#30DaysOfScikuChallenge
The Female Academic
A science haiku: Science and Soul prompt

Female scientist Just trying to earn her spot Among all the men.
I was so thrilled to receive the prompt from R. Rangan Ph.D., to write a haiku about science — a sciku.**For more on the #30DAYSOFSCIKUCHALLENGE — science-inspired haiku.
I am a scientist, researcher, and clinician. But it’s so hard to own my scientific identity.
I struggled in academia. I felt so isolated and powerless as a Middle-eastern female student amidst a sea of white men in power. I think about how I was a hidden mentor to so many female students. How I fought for more egalitarian procedures in our program. And how I desperately craved to feel like I had a place.
For this reason (among many), I’ve been so grateful to find a writing community of womxn who really see me. To my tribe, Caroline Kelly, Shruthi Sundaram, Randye S Spina, Phoenix Huber, Manasi Kudtarkar, Karina Klaus, Victoria A. Fraser, May Pang, thank you for your empowering messages. I absolutely love bearing witness to your courage and compassion. And a huge thank you to Itxy Lopez for your commitment to building a community of womxn who aim to lift each other in a way that is so rare in academia.
I’m so glad to have found my community and voice.
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If you want to read more about your therapist or the process of therapy, check out my blog on Psychology Today, Letters From Your Therapist, or read more about me on my website, www.drmarinaharris.com.






