Photo: Marthe Mouthaan Turning points: Sometimes you recognize them straightaway, and sometimes only in retrospect. In this series, WUR folk talk about a moment they will never forget. This time, Emma Mouthaan, master’s student Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology, who decided to change tack after a year of RSI.
‘Ever since primary school I’d had a compulsive need to prove myself, and I aimed for the highest and toughest level in everything I did. Even when I chose my secondary school exam subjects and my degree programme at WUR, I didn’t choose what I liked best but what was hardest. I think that was because I was a late bloomer: I started reading late at primary schools, and my parents taught me to read. I think that period influenced me.
I aimed for the highest level in everything I did
While I was studying for my MSc at Wageningen I got RSI symptoms. I was taking a course in which you had to do a practical assignment in a group. For weeks I worked from nine to five sitting on all sorts of different chairs five because there weren’t any proper work stations available. It started to really bother me while I was writing my thesis, but because I couldn’t get an appointment with the student dean or doctor straightaway, I just carried on. At some point, the pain in my wrists and arms was so bad that I couldn’t even drink a cup of tea or read a book. In the end I couldn’t do a thing. When I saw the student doctor, he said it would be over in a month. Three months later I still couldn’t do anything with my hands. That doesn’t leave much that you can do: go for a walk, listen to an audiobook, or meet friends. Sometimes I felt so helpless I could cry. It took a whole year in the end before I could study fulltime again.
I gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to do with my life. I have always enjoyed writing. I have my own blog about finances and I write for student magazines. The only reason I didn’t do a degree in writing was my compulsion to prove myself. I was so focused on being a high achiever and to me that meant the science side. But that’s not true. In the end I chose what I like best and started the Master’s in Writing at VU University Amsterdam. That still sometimes feels like a failure, and it was hard for me to tell my parents and my friends. But I’m enjoying it and it seems as though the last bit of RSI has gone, thanks to my choice. I am still registered at Wageningen for extra courses and I might still finish my thesis.’
Turning points: sometimes you recognize them straightaway, sometimes only in retrospect. In this series, WUR folk talk about a moment they will never forget. This time, Master’s student of Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology Emma Mouthaan (25), who decided to change tack after a year of RSI.
