an endless cycle of identical activities until the day I furiously drop-kick the proverbial bucket that everyone one day drop-kicks. I thought it was funny, in a dark way. But I know it’s not true. I know that life is full of surprises, and full of change. And I am so excited to experience it all. Thank you, dear reader, for being a part of one of the most exciting parts of my academic journey… Your grandkids don’t know what they’re missing.