Mantle Pulses, My Heart Doesn't

I used to think the planet’s heartbeat was a metaphor. Turns out, it’s just chemistry and pressure, rising and falling under the crust, tearing continents apart while I sit here, piecing together data that never fits. We mapped the Afar plume—over a hundred lava samples, months of cross-institution calls, my advisor’s voice on repeat: "You’re missing something." I ran the numbers again. I always run them again. Everyone talks about the mantle’s pulse, but no one asks what it costs to keep listening. I’m not sure if I care about the science or if I’m just afraid to admit how much of myself I’ve poured into this, hoping the next breakthrough will make the exhaustion worth it. Sometimes I think the only thing moving slower than tectonic plates is my own sense of progress. The Earth gets to break apart and start over. I just keep rerunning protocols, waiting for something to shift. #ScienceFatigue #LabBurnout #GradSchoolLife #Science