As a researcher, I am deeply interested in understanding the dynamics of symbiotic interactions. What causes a beneficial interaction to shift toward a negative one? Are these changes driven by the organisms themselves or by their environmental responses? How do these interactions shift when we alter the scale? For the focus of my dissertation, I became enthralled by the symbiotic interactions of root-hemiparasitic plants, their host plants, and soil microbes. Typically, plants are defined by their ability to extract resources from the environment via photosynthesis. Root-hemiparasites, however, attach to other plant roots and obtain nutrients through specialized organs called haustoria. As partial parasites, they can supplement their nutrient demands through photosynthesis and root uptake. This dual access allows hemiparasitic plants to draw from two nutrient sources for growth and reproduction, challenging our understanding of what it means to be a plant.