Week three, in the span of 5 days, has proven to be the most professionally rewarding yet personally challenging phase of the experience to date. I emerge from this iterative period with a heightened sense of stability; more so than at any point since my arrival in Brussels. I have successfully established a living environment that offers a genuine semblance of security, situated within a neighbourhood that feels both safe and restorative for me. However, achieving this equilibrium required navigating significant adversity; to present this reflection without acknowledging that uphill trajectory would be disingenuous.
The HEREDITARY Plenary meeting - seeing the full picture.
The professional highlight of the week was the HEREDITARY Plenary meeting; a full-day, intensive gathering of all the consortium partners, and easily the most expansive view I have had thus far of everything HEREDITARY encompasses. Sitting in a (virtual) room and watching partners from various organizations present their contributions across the different work packages was enlightening. The breadth of it was memorable for me: the advocacy workshop sitting alongside clinical research studies, neurodegenerative disease research woven together with investigations into the gut microbiome - which, coming from a background in Parkinson's disease academia, I found particularly compelling. Seeing research and advocacy not just coexist but actively inform each other across the HEREDITARY work packages was a reminder of why this interface matters so much right now.
Beyond the plenary, the week was largely spent working from home; coordinating with speakers for the workshop, making sure invitations were received and confirmed, and doing substantiative internal planning with the policy team to make sure the workshop agenda was both well-structured and policy-literate. That last part was especially important to me. The workshop needs to make sense not just as an event, but as an advocacy intervention, and working with the policy team was imperative to sharpen that dimension of the workshop and broaden the scope for researchers who, like me, are not adequately versed in policy knowledge as it pertains to scientific implications.
The honest part
Three suitcases on a cobblestone street in Brussels.
In the middle of the workday, I had to move accommodations. Not with any preparation; mid-week, mid-morning, in the middle of all my other commitments. Distressingly, my driver abandoned me, leaving me entirely isolated on an unfamiliar street with three large suitcases. There was an absolute absence of local assistance, or more accurately, willingness to assist, compounded by the fact that my primary support network was fast asleep due to a six-hour time zone difference. In that moment of profound vulnerability and systemic isolation, I succumbed briefly to tears. However, the critical takeaway from this experience is not the emotional toll exacted in the moment, but the fact of my eventual self-reliance and navigation through it.
I have held for a long time the philosophy that everything happens for a reason; and my new accommodation, as it turns out, lent itself further to this belief. My new space is warmer, and in a neighbourhood that immediately felt safer and somewhere I could actually build a community. Grand Place was beautiful, but it had stopped feeling like mine. Circumstantial constraints have a way of forcing the very development we require.
What I learned about myself
Perseverance is almost never graceful.
I used to conceive of resilience as something that appeared composed; staying calm, holding composure, not letting any distress show. What this week taught me is that resilience can look like a vulnerable moment, and still choosing to simultaneously problem solve. Experiencing vulnerability in the midst of a crisis does not diminish one's capacity to overcome it; a vital distinction I intend to carry forward.
At work, the week also reinforced something I have been noticing: I am most valuable when I am not just executing tasks efficiently, but reflecting on why they matter. The consultation regarding the workshop’s policy orientation served as a critical nexus point, validating my capacity to contribute meaningfully while demonstrating that my academic pedagogy is not distinct from practice, but rather foundational to optimizing efficacy.
A gift to myself
Dinant.
Following the demanding week, a solo excursion to Dinant offered an essential psychological reprieve. Nestled between limestone cliffs and the River Meuse, the town’s unique convergence of music history, WWI memorials, and medieval architecture aligned perfectly with my personal interests. Crucially, navigating this space alone reframed my view of solo travel. Rather than a limitation, as I might've viewed it 3 weeks ago, the isolation granted full autonomy over my itinerary and attention. This deliberate shift toward independent exploration ultimately transformed what appeared to be a standard day trip into a profound exercise for self-reflection and experiential learning, underscoring the value of intentional solitude within an intense academic environment.
Looking ahead
What I want to focus on next.
As the HEREDITARY workshop approaches, maintaining a rigorous and sustained focus across disparate operational workstreams, including speaker coordination, policy integration, and strategic communications, remains paramount. To ensure the programmatic integrity of the event, it's critical that I apply the same deliberate intentionality to these execution phases as was dedicated to initial design conceptualization, thereby mitigating the risk of marginalizing deferred tasks.
Concurrently, on a personal note, integrating the insights from my recent weekend excursion underscores the necessity of balancing professional efficacy with personal sustainability, establishing a sustainable framework for both academic engagement and self-preservation within this new environment. Ultimately, I feel I have concluded this third week with a solidified sense of autonomy and professional purpose that provides a vital foundation as I navigate the shifting operational demands of the week ahead.