Today was a pretty good day. I was stressed out like mad, and overly caffeinated at least three quarters of it, but everything ended well. One might say even better than expected.
I’ve been working on a grant proposal as part of a research unit, and it’s been a hectic period of my life, filled with lots of feedback, lots of reading, and it has taken its toll on my stress levels. This afternoon, I submitted the final draft for an internal review. It’s not official submission yet, but it’s pretty darn close to what it will look like in the end.
I’ve been an unofficial part of this research unit since it started almost three years ago. At the time this was not really based on merit, but more based on my boss putting me into my position – whatever that meant. I’ve been pretty active in the unit and hopefully showed my best side over the years. I think we’ve been quite productive and successful, if I may say so myself.
In this second proposal round, I have been accepted as an official PI in the research unit, which was quite an honor for me. I don’t know how these things usually work anyway. I felt good about it. So, over the past three months or so, I led the writing of our new subproject proposal. I sort of felt like I had to prove my worth in the process of writing it – all my input had been unofficial, even though the output was official. Even though I’m always pretty decent with my time management, I decided that for this one I should certainly meet goals and never miss deadlines. I tried to always deliver a complete product on time. Perhaps it wasn’t always the highest quality, but at least I gave it all I could under the circumstances. I’m quite sure that the end product is the best I can offer. I hope it will be enough. If not, I’m not at all embarrassed by what I submitted. If we get a rejection, I’ll take it with dignity. (Their loss – haha!)
When I submitted the project late this afternoon, I felt pleased.
Relieved.
Satisfied.
Proud!
About fifteen minutes after, I also got an ‘accepted with minor revisions’ decision for an important manuscript I led. That really was the cherry on the pie. The day may have started stressful, but this was a pretty glorious way to end it.
Goodnight!
Robin Heinen 