I keep reading the headline—'broadly adaptable system'—like it’s supposed to mean something more than a line in my CV. We built a hydrogel that brings microplastics to the surface, and everyone’s excited. But I remember the nights I sat alone, watching the same protocol fail, again and again, wondering if I’d ever get out of this cycle of hope and disappointment. The data looks clean. The press release says we’re changing the game. But I still hear my advisor’s voice, careful and cold: 'Try again.' I know the world needs this. I just wish I could feel like I was enough, too. #Science #LabBurnout #ScienceFatigue