You are here

This internship is painfully funny


Monday, July 8, 2013, by Lowell Chamberlain
Printer-friendly version

My summer internship at Harvard Forest has been SUPER DUPER interesting. I started this summer with a personal goal: to develop a better understanding of how science is practiced. Simple right? NO, Wrong wrong wrong! This objective has led me through funny, painful, and stressful events that so far have constructed an outrageous collage of wild summer experiences!

The funny is important and sometimes hard to fully grasp. Getting rained on and soaked down to the bone for three weeks straight will build you character and zap every bit of energy out of your body. These miserable weeks of terrible weather and repetitive measurements are awful but ounce you are done you look back on that gruesome time and join your field partner in a glorious laugh. Bonding over miserable situations eventually leads to a hilarious time that is unforgettable and rather funny.

The stressful will leave your brain in a confused daze. If you think you will have a happy go lucky wonderful relaxing time at the beautiful majestic oh so glorious Harvard Forest you are 100% wrong.

This summer has been amazing. I don't quite know where I stand in regard to my original goal but I do know that I have learned a lot. Whether it was how tropical forests fundamentally differ from forests of North America or whether it was how to truly enjoy yourself, I know that I have learned valuable life lessons here at Harvard Forest. This internship will build your character with twisted stones of mixed feelings and hysterical times. If you want a few painful laughs with an assortment of highly precise valuable knowledge then by all means sign yourself up and come prepared for everything. 

Lowell Chamberlain