The pure taste of FAILURE

Many of us distinctly avoid failure and in reality, no matter how much we try it will still appear in an unexpected form teaching what life is. As such, my final year project (FYP) gave me the pure taste of FAILURE. Every student who is in their 3rd year will be assigned to carry out their FYP but before that, they have to choose a topic based on their aptitude (related to their field) and propose it to their respective supervisor. Just that one step takes a few weeks to be finalized and from here you would have known that it’s not an easy journey. All of us mostly await to finish all the hard work fast and take a break; forgetting that this hardship is the guide to face the outside world.

The tissue lab in UMK Jeli Campus

Under the plant biotechnology, I chose tissue culture which means developing or growing a plant in an environment which is much similar to their habitat through the regulation of plant growth hormones. Food is always a requirement as much as medicines to cure illnesses. Thus, with that in mind, I chose Azadirachta indica that is commonly known as Neem plant and in Malay it is referred as pokok semambu. Its common usage is in the field of agriculture as pesticides or herbicides as well as a cure for ailments in the medical field. This plant is very much famous in India compared to Malaysia though this wild plant is still available in our country with limited usage. If their benefit is well recognized by solving the problems of cultivating these plants, a long-term growth can be seen and this brings to the reason I chose this. 

Neem plant
Source: Google images

I started my work in May 2017, with an optimistic approach that if I can get an early head start then I can finish it fast. So, the journey of preventing contamination begins because right after my first explant culture; the result was contamination. My supervisor and I then discussed the reasons and opted to obtain the plant from a nursery and tried again. It didn’t work. Again I changed the source of the plant as well as sterilization method but to my avail, there was no result till the end. The fungus inhabitancy was so high that a pool will literally be formed and every time seeing its existence it dropped my level of confidence. It was never easy to push myself forward from each trial I conducted, but thankfully my supervisor (Ms.Hazira) was very much supportive and shared her story with my group mates and myself clearing stating that “IT’S NOT GOING TO BE EASY”.

One has to wear the lab coat that is available before proceeding with work.

Yes, initially many shared with me their opinion stating it’s tough and suggested choosing some other topic but at least if I tried I won’t be wondering my whole life thinking what is the thing that can’t be done in tissue culture. So, I took a leap of faith, and jumped into this and here I am claiming it as FAILURE. Yes, all my labmates succeeded in witnessing and recording their plant (minimum one plant growth) but I was unable due to the circumstances of the plant itself. So, when I was presenting my results (VIVA) I was questioned and challenged in many ways where at one part it seemed like brutal but LIFE itself is brutal. It depends on whether you’re going to sit there and say that it’s painful or get up being blessed that you learned something and it’s time to work harder.

The aseptic transfer room where all the laminar flows are arranged.

To be honest, I felt terrible right after the presentation and even before it I couldn’t comprehend the part that I didn’t get any results. Proving that my study has value seem to be an impossibility but when majors in this field claim that it’s normal I found myself back on track. I proceeded with correcting my thesis and sent it for printing; still with a heavy heart. But once I obtained my proper printed version of my thesis (hardbound), I felt blessed for the support I gained from my supervisor and Madam Suhana who is a lecturer majoring in tissue culture throughout the journey as well as the hardship I faced. I really felt the true taste of hardship and it made me ready to face the reality once degree life has ended. On the outside, it might be just conducting lab works but it also involves an equal amount of the heart.

The growth room where all the explants are left to grow.

My FYP coordinator said at the very beginning, “FYP is a result of trials and errors. Failure does not mean you have not succeeded but it means you have learned. So, don’t give up.” What the Dr. said was always a mantra to me to keep focusing on what has to be done as well as it removed the fear of lacking the required knowledge making me realize that the learning process is still very long. I still gained knowledge in the form of trials and errors and once again was reminded by the lab assistant En.Suhaimi, “Kalau banyak kali dekat lab maksudnya dah pandai guna laminar flow, tak akan bazir ethanol lagi.”, which means when one spends hours in the tissue lab it means they will be good in handling the laminar flow and will know the right amount of ethanol to use. Even simple things hold a lot of value I realized.

Once work has been completed all the apparatus will be washed and arranged in the washing room.

Life is difficult and it turned out to be a good lesson through my FYP. Everyone will enjoy celebrating success but for a change, I enjoyed the failure and celebrated the lessons which came with it. Each of the tissue culture lab rats dealt so many challenges and did overtime in the lab in the name of hard work even though it was tiring. We found the light at the end of the day to continue this fight in the tissue lab the next day. The master’s student in the lab also thought us a lot and definitely, it’ll be useful in the near future. So, it can be concluded that the tissue lab, lab rats found their happy ending through the lessons obtained when culturing their respective plant. It’s hard to believe it has come to an end but yes it has and let’s be realistic how long do you think people want to see the same faces?

Source: Google images

Haha😃. Time to give others a Golden chance.😉😇