#undergrad studies

i start on 1 Sept, so i thought that it’s probably high time that i share what i’ll be taking (and posting about!) during the next term!

during my first year i experimented with both a full course load (5 classes/15 credits) and a lighter one (3 classes/9 credits). i’m really hoping 4 classes will be my happy medium.

BIOL  108 — Introduction to Biological Diversity (in-person, with lab and lecture components)

EDU  100 — Contexts of Education (in-person)

HIST  260 — Pre-Confederation Canada (in-person)

Hi, all! Belated holiday wishes to you all--I don't know about you, but I already feel like 2015 is flying by.

I'm well into the new semester at school and so far, things are going along swimmingly!

DevPsych: for whatever reason, psychology comes easily to me, so I'm having no issue at all with it. We spent a section covering reproductive biology and it was nice, because it totally reaffirmed my desire to go into OB/GYN (I kid you not, my notes from that section are more thorough from all the previous sections combined, and I left that lecture feeling like I could go on my library's rooftop and scream about how much I love reprobio and not feel like a total fool). We're covering neonatal stuff, which is plenty interesting too, but not on the same caliber of attention-grabbing as prenatal stuff. Got an A on my first exam, too--so far, so good!

Micro: If you would have told me I would be loving Micro as much as I am now at the beginning of the semester, I probably would have taken a grain of salt with that--but who knew microbes were hella fun to study? I actually got to host a study session for our first exam and it went really well--like, to the point several classmates thought I was a TA for Micro. And am I glad I did, because about 85 percent of the questions on the exam were things I covered in the study session. Talk about amazing luck, right?

Chem: I'm anticipating smoother sailing this time around; my professor this time is way more accessible to students and doesn't go completely over their heads when teaching stuff, which is a HUGE plus. Previously I thought I didn't have to retake the lab, but I fell literally 4 points short of the minimum to forgo it. OTL I'm comparing scores from last semester to this one, and I'm scoring 4-5 points higher on labs this time around, so... either way, I'm no longer upset about retaking it. Lecture exam is on Monday, so I've been studying every chance I get. I'm aiming to get at least a 90 on this one, so keep your fingers crossed!

Personal BS: I had a pretty nice 23rd birthday last month--although it helped that it was during break--and last weekend I made a surprise trip home. Kind of funny, because my decision was totally a spur of the moment thing, which I am not good at, except whoops, I decided to go home the weekend of the huge snowstorm that pummeled the Midwest. Yes, I did drive back in it, yes, that was not a good idea, yes, I do feel incredibly more badass knowing I can drive in a blizzard.

I also got my tax refund back, which is huge because now I have money squirreled away for CNA certification! I'm thinking May-June will be best to get that done, because right now, I simply can't balance work, college and CNA training at the same time. I want to, though, because I am totally itching to get out of retail and into something that's relevant to my future career.

Anyway, I'm sloughing through a week from hell--38-hour work weeks and classes 5 days a week are no bueno. I actually have to work at 3, so I'm gonna get off here and go back to studying Chem, before I do that.

(quietly blows dust off this thing)

Sorry I haven't updating this as much as I probably should have been. Some things to report, but most of it isn't great news.

To get the negative stuff out of the way--while I'm in no danger of failing, I'm not going to pass General Chem I with the grade I want (my top choice for PA school [yes, I've already decided] requires a B or better for all prereqs, and I'm most likely going to be finishing out with a C+/B- if I'm lucky). I talked to the pre-health advisor here about whether I should eat the grade and move on to General Chem II, or retake General Chem I. After a little bit of soul searching, I decided it'd be in my best interests to retake the course.

I'm certainly not happy I have to do this, but I'm trying to remain positive; I don't have to retake the lab and whatever grade I get in this attempt will replace my old grade, not average it--of course, that could go either way, but if I actually get a B or better this time, that'd be fantastic. It definitely takes a lot of the pressure off to do well for the final--not that I haven't been studying for it, but if I don't ace it, then it's not going to be the end of the world. Most importantly though, the better understanding I have of the fundamentals, the more competent I'll be tackling the harder content, which is ultimately going to be the goal as a PA.

The logical part of my brain has this down pat, it's just a matter of not letting depression and anxiety get the better of me. Mental health probs.

As for Concepts of Biology, I understand the material well and have an A-/B+ in that class. I'm not worried at all about it. It'd be nice if my future classes were as easy as this one is for me.

Next semester classes:

General Chem I (retake)

Developmental Psychology

Microbiology

Next semester goals:

DON'T EFF UP CHEM, JUST DON'T PLEASE.

Try to find a better study system that works for me.

Have a planner and actually use it, dammit.

Try to be nicer to myself about grades.

Keep doing well on getting homework done.

The moment I think I might need it, get help.

Crappy past two weeks for me. Cliff notes, because if I took the time to vent all of it in detail, we'd have dissertation-levels of reading to get through:

Been out a car since the 28th--hopefully I'm getting it back this week because I'm sick of bumming rides off my (extremely gracious) coworkers and roommates.

Work has been extremely busy and therefore, stressful; this weekend in particular must have been "Lodge a Stick Up Your Butt" and I missed the memo, because nearly EVERYONE WAS RUDE OH MY GODDDDD.

I have my next Chem exam in three days and I've barely had time to study for it, which is bad because I'm having a tough time understanding a good majority of what we we've covered since the last exam.

Can I hit the Powerball yet? Yeah yeah, money doesn't buy you happiness, but it can pay my rent, undergrad and probably grad school, and peace of mind is close enough to happiness, right?

Worst of all, I'm having a moment of self doubt and don't know whether I should keep on the pre-PA track or fuck it all and just pursue med school instead. Really doesn't help both have extremely attractive personal reasons the other doesn't have.

To sum up in a gif:

First exams are just around the corner--(un)fortunately I'm taking only two classes this semester, so I don't have to deal with too many of them.

I went to a SI session for Chem this past Sunday, and we took a mock exam there. Good thing it wasn't the real deal, because I only got 19 out of 30 right... ouch! Most of these problems were conversion problems and it just wasn't clicking with me at all, until literally yesterday when I had an "AHA!" moment so I've been practicing my ass off and have been tremendously pleased with the turnaround! I'm doing tons better with converting between moles, atoms, grams, all that jazz. Pucker up, Avogadro, my ass is waiting. Metric system... give me a second to get ready.

Also very surprising--but not unwelcome--is how quickly I've been able to pick up stoichiometry. I just find it relaxing, for whatever reason. I told one of my best friends this and she was like, "... you're absolutely precious with your nerdiness, did you know that?" The sad part is, I'm dead serious when I say I like stoichiometry.

So, the Chem front is looking promising! 25 mc, 10 equations and the rest conceptional. I think I can handle it. As for Bio, I haven't really began to study for that, but we have daily quizzes at the beginning of the hour and these questions are essentially exam questions so I'm certain I'll fare well with that? I'll probably start studying for that after my Chem exam on Thursday, since the Bio one isn't until Monday and I have a better grasp with that than I do Chem.

I voluntarily locked myself out of my FB and personal Tumblr, since I was beginning to circumvent StayFocusd by disabling the extension on Chrome and I'm glad I did. I probably would not have studying nearly as much, had I not. I think I'm going to make that a habit once exams roll around.

Other than that, not much else to report. It suddenly became cold on my end, which means I now have an excuse to wear cute sweaters and wear these super plush gloves my aunt gave me last year for Christmas. Fuck yeah, autumn!! B)

So... I survived my first week at university, and so far I'm really loving it! I've been impressed with how quickly I just get down to it to do homework and study, given that I had zero ability doing either one in high school, so I'm really optimistic. Hoping it lasts!

Also have myself signed up for a couple clubs: our school's Red Cross Club (even got in some volunteer hours already--can I get an "OH YEAH!!!" over here?); Colleges Against Cancer (first meeting is on the 4th, looking forward to that); but the one that excites me the most is, of course, the pre-PA club (first meeting on the 3rd). What's nice about all these is, they meet every two weeks and the clubs themselves coincidentally happen to alternate weeks, so every week I get to look forward to something, which will help me socialize and do things, something that I'm not so great at. Haha.

I also have a more financial situation, which is always a plus; I was able to transfer to another location (dunno if I've mentioned it before but I work at a gas station/convenience store chain; not the greatest, but hey, gotta start somewhere, right?) and they run their store the complete opposite of what I'm used to. So that's been something to acclimate myself to. The people I've worked with so far are great, and I'm hoping they'll stay like that. The only thing I'm not fond of is the drive--it's a straight shot down the highway, so while it's not bad, it's not great, because I'm used to living less than 5 minutes away from my job and my car doesn't get that great of mileage.

Anyway! Don't know how many of you have started classes already but if you have, hope you had as good a week as me! And to those of you starting classes, best of luck!! And a special shout out to supergirlpa-s, who's got me as a personal cheerleader for when she starts PA SCHOOL THIS WEEK!! Please give this lady a round of applause.

Apparently I'm fresh out of applause gifs, so uh... have Darth Vader skipping through a meadow with Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, and a vampire...? Whatever, sentiment still applies. Sort of.