α-Terpinine combined with N-Phenylmaeimide
produces a Diels-Alder product that can be isolated through
recrystallization. Okay really though,
who cares? Chemists and chemistry majors,
maybe. Organic chemistry is a class most
people dread. The concepts are difficult
and at the same time the amount of materiel to be memorized is obnoxious. It’s like they are saying “here is way more
information than you could ever be capable of learning, now see how much you
can do before the next exam compared to everyone else in the class. Oh and at the same time you are expected to
volunteer in the community, spend hours in a hospital setting getting some type
of experience, be involved on campus, and have a social life. Don’t forget time
to keep yourself healthy by eating, working out, and getting plenty of sleep.
Good luck.”
School is a rough time for pretty much anyone, but
I have grown to appreciate the pre-med track due to the fact that it has taught
me much more than biology and chemistry.
It has taught me that I have to prioritize what is important and really
think about what I love to do and what I can say no to doing. Yes, it can be overwhelming, but one day when
I have a family and I am also a doctor I have a feeling times will be a little
overwhelming. If it weren’t for my
education here, I would not be prepared to deal with that in the future and I
would be under great amounts of stress.
What I just wish other people would realize it that there really is more
to school than school. In other words,
there are more important things you are learning than what your professors have
you memorize of a powerpoint slide for an exam.
Sure those things are important, or at least they will be important to
somebody’s life from the class in the future, but there is no way you will
remember all of that information in 5, 10, or 20 years. It is a foundation to build on so that you
can find what you love and run with it. Not every person can love every class,
but there may be one person in organic chemistry who just gets it and goes out
to create a life-saving drug, and for that reason it is worth it to continue to
teach it year after year.
Realizing why you’re here takes lot more than just
waking up one morning and saying hey it’s okay I’ll just be happy today and not
worry so much about making A’s in my classes.
No, you still need to worry about it.
Grades are important, and classes are the main reason you are here. However, what you learn from those classes is
what is important. I don’t want to look
back in ten years and say “well…I don’t really remember my classes but I do
remember being miserable sitting in a study room every single weekend”. Maybe there really is more to life than
making a 100 on an organic chemistry exam.
What’s the point in getting into medical school if you are going to be
absolutely miserable throughout the entire process? Chances are if you don’t
learn how to put a little balance in your life now, you won’t be able to as an
adult working a high stress full-time job with a family.
I don’t want to be that doctor who is exhausted
and miserable because I’ve beat myself up over the years trying to get one step
higher than everyone else to get into that one medical school or that high
ranking residency program. For some
reason I have just realized this recently, but I want to do this because I
enjoy it. I want to go to medical school
because I love learning how to help people, not because it’s something I must
achieve in order to feel successful. I
want to make long-lasting friends, spend time with my family, and be involved
with things I love-not with things I feel obligated to do. I am incredibly thankful for my education at
TCU, and I want to make the most of it.
I personally enjoyed this post and it definitely is relevant to me being on the pre med track as well. Balancing pre med with being involved on campus, staying connected with friends and family, and staying healthy by exercising and getting enough sleep in addition to other commitments has easily been the hardest part of my college experience. But I do agree we learn so much from our mutual struggle. I remember Sergei on the first day of o-chem saying something along the lines of how we learn not just chemistry, but also how to solve problems, think outside the box, and learn about life as well. I think this message is relevant for everyone in college. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Being a film major, it's so interesting to see this from another point of view. In my major, it's very much about meeting people and building relationships rather than making straight As. There’s a saying that has been going around our department and it is “It’s not about the grades you make, but the hands you shake”. Because of this, I feel like I've had a very different college experience than most people. Instead of spending hours every night studying for an exam, I have 12+ hour days on the weekends where I am just on a film set helping out in any way I can. Despite these differences, we're both still trying to live out our college experiences to the best of our ability and like you said, that's what is most important.
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