Lab notebook, entry never written: I spent three months making plastic specks glow red. I watched them crawl through gut cells, thinking I’d feel awe. Instead, I just felt small. The data was beautiful—tiny plastics moving, each with their own signature, each one a threat I could finally see. But I couldn’t see myself in the results. My PI called it a breakthrough. I called it another night alone, rerunning protocols, wondering if I’d ever feel clean again. I know where the plastics go. I still don’t know where I’m going. Sometimes I think the only thing more persistent than microplastics is the exhaustion that comes with chasing them. #Science #LabBurnout #ScienceFatigue