It’s clear the end is an unavoidable eventuality, the prospect of an abrupt finish. I believe we forget, in the myriad of obligations, deadlines, concoctions, and analysis we forget how soon the end is. Even when we consider the proposition, we fair cursory and we gloss over its necessity. We superficially hope for ever, for an untethered perpetuity, an infinite continuity, an everlasting of sorts. I concede we are smarter than to will this consciously, it’s subliminal folly; it’s unwatched puerile proclivity.
Shall we avoid the end and miss out on the glory of a graceful finish, a grand finale, the debonair air in a bow and the charm of a curtsy. I believe there is a distaste to an uneased crescendo, as crescendos forebode a release, an uneased crescendo may well be an unending tease. I think there is an unfeign-able passion about a dirge, both expressed and felt, even a quirkily led life is avant-garde libretto for a requiem. Such is the unavoidable necessity of an “end”.
This week culminated in an “end”, the end of the RET and it was colorful. From the correlation of age with reflection index and the exploration of the utility of noncanonical amino acids, to the survival dispositions of fruit-flies, and the urine themed experiments that abound it was an applaudable manner to showcase variegated endeavors in a colorful end.
It reminds one of the eventual end of this summer’s REU program, when we’ll showcase everything we learned. Standing before a canvas once blank, now splattered with an idea, a thought translated into procedures, refined by results and feedback, modified for specification, and explained to the laity.
Afoot ’s the underpainting!
My name is Ifeoluwa Adebiyi, my faculty host is Dr. Naomi Halas, and my mentor is Dr. Oara Neumann and if there is anything the seventh week has taught, it is that keeping the end in mind helps one apply one’s heart to wisdom. Here’s to summer of learning to finish.
well said!