As my time in Australia draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the things I've learned throughout this journey. Getting to collaborate and learn from other researchers from around the world at the University of Wollongong taught me so much about how to be a better researcher. I learned that when we listen and share ideas with people from many different walks of life, the solutions we find for our research questions are way better than any I could think of myself. Moving to a completely different natural environment than the one I was raised in, I've learned to pay more attention to the world around me because there is so much to see! This means slowing down on my walk to the bus to smell the flowers, crouching down on hikes to see the bugs up close, and, of course, checking my shoes for spiders before I put them on!
This adventure with all its new challenges has allowed me to grow in a lot of ways. As someone who had only used public transport a handful of times in her life before, I can now confidently call myself a pro in this area (okay fine, I still have to jog to catch my bus once a week or so, but I'm getting there!).
