# @life_and_sunshine on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQuafKLCNRg
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63278531-life-and-sunshine-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/32e02e394b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-11-06T18:33:31.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Nat ☀️ (@life_and_sunshine) — https://gondola.cc/life_and_sunshine

## Caption

I’ll go first, I’m kinda torn between two options though 😂 1) Cell sorting and 2) Having a supervisor that was too excited about our research 🤓 You’re probably thinking “Nat… are you crazy?! Those things don’t sound so bad!” 🤣 but here me out…
☀️
☀️
☀️
1) Cell sorting quickly became the bane of my existence during my PhD 🙈 I had to sort fresh blood samples each time from patients that got their blood drawn over an hour away 💉 I then had to do an isolation to get the PBMC’s 🧪 and then I could start sorting around 3 or 4pm 👩‍🔬 cell sorting would take 2-3 hours per sample 🧪 and I would do 3 samples max 🥼 which meant on the good days I was done at 9pm 😬 Then factor in that patients were often late to their appointments and the machine enjoyed breaking down 🫠 and I spent some days working until 4-5am 😵‍💫 Yeaaaaa not my best memory 😅
☀️
☀️
☀️
2) I think overall I had a pretty good supervisor during my PhD 😊 We met at least once a week and he was always enthusiastic about my work and helping me come up with new things to test 👩‍🔬 which I appreciated until I was half way through year 5 of a 4 year PhD contract and he still wanted to test more things 🥺 I found it really difficult to keep up with and stand up for myself and say “I think we should be done now” 😢 So tears were definitely shed over this fact 😣 
☀️
☀️
☀️
Luckily everything worked out in the end and I’m doing much better now a days 😊 My relationship with my old supervisor is quite good again and I’m glad our differences at the end of my PhD didn’t tear everything apart ☺️ So I hope to hear from you now!!
☀️
☀️
☀️
#phd #phdstudentlife #phdstudentsofinstagram #phdproblems #phdjourney #phdlife #phdchat #phdresearch #phdthesis #phdlifestyle #phdcandidate #phdstudent #phdlife🎓 #pros #cons #prosandcons #negative #negatives #downside #thedownside #notsogreat #honestconversations #openconversations #openconversation #science #sciences #lovescience #sciencelover #sciencegirl

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 458
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 83

## Tags

honestconversations, openconversation, phdjourney, negative, phdlifestyle, negatives, phdproblems, notsogreat, sciencegirl, pros, phdchat, phdstudentsofinstagram, phdresearch, phdcandidate, phd, phdstudent, lovescience, openconversations, phdstudentlife, sciences, science, downside, phdthesis, phdlife, sciencelover, cons, thedownside, prosandcons

---
Copyright (c) Gondola