Grad School Update:
Today I completed my last required physics course EVER*!!!! A win is a win 🙌🏾
*not including dissertation credits but y'all know what I mean
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Tracy S. Edwards@thetracysimone
Nuclear Physics Ph.D. Student| MSU |Radiochemistry| Christian | Mom to Lilo & Stitch 
| Hampton University Aluma #HBCUProud she/her
| Hampton University Aluma #HBCUProud she/her✨Tracy S. Edwards✨’s Tweets
Grad school is not a solo adventure.
I have extremely high driving anxiety. And I live in Michigan so when it snows my advisor agreed for my work to be remote the next day. And my amazing friends rotate driving me to class.
My success is dependent on having people who care.
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Hey y’all 👋🏾 I took a few months away to take care of myself and I’m excited to catch up with y’all ❤️
Random updates:
1. The kitties are thriving 🥹
2. I haven’t had the urge to quit grad school in a solid week 💪
3. Life is genuinely good ☺️
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Shoutout to the scientist who write their science papers in a manner that is possible to comprehend.
Y’all give me a reason to not drop out 😭😕…no but for real
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I decided to gift myself the experience of actually taking a break for the holiday. So I went “Glamping” in the mountains ⛺️
#noonewarnedmeaboutthemosquitos #imactuallyscaredofheights #iguessilltryanythingonce
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Hi! I’m curious what y’all do to make your everyday work/research space enjoyable.
This is mine ☺️ I have a slight obsession with hippos 🦛
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Question: how realistic is it to remove teams and work email from my phone?
Both are anxiety inducing and driving me insane. But I’m also use to the immediate access and short notice meeting request.
Help please 🙃
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If Black women have the capacity to give and CHOOSE to, trust me we know how to find a way.
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Yes I am 1 of a small number of black women in physics. I get the significance of that. And because of it, I am continuously asked to mentor, be on some panel, give diversity talks and more. And it’s a burden.
Sometimes, the best way to support Black women is to LET US BE!
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Your girl is officially 25! And this is my gift to me…
I’m choosing to be extremely selfish with my time this year. My mental health & education come 1st. So my answer to new request that don’t include classes, research or current obligations, is no ✨
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I have a question- I turn 25 in like 5 days and I swear I felt my frontal lobe finish developing… does anyone else know what feeling I’m talking about or do I sound crazy??
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Having trouble with a professor? They know who to talk to.
Need to switch classes last minute? They hold the power button.
Can’t figure out good Committee members? They know the reputations of everyone.
Your success can and will be influenced by them.
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Some advice for the incoming grad students:
Visit the secretary of your department the 1st week you arrive. And then prioritize maintaining a good relationship with them.
Always take care of those who take of you. Especially in academia.
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Now is an excellent time to practice community care.
Take a breath, follow leadership from activists who have already been doing this work and be mindful of the things you post.
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With crazy prices right now, stretching my stipend is really difficult.
Personally, I now rely on the student food bank at my school every week. Which saves me about $200 every month.
My point being, there’s no shame in asking for help. Especially now.
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I think I’ve earned a break.
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I think one of my favorite experiences is when someone rides in the car with me and ask “what’s this song?” while nodding their head and trying not to make the scrunched up approval face 😭
I will literally play the opposite genre they listen to just to open their world of music
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Welp the end of the semester has come and I’m headed into my 3rd year as a PhD student.
How did this happen? I honestly do not know 🙃
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I think one of the weirdest parts of grad school is taking a challenging course with a professor who (in my head) wants to make my life difficult and then attending a lab celebration at their home at the end of the semester, realizing they are human too 😭😭
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Today I was asked what bring me joy. The first thing that came to mind is a cold glass of ice water.
The details that make us who we are don’t have to be coated in elaborate events. But rather in daily experiences.
Find joy in simplicity.
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The moment when another POC from a different department is comfortable enough to share their experience taking a physics course, not knowing they are explaining my everyday experience to a tee.
Now I have confirmation it’s not just me “being dramatic” ✨ Literal chefs kiss 🤌🏾
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One thing about me, I’m going to self advocate.
But I’m also going to scream while I push the send button and turn off all notifications because my anxiety is too high waiting for a reply but also checking my email every 2 seconds 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Just me? Ok 🤦🏾♀️
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Professors, y’all have more influence on your students academic confidence than you think. You can either add to it or break it completely.
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Testing is a struggle. So I’ve been getting individual tutoring from a theorist in my dept.
Today I found out he was testing my knowledge the entire time through conversation and said it’s obvious I know what I’m doing.
This is the only thing saving my self esteem right now 🥲
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Have you ever seen a cat look so regal? I present to you King Stitch 👑
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I learned something about myself today.
Even at a professional dinner with a lot of important people with too much money to spend, I will not back down from an ethical science debate on the disenfranchisement of Black, Brown, Indigenous, poor and forgotten people.
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Because everyone deserves to see this beauty on a Friday afternoon ☺️
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She's CONFIRMED!!!
#JudgeJackson
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This is the first time I’ve been happy in a long time and I think the entire internet deserves to see that.
Black women deserve to experience joy too ✨
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Today I woke up to an email from the graduate advisor letting me know I’m closer to finishing my classes than I thought I was.
The amount of stress relief I feel today is immeasurable. One more course and I’m DONE!
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If you can watch MMA fighting, hockey games and boxing for FUN, I don’t want to hear “we can’t condone violence” when it’s used to defend a Black woman who was disrespected in front of millions of people.
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Today I’m putting in a request to update my academic accommodations for a service my professor chooses not to use as a way to guarantee class attendance (which doesn’t work btw).
Getting paperwork is the easy part. Dealing with the professor’s attitude is not 😩
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I’m completely over being on camera. I don’t always want to put on a bra or throw my hair in a bun when I’m in the comfort of my own home.
So if anyone wants to use my new zoom profile picture and reclaim your privacy here you go ☺️
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I just spend an hour and a half debating this question in an ethics training and I’m very curious to hear the views of scientists from different fields of work.
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Question: Do scientists have a moral responsibility to society and are they responsible for the impact of their work?
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Hi. I’m alive. Currently in survival mode. Okay bye.
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Reason #456 why I like grad school:
I have access to free wellness services and I just spent the last hour with a dietitian learning the history of the BMI & the medical benefits for humans with my body size.
Safe to say I’ll have that free pizza at seminar moving forward 😂
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Y’all I haven’t lessened to the radio in 6 years. Spotify has me wishing I paid for CDs now 😩
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I knew finding a Black doctors was hard (they stay booked and busy). But I didn’t know systemically why.
Welp…I used the start of spring break to read The Flexner report and it’s impact on Black medical schools.
Yeah…I’m not surprised.
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Y’all when did these companies start using AAE in their recruitment emails ? 😭😭😭
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