Fatigue

It's that time again - Annual Student Symposium. I carry a pretty different feeling to this year's symposium as oppose to last year. Last year, being a second year student, I was nervous, unsure of things, still finding my feet on my project and proabably lack some self-confidence. Not that I didn't do well last year, this year just feels more... certain of myself. Maybe coz I have been doing so many talks within this year, I have become pretty numb to it all. I was so numb to it that I didn't go through my presentation till late last night and once more early this morning. However, I still went through the same routine before a presentation - the panic this morning, then racing heartbeats when the chair of the session announced my name (but both of shorter periods now), the endurance of the talk and unpredictable questions, then finally the relief. Around 30 mins after when everything was over, I felt extremely exhausted. Maybe it had to do with sitting through a whole day of talks; or maybe the adrenaline that was holding me up this morning was starting to wear off while the fatigue was finally kicking in. I have just sneaked out of a session to come out for a break. I can seriously feel my brain is melting! Sigh, there is another couple of hours before I can get home and fall into bed - there is a dinner later tonight for the presenters and their supervisors, then there's the prizes for best presentations. Fingers-crossed!