second year – semester one
So… I’m back. It’s a long story as to why I completely disappeared for a few months, but the main reason is because my laptop broke down and I got a new one, but I didn’t really have the drive to restart the blog. It was always on the top of my to-do list though! And now, I’m here again, ready to try again. I have lots of cool things that I want to try, and hopefully, things will work out!
I’m also very excited to say that my fall semester went very well! I passed all my classes! Unfortunately, the winter semester is where I stumbled last year, so I’m not so sure as to what is going on right now.
But let’s get into it!
Physical Chem 1
I’m notoriously bad at physics, so I was nervous. Overall, I want to say that this class was kind of disorganized at times, so it could get stressful at times. Also, the prof was very very strict with significant figures. However, it wasn’t too bad.
Things I would do better next time: Start studying for the tests and quizzes much earlier. As always, I was starting the night before (sometimes even day of, let’s be real). It worked out for this class, but it won’t for other classes.
Challenging Topics: Rotational and vibrational spectroscopy makes my head hurt. What in the actual world is going on half the time…? Also, Hamiltonian operators don’t make sense.
History of Europe from 1789-1870
I loved this class and genuinely learned a lot. The most interesting aspect was learning how cyclical political movements are, especially regarding the left-wing and right-wing stances. In today’s political climate, learning where ideas originate is important.
Things I would do better next time: Start the essays earlier. Both essays were started and finished on the day they were due, and while my grades were great, my stress levels were not.
Challenging Topics: My God, there were so many French revolutions. Keeping track of them was a challenge.
Foundations of Astrophysics
Jesus, what a class. Every time the prof would move to a new slide, I would hold my breath to see what terrifying monstrosity of a concept would show up. Again, as someone who still doesn’t understand the right-hand rule, it was a bit of a gamble taking this class in the first place. But the content was so interesting!
Things I would do better next time: Maybe ask for help when I didn’t understand something? Also, reviewing content right after class instead of waiting weeks and weeks.
Challenging Topics: The whole class was hard. Everything was hard. Cosmology was probably the worst.
Analytical Chem
Probably the most boring class I’ve ever taken. I would try my best to pay attention, but it was impossible. It makes sense though as I hated the lab too. But it was so boring. Some of the calculations were really easy, but some were really hard as well.
Things I would do better next time: Ask for help regarding internal standards and standard addition.
Challenging Topics: Internal standards and standard addition. I still don’t know what the hell those are. I hope I never have to learn.
Biochem Lab
I’m not a biochem major, and I really didn’t enjoy bio at all in high school. However, I was surprised that I really enjoyed this course. The labs themselves were pretty easy, and the reports weren’t too bad (the grading was sometimes brutal though).
Things I would do better next time: There was one question on one lab report that I made a really dumb mistake on. The answer was literally right in the lab manual! I would’ve gotten a 100 on that report if I hadn’t made that one mistake.
Challenging Topics: The calculations could get complicated at times.
Inorganic Chem Lab
I hated this lab. I knew I was going to because it was the same prof as the analytical lab, but I was astounded as to how much I hated this. It was so stressful all the time. The labs were so complicated and confusing. And the lab reports were literal hell. I thought I liked inorganic chem…
Things I would do better next time: Start the lab reports earlier. Ask more questions. Go get help (for the course and for my mental health).
Challenging Topics: Everything. Those lab reports were hell because the marking was so harsh, yet the instructions and rubric was so vague.
Regardless of all this complaining, I was seriously very satisfied with my grades this semester. The hardest thing is keeping up with deadlines and with studying. Guess what genius move I made this time to ensure I did well? That’s right, I went to class. I went to every single class and paid attention (as well as I could). And it worked.
This winter, I’m retaking Organic chem 2. Though it is a blow to my pride that I have to sit in the same class and learn the same things, I guess I deserve it for not doing shit last year. Though I am pleased to say that the first assignment results this time are already a lot better from last year.
Hopefully, it’s going to be better. Fingers crossed.
