To-TEA-ly Bri

I have learned so much this year, and not all of it pertained to chemistry as you might have expected. This post describes some things that I learned about graduate school, that I wish I would have known before coming in. Hopefully this can help someone else out on their journey. My desk on a busy day :)                                    1. It's not always about what you know. This is probably one of the most important things I could have picked up on in my program. Being book smart can only get you so far, no matter the field you are in. At some point, you have to rely on the connections made with others to help push you along. And I'm not just talking about professors and people super high up on the tenured totem pole. I'm talking about secretaries of offices, the barista at the Starbucks, the person that works in the mail room.... and of course professors and faculty too. But if ...

And just like that, my first year of graduate school was complete! I can NOT believe that I survived it....but then again, how could I possibly doubt myself? #HumbleBrag After my first committee meeting! :) I have learned sooo much this year, not only academically, but about myself personally. This has been quite the journey. I know that I have been MIA for a while now, but I am back and excited to have the time to blog some more. I have so much to say and so much to update you guys on with my life. If you're not already, follow me on instagram (@12bre45) to keep up with the latest. I post most frequently there. But in the meantime, here is a quick life-update Graduate School  This first year has been amazing. I completed my second semester with all As, had a great first committee meeting (which I will write a separate post about), and I have made some great strides in my research. For those of you that are new here, I go to the University of Mississippi and I am worki...

I've always been that girl who looks forward to the new year. So many amazing things happen with the new year. Although I've never been one to say the cliche "New Year, New Me," I do believe this is a great opportunity to make a better you. They say your goals are more likely to come true if you write them down... well here goes nothing! Be A Goal Digger!  So this year, I have a lot of things in mind that I want to truly work on. I've noticed that in my life, I tend to start things and not really follow through with them. So this is the year to change that. Below, I'm listing some of the goals I have set for myself and how I plan to achieve them. This isn't all of my goals, of course. But this is just a few that I think may resonate with you as well. Health This year, I want to be all-around healthier and more body-conscious. Right before the new year started, I got a membership at a yoga studio, and I am so excited to say that I have bee...

I survived my first semester of Graduate School! And what a semester it was! I have lots of things to tell you all about, and lots of updates on my life. But first, I want to apologize for being gone for so long! This first semester of school was DEFINITELY an adjustment and a true test of my time management skills. To see all the new things happening in my life, continue reading :)  School This past semester, I took two classes: Biochemistry and Mechanisms of Organic Chemistry. Both of these courses were very different. My biochemistry class was very writing intensive and required a lot of research skills. I had to write 6 papers, take one test and 1 quiz. That doesn't sound too bad right? Well, each paper was at least 5 pages, single spaced, with justified margins! It was a lot of work. My organic chemistry class was an entirely different story. This class only 3 grades: 2 tests and the final. Being as though my background is in biochemistry, this class was a lot harde...

Hey everyone! Life has been so crazy! Since my last post, I have moved from New Orleans to Oxford, Mississippi (which has been a HUGE adjustment in itself) and also started graduate school. I've had to deal with somewhat of a culture shock during my transition here, and a terrible bout of homesickness. Nonetheless, school eventually started and I had to kick everything into super high gear and get my life together. This post takes you through my experience during my first week of graduate school. My first "real" week of graduate school was actually the 2nd week of August. During that time, I took care of the boring things. I had to fill out paperwork for Human Resources, get parking passes, go through an obnoxiously long safety training for my laboratory, get transcripts, register for classes, all of that.  During that week I also took a series of preliminary exams which allowed my advisor to see where I was academically and place me in the appropriate classes. So I...

Hello everyone! If you are following my Instagram page (@12bre45), then you probably saw that I recently announced that I would be attending the University of Mississippi this Fall. This is such an amazing opportunity for me and definitely did not come easily. So in this post, I wanted to take some time to explain the process I went through to finally be Ole Miss Bound . *Also, before reading this post, it would be helpful if you have already read my post Choosing Biochemistry . On to Plan B As I have mentioned before, I changed my major very late in the college game. But in doing so, I had discovered something that I was truly passionate about. Although I had finally taken all of these biochemistry classes and had a lot of research under my belt, I still did not feel prepared for graduate school. Graduate school applications are usually due sometime during the fall semester when you're applying for the next fall semester. This is when sooooo many things finally occur...

I get asked all the time: What was it like being an athlete while in college? For those of you that don't know, I ran both Cross Country and Track during my four years at Xavier University of Louisiana. Running in college taught me some of the most valuable lessons I could have learned throughout my entire college career. Even if you're not a student-athlete, the things that I learned are great tips to help make your college experience a success. My Experiences As A Student-Athlete I came to Xavier on a full academic scholarship with a partial athletic scholarship to run Cross Country. This meant that I was of course required to keep my grades up (above a 3.3) and also dedicate my time to competing for my school. Starting my freshman year, my schedule looked a lot like the following: 5:00 - 7:30 am - Morning Practice 8:00 - 3:00 Classes/ Lunch 4:30-7:00 - Strength Training or some other practice 7:00-8:00 - Dinner 9:00 - until - Homework/Study Throw quiz...

As a child, you are constantly asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I always knew I wanted to do something science-related, but I never imagined that I would be pursuing Biochemistry. In the movies, you always see eager college freshmen moving onto campus with their perfect major picked out, with their entire life planned out down to the age that they plan to retire. This picture-perfect scenario was the total opposite of how I came to college and discovered my true passion. I began my studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in the summer of 2012. This was directly following my graduation from high school in Tennessee. I had never even been to Louisiana a day in my life. I knew from my experiences in high school that I loved chemistry and I also very much enjoyed my biology classes. However, I didn't know that I could combine the two and get the best major ever created! I started at Xavier as a Chemistry and Math double major. I realized very quickly that ...