Excited!

I am so excited right now. This week I was given the chance to be a part of a research conference in the spring. This would be my first conference and first experience having to present research. I had no expectations of such an opportunity. I found out that my lab partner and research professor would be attending the conference and presenting, and that was alright. They both know the study far better than I do and have been working on it for far longer. Then, out of nowhere, my professor included me in the conference. I just about fell out of my chair when he volunteered me to help in writing the abstract for the paper we will be presenting. I kept asking myself, "Am I dreaming? Is this really happening?" Of course, there was a stress element to the whole procedure as I found out on Wednesday and the abstract was due that Friday. =O!!! So, my lab partner and I arranged a few hasty meeting and spent approximately three hours together working on a single paragraph abstract. We then spent time separately working on it and emailing back and forth the edits and changes that we thought needed to be made. By the time Friday morning came we sent the rough draft off to our professor, not feeling at all confident that we had succeeded in accomplishing the task we were given. Then, about an hour later we get this awesome email saying that our professor has looked over the abstract, reworked it, and given it back to us to make a few changes. When I looked at what he had written I was completely surprised to find that he had actually used most of the ideas, and even some of the wording, from what my partner and I had written. I couldn't believe it! He actually liked what we had done. There is still work to do, and amid my partner and I patting each other on the back for a job well done, we realize that we are not yet where we need to be, but, still, what a great experience! My first chance to actually be a part of the academic community with research and it is a success. I knew this was always something I wanted to do, but I must say that I have had my doubts as to whether or not I would actually be successful at it. I am feeling much more reassured at the moment. Now, I am completely excited about the conference in the spring. As a side note, another great aspect of this is that I have now had the opportunity to really work with the data and understand what is going on in the study so that I can be a contributing partner and not just an observer. That is perhaps the most exciting thing about all this. Woohooooo!!!!! I am excited about the things to come!