'...I've been talked about and Lord I've been criticized. I had to wipe many tears from my eyes.
But I'm still holding on.'
How profound.
Today, while mulling over some data (*Sigh* The life of a biomedical doctoral candidate), my mind began to replay the conversations that I have had with faculty members and colleagues alike concerning my competence as a scientist.
Phrases like, 'Science is not your thing.', 'You are not cut out for this.', and 'You should just quit now.' reverberated throughout my thoughts and appeared, at least at that moment, logical.
As with any 'sound' argument, there are one or more true premises. That is to say the following:
Premise 1: Analyzing data does not come easy to her.
Premise 2: She is S-T-I-L-L in school.
Conclusion: Science is not her thing and she should just quit now.
Right? *Throws Flag* Flag on the play!
Even when the premise(s) of an argument are reliable true, the resulting argument may still be invalid if the logic employed is faulty. This is called a logical fallacy.
Indeed, premise 1 and (unfortunately) premise 2 are true but (Thank the Lord for conjunctions) the conclusion does not follow the premises. In other words, a logical connection is implied where none exists. The logical fallacy called 'Non-Sequitur' ( Latin for 'doesn't follow') outlines this exact situation.
You see, there are going to be things that don't come easily in life. As a matter of fact, those are usually the things that make lasting impressions.
Yes. I am still in school but, in all fairness, there were many who started out with me that have gone astray.
The bottom line is..... It ain't (yes, I said "ain't") easy. If it were, everyone would do it. What other folk think about you and your ability doesn't amount to a hill of beans....unless you give it value.
Lastly, the race is not given to the swift nor to the strong but to the one that endures.
With that being said, I AM STILL HOLDING ON.
Until Next Time,
NiNi
No comments:
Post a Comment