More holidays approach

The end of the semester is fast approaching. November flew by and I feel that this occasion catches me off guard. I've been aware of the deadlines and have only 1 final so I don't feel an increase in workload, but I'm shocked that the first semester is nearly over. I survived.

I both need a break and don't. There's a momentum to the work and usually, a week of intense finals exhausts me. Not having that, I feel that things could go on indefinitely. And they will in a sense, I'm not truly allowed to (or is it that noone should want to?) stop thinking about the long term research goals of my lab, however I will be freed from classroom duties as both student and teacher.

Of course I will do all of the normal holiday stuff...catch up with family, friends, make and eat festive foods. But I'm also looking forward to settling in with some books beyond biology. I rarely completely stop reading but during semesters the level of the things that I read decreases. When reading scientific articles and text books throughout the day, it's hard to concentrate on things more difficult than Harry Potter. So this break I hope for a return to Hemingway and Graham Greene.

My advisor said something interesting a few weeks ago. That learning a language is not necessary for functioning in today's scientific community (English is nearly absolute these days). But for the education of a person, it is vital. I hope to eventually be fluent in at least Spanish but this is a long term goal. However, I do think it is important to expand beyond a narrow specialization in areas other than language. Although the real purpose of my reading is recreation, it serves this second purpose well. Original ideas are hard to come by, but there are possibilities for endless integrations across fields.

So whatever your work, if you need something fresh, something new, look next door and translate the work of others (giving credit of course), into your own specialty. Even if it doesn't spark a major movement, the correct choice may make you seem witty and cool but hopefully not arrogant.