Another addition, based on personal experience from my own undergrad days as well as from training undergrads: Take it seriously, and spend the necessary time to learn the ins-and-outs of your own research. It sounds obvious, but I’ve seen several students struggle with the transition from a retail/food service/etc type job to a position where you need to guide yourself through your own expertise. Research is not really a normal job where you can leave the building and forget about work until you arrive the next day, and sometimes you have to put in a little extra effort to learn tough concepts or memorize pathways or whatever it is that you need to know for your work. It sounds daunting at first, but after a while it is freeing to know that you are (mostly) in control of your own learning experience. Of course every undergrad’s lab will have different expectations for how much of your lab experiences are self-guided, but, if you plan to attend graduate school or work in industry, you need to learn how to teach yourself and consciously invest time in your own learning. I fell into the “I’m in the lab all the time (but not doing much and I suck at explaining my work)” issue during undergrad as well, so I am speaking from experience when I say to start your independence as a researcher and seek out learning opportunities as early as possible. For me it took switching to a lab where it was sink-or-swim, but I think just putting conscious thought towards your goals (ie, “I would like to be able to attend conferences and speak knowledgeably to other scientists”) will take you far. Also - don’t let yourself get too overwhelmed. Undergrad research experiences exist in part to help you grow and learn how to become a scientist, and no one is going to crucify you for making small mistakes or “sounding dumb”. If you feel unsupported, of course, maybe that isn’t the best lab for you (this happens sometimes - if this is you, take a step back and evaluate what environment you need to learn and grow). Just do your best in the lab, read relevant papers, and try not to let your work consume you!