I’ve spent the time between my first year of college ending and Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Research Program beginning thinking about what my research will look like. When I initially submitted my application, I presented a very clear time table of how I want my research to roll out- week by week, day by day. Throughout the morning of our first orientation session, the program coordinator emphasized that research is not meant to be linear- it is designed to be imperfect, ever-evolving and open-ended. That in itself brought me a wave of relief, but also a renewed sense of ambition. Now, instead of feeling like I had to chase perfection in my research, I felt motivated to instead allow my research to take me in the direction it’s meant to.