Before I leave you all for the night I wanted to talk about something which I already did a thread on last week over at my account @Rhiannon_Kirton and that is #mentalhealth

This is something that I have struggled with recently (see previous thread) and I know many other grad students have also struggled with. So I want to highlight that you are not alone, many of us share this struggle with you

Grad school is HARD, it is even harder when you are first- gen, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ or from another marginalized background. Often we do not have the resources we need and this is even more true for accessing adequate help for mental health.

I have been fortunate to find amazing friends through science twitter and if you are struggling please know that we are all here to do what we can for you. It is not something to be ashamed of. We're all on this journey together.

and to add to all the other things that might impact mental health, this year has been really really hard and unusual and many of us are grieving. Grieving family lost to COVID (), lost opportunities, delayed plans, missed life events etc. Now more than ever it is so important

That we stick together and help each other and that includes you! Please please reach out to me, to others in the scientific community if you need an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on or someone to advocate for you! We have your back. You are loved .

This also goes for imposter syndrome. I promise you that we all feel like we aren't smart enough or strong enough all the time. You may look at the pictures I have shared today and think wow she is so accomplished but I regularly feel like I know 0 things.

You are smart and strong and tech savvy enough to be a scientist! You can do it! Sometimes being a scientist is the beautiful sunsets and the charismatic animals and sometimes it is staring at your code for 5 days wondering how you got here.

You will figure it out and you will make it. Welcome future scientist, you are loved and we want you to succeed.