Navigating the Slump: When Even Your Passion Projects Get You Down

Empty corner of the Firestone Library with books lining the shelves and a table and lamp in the foreground.
A quiet corner of a library where you might find a new way to approach your project.

We all have those moments when we doubt where we’re headed, even when the path we’re on is one we chose with so much excitement. Maybe it’s that feeling of disconnect, where you can’t quite see why you’re doing what you’re doing—even if it’s the thing you used to call your dream. And when it comes to research, that slump can feel even more intense.

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Let Your Happy Self Shine: Why Happiness Shouldn’t Be Saved Only for Moments of Victory

This is a picture of the Princeton Chapel, taken by myself the summer I first arrived at Princeton.
Princeton Chapel in the summer

“What’s your priority this semester?” my friend asked after our first meal together post-summer break. My instinct was to say classes, internships, research—after all, we’re at school, preparing for life after college. The pressure to secure a job or get accepted into graduate school looms large. What could be more important than staying focused on the future? But none of those answers felt right. I paused for a moment before saying, “being happy.”

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Exploring Memory: My First-Year Research Experience

The picture shows Dr. Augustin Hennings and I in the MRI control room on the C Level of Princeton Neuroscience Institute. We were monitoring the screens in one of the pilot scans.
Dr. Augustin Hennings and I in the MRI control room, C Level, PNI

It felt a little odd to begin an email with, “I wrote about your lab in my application to Princeton!” but it was the truth. Since high school, I had been fascinated by memory and its profound effects on shaping our lives, which motivated me to pursue a degree in neuroscience. Professor Kenneth Norman’s work in the Princeton Computational Memory Lab captured my attention while I was exploring Princeton’s resources for my application essays. I wrote about how I wanted to be a part of the lab and study human memory, specifically focusing on how the brain and mind can overcome the emotional consequences of trauma-based memories. After arriving at Princeton, I had been eagerly awaiting the right time to reach out to Professor Norman about getting involved in his research.

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