If there’s one thing I wish I had learned earlier in life, it would be how to ask for help. Growing up, I was often the kid who always had answers, so it was assumed I had everything under control. And for a long time, I did or at least I thought I did. But adulthood has a way of reminding you that no one has all the answers, and sometimes, you have to ask for help.
This has been a recurring struggle for me throughout my journey with Outreachy and BugSigDB, from applying for the internship to contributing during the contribution period, and even now as an intern. The difference now? I have learned to lean on the incredible Bioconductor community I’m part of, and it’s been truly life-changing.
Take two weeks ago for example. I was reviewing an antibiotics-gut microbiome study (Krigul et al., Gut Microbes, 2024) and ran into an issue understanding the data transformation method used by ANCOM-BC. It wasn’t immediately clear to me, and for a brief moment, I felt that familiar hesitation creep in. Should I just figure it out on my own? Would asking for help make me seem less competent?
Thankfully, I didn’t let those doubts linger. Instead, I hopped into the #BugSigDB Slack channel and asked for help. Imagine the peace I felt after hitting send.
A screenshot from the #bugsigdb Slack channel
What followed was nothing short of amazing. My mentors and peers jumped in to help and even share resources.
Svetlana, one of my mentors, explained that ANCOM-BC uses a linear regression framework with a built-in normalization technique to address biases. Unlike the centered log ratio (CLR) transformation used in ANCOM, ANCOM-BC’s approach accounts for sampling fractions through a sample-specific offset term. She likened this transformation to a log-ratio method, which helps handle the compositionality of microbiome data. She pointed me to a paper (Lin and Peddada, Nature Communications***,*** 2020) explaining ANCOM-BC.
A screenshot from the #bugsigdb Slack channel
Chloe, my mentor, also pointed me to a helpful discussion on the QIIME2 forum, confirming that CLR isn’t used in ANCOM-BC.
A screenshot from the #bugsigdb Slack channel
These explanations and resources were exactly what I needed to clear up my confusion. And the best part? By asking for help, I did not just solve the problem at hand, I gained a deeper understanding of ANCOM-BC and its methodology.
This moment felt like a win, not just because I got unstuck, but because it reminded me how far I’ve come. A year ago, I might have spent hours or days agonizing over the problem, hesitant to reach out. Now, I celebrate the fact that asking for help is not a struggle anymore.
To anyone out there who feels like they should have all the answers, maybe you do, but let me tell you this; Asking for help isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength. It takes a lot of strength to ask for help. It shows that you’re willing to grow, learn, and do what it takes to succeed, and if you’re lucky enough to have a supportive community like I do, don’t hesitate to lean on them.
I am very grateful to my mentors, peers, and the entire Bioconductor community for creating an environment where asking questions feels safe and encouraged. Because of them, I am a lot more outspoken, more confident, and more knowledgeable.
If there is one takeaway I hope to leave you with, it’s this; Don’t let fear hold you back. Ask for help, and trust that the right people will guide you forward.