My experience writing a GRFP application

This is going to be part lab notebook, part diary entry. I'm not going to be putting my actual writing here, but it will contain many of my thoughts and (perhaps) outlines.

09/02/2021: staring the beast in the face

At the moment I'm kind of terrified of the only thing in academia that I'm always terrified of: finally discovering that I'm actually not as good as I think I am and I'm a fraud. Doing this application will firstly and foremostly be an exercise in combatting that urge.

09/03/2021: Notes on example GRFP applications

C.W.'s application:

• Description of research experiences as an undergraduate (pretty straightforward). Their application emphasizes leadership, which I think my application COULD talk about if I rope in the correct letters of recommendation. GOD I wish I hadn't done such a poor job of mentoring the poor high school kid. Chalk it up to mental health and use it as a learning experience going forward.
• Broader impacts stress outreach efforts. Uses a concrete example that demonstrates a commitment to helping broaden engagement of underrepresented groups in science. I don't have the demonstrated track record that I want to have (however, I think I know enough people that I can actually do so safely now).