A few weeks ago, I realized I’m now closer to graduating than to my first day of college. It caught me off guard. I still remember how fast it all began: my visa arrived just two days before my flight, and the next thing I knew, I was leaving home in Mumbai for Fort Wayne with two suitcases and no idea what the next few years would hold.
I always knew I wanted to study biology, but I didn’t expect to fall for genetics: how small changes in DNA can shape an entire organism. That curiosity led me to a research lab, where I now spend my days with fruit flies, studying how genes affect the way they store fat. Along the way, I juggled two on-campus jobs that taught me how to manage my time, talk to strangers, and stay calm when everything was due at once. Then, almost by accident, I started working with computer science students on health projects, and found a new interest in the space where biology and computation meet.
Some things changed quickly. I learned that research is mostly patience, and that most experiments don’t work the first time. I learned that asking for help is a skill, not a weakness. I learned to speak up in rooms where I wasn’t sure I belonged, and to keep asking “does this actually make sense?” even when everyone else was ready to move on.
Other things changed slowly, almost without my noticing. Cooking became how I unwind. Painting became how I slow down. The people around me went from strangers to the friends I plan every college break with, and the ones I ask, “What are we cooking for dinner tonight?” Home started meaning two places at once.
In genetics, there’s a process called crossing over, where paired chromosomes swap pieces of DNA, creating new combinations of gene variants. That’s the best way I can describe these years. The lab has shaped how I think about everything else. The people I’ve met have shaped how I think about science. Bits of each part of my life keep ending up in the others.
That’s why I’m starting this blog now, with a little over half a year to go. I want to write some of it down while I’m still in the middle of it.