Last full lab group meeting of the academic year and my (and Emily G's and Alisa's and Maija's) undergraduate education 🥹😠I made and brought an egg, bacon, cheese, and leek sourdough strata that was a great hit with the lab — got lots of compliments on it. It was my first try and I typically don't make baked goods in the first place, but it was well worth it, yes, bringing the glass pans in the box and all. This lab meeting covered highlights of the year and summer plans. Grad students are still hard at work with their research, writing grants, learning statistics and methods, and refining their lines of inquiry. I don't remember undergrad RA highlights but I do remember summer plans! Valor is visiting extended family in Thailand. Mahima is going home and resting. Alisa is ... actually not sure (shit). I'm also going home, resting, sending emails when and where I can. (I highlighted what an honor and privilege it was to contribute to the lab — you do NOT learn qualitative methods in cognitive psychology courses here, which kind of makes sense, but seriously overlooks UI/UX design and research pathways that cogsci majors do want to go into. Dr. Manago thanked me for being in the lab in turn.) Nyx is going home to Sacramento. Emily is heading home to Cupertino and doing summer research with another professor. Dr. Manago is traveling and going on a writing retreat and wants to ease out of her "very busy" identity. Conversation drifted to pets and cats and just like that, the meeting was over at 12:03. We took a group photo at a tree near our SS2 building and headed back up to clean up. Graduating students like myself got signed cards from the lab 😠I gave the grad students some leftover strata for their colloquium and spent another half hour talking with Emily and Alisa reflecting on the lab, post-grad plans, and applications for grad school. FAWWWWWWWWWWWK I'm gonna miss the Culture and Tech Lab! My godddddddd!!!!!! (Might have to snag a few pins...) Never realized how big a part of the lab was to my current identity until now. I'm so glad I stayed for the entire year. I know I got the best education of any cogsci major here.
"[Growing up] is hard and nobody understands." // https://www.homestuck.com/story/2391