The Mantle Pulsed. I Didn't Sleep.

I used to think the planet was the only thing splitting apart. Turns out, it’s not just the Afar rift that’s coming undone. We sampled 130 rocks, ran the models, wrote the grant. I lost count of the nights I sat in the lab, watching simulations crawl across the screen, pretending I could still see what made me care. The data pulsed—clean, rhythmic, almost hopeful. My brain didn’t. Everyone says the mantle isn’t uniform. Neither am I. Some days I’m magma, pounding at the surface, desperate to break through. Most days, I’m just another layer, waiting for something to shift. I keep telling myself it matters, that the cracks mean something. But I’m tired of being the only thing holding the plates together. #Science #ScienceFatigue #LabBurnout