Light my fire

Years ago, when I was still a graduate student, I had a conversation with one of my mentors about burnout. He dutifully encouraged me to have a healthy work-life balance, take vacations, live my life, and all that good stuff. Then he turned the question on me: "What do you do to combat burnout?" 

I thought for a second and then answered as honestly as I could: "I move to Europe." 

It's true. After an intense undergraduate experience, I knew I needed a break and moved to Germany. That year ended up being the most significant experience of my life to that point. I delved deeply into German culture, explored a new field of research, and returned to the States a different person. A few years later, when I was on the brink of burnout in grad school, I took a fellowship in Norway. The 6 months I spent in Stavanger refreshed me, calmed me, connected me with a community, and forever transformed the way I approach science. Not only have my two long-term European experiences been deeply educational; they've also allowed me to explore different versions of myself. Sometimes a change of context helps you reconnect to what matters.

Friends, it's been a rough couple of months. Just look at the titles of the blog posts I've written: there is imagery of beasts and swords and climbing mountains. I've dealt with a proposal from hell, a gnarly dataset I couldn't make sense of, and my largest DNA extraction to date. To say I've found my to-do list challenging recently is an understatement.  

But guess what, friends. This week, I'm in Europe. 

There is something about travel that heals me. I'm not sure I could explain it, but I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. That feeling when plane takes off and you literally leave your problems behind. The fresh air of the mountains or the pulse of a large city or the quiet lap of waves against the shore. Everything is new, and you feel both calm and electrified at the same time. It's the thrill of ordering off a menu without truly understanding what you just bought. It's birds and flowers you don't recognize. Languages you don't understand being spoken around you, but it doesn't matter, because you are relaxed and alone and don't want to speak to anyone anyway. 

I am so grateful for this burnout-battling week. The best part is that I'm not just anywhere in Europe - I'm in one of my favorite countries, Norway. This trip is for work, but I'm honestly treating it like a vacation. Norway, old friend, I am so glad to see you. Let the mountains and the sea relight my fire.