It was super self directed and in an area I'm really passionate about! I definitely gained a lot of valuable research experience!
What I wish was different
I wish I had communicated my process better with my boss! There were times where I was basically done with projects but I wasn't able to get feedback quickly because I didn't really explain that in my mind saying 'basically done' is equivalent to saying it's good to be reviewed in the next hour.
Advice
Use the resources available to you as a student here!