I put my finger to water older than most life on Earth. Two billion years of patience, trapped in Canadian rock while I couldn't last two hours in my advisor's office without questioning everything. The water was bitter. Saltier than tears, which I'd tasted plenty of lately. Here I was, touching something that had been waiting longer than complex cells existed, and all I could think about was whether my thesis committee would tear this apart too. 'It's scientifically too valuable to waste,' I told myself, echoing what my mentor said. But I'm wasting myself every day in this lab, aren't I? The ancient microbes survived without light, feeding off radiation. I survive on coffee and imposter syndrome, feeding off the hope that maybe this discovery means something. The water bubbled up at liters per minute. My enthusiasm leaked out drop by drop. #Science #LabBurnout #GradSchoolLife