Young academics are oft told that for every publication, you will experience many, many rejections.
The story goes:
Submit to journal.
Wait.
Receive rejection.
Make edits.
Repeat.
And repeat until you receive a glorious "revise and resubmit."
As a newcomer to writing, I decided to dip my toe in the publishing pool by submitting a commentary to a student journal. With a week to the submission deadline, I recognized that I wouldn't be able to write a traditional "Intro-Methods-Results-Discussion" paper. However, I do know that I happen to be very opinionated, and I opted to write a commentary on a topic related to my research. My study concerns mental health management, which in and of itself is a hotly debated and often personal subject. Getting my opinions on paper would be a breeze. Making it academically acceptable, however, was not.
I spent the week living in a coffee house and ultimately produced a commentary article that I was happy enough with to submit. When the deadline came, I reminded myself that I was submitting to a student journal, which settled my fears of rejection a little.
It took less than a month to receive my rejection e-mail.
I. Was. Gutted.
So many things ran through my mind:
And then: Wait... when was the last time I received any sort of validation in my work?
The last thought sent me through a whirlwind of emotions, as I racked my brain to think of the last time I received a scholarship, bursary, award, publication, distinguished grade, grant, etc. related to my work.
Have you ever eaten a chocolate chip muffin that is SEVERELY lacking in chocolatiness? Like when with every bite, you look back at the muffin to see if any chocolate chips are finally appearing? If academia was a muffin and validation chocolate chips, I felt like the muffin I was eating had shown no signs of chocolate, but I was still taking bites and checking each time to see if even the smallest chip had been unveiled.
I'm now challenging myself to reflect on why I'm interested in research. I chose to pursue graduate school because I was interested in the research process and to deepen my understanding of numerous things (e.g. health, human impact, personal values). Although it's nice to receive validation for my work, it's not why I do my work.
I'm a student because I want to know more, and my desire to learn is the only validation I need.
The story goes:
Submit to journal.
Wait.
Receive rejection.
Make edits.
Repeat.
And repeat until you receive a glorious "revise and resubmit."
As a newcomer to writing, I decided to dip my toe in the publishing pool by submitting a commentary to a student journal. With a week to the submission deadline, I recognized that I wouldn't be able to write a traditional "Intro-Methods-Results-Discussion" paper. However, I do know that I happen to be very opinionated, and I opted to write a commentary on a topic related to my research. My study concerns mental health management, which in and of itself is a hotly debated and often personal subject. Getting my opinions on paper would be a breeze. Making it academically acceptable, however, was not.
I spent the week living in a coffee house and ultimately produced a commentary article that I was happy enough with to submit. When the deadline came, I reminded myself that I was submitting to a student journal, which settled my fears of rejection a little.
It took less than a month to receive my rejection e-mail.
I. Was. Gutted.
So many things ran through my mind:
- If I can't even get published in a student journal, how can I expect to publish in a scientific journal?
- Am I a bad writer? Was my commentary poorly structured?
- These people don't know what they're talking about.
And then: Wait... when was the last time I received any sort of validation in my work?
The last thought sent me through a whirlwind of emotions, as I racked my brain to think of the last time I received a scholarship, bursary, award, publication, distinguished grade, grant, etc. related to my work.
Have you ever eaten a chocolate chip muffin that is SEVERELY lacking in chocolatiness? Like when with every bite, you look back at the muffin to see if any chocolate chips are finally appearing? If academia was a muffin and validation chocolate chips, I felt like the muffin I was eating had shown no signs of chocolate, but I was still taking bites and checking each time to see if even the smallest chip had been unveiled.
I'm now challenging myself to reflect on why I'm interested in research. I chose to pursue graduate school because I was interested in the research process and to deepen my understanding of numerous things (e.g. health, human impact, personal values). Although it's nice to receive validation for my work, it's not why I do my work.
I'm a student because I want to know more, and my desire to learn is the only validation I need.