Why I Share My Failures

If you look at most academic websites—including the one you’re on right now—you usually see a carefully curated list of wins. Papers accepted, awards won, internships secured. It creates a “highlight reel” effect[1] that depicts a linear, upward trajectory of success.

But is it how how research (or life) actually works? NOT mine, at least. It’s really messy out there!!

I’ve decided to add the “Unfiltered” mode to my updates section. It’s a small experiment in honesty. When you toggle it, instead of the curated list of Ayes, you’ll instead see the Nays happening in between.

Why? We often feel isolated in our struggles because everyone else’s public persona looks so perfect. By sharing the not-so-rosy updates, I hope to offer a more human picture of what this journey actually looks like.

You may be thinking that I run a risk of revealing a bit too much. However the importance of keeping our collective anxiety lower outweighs the small risk, at least for now.

[1] Hanna, E., Ward, L. M., Seabrook, R. C., Jerald, M., Reed, L., Giaccardi, S., & Lippman, J. R. (2017). Contributions of social comparison and self-objectification in mediating associations between Facebook use and emergent adults’ psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(3), 172-179.