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Tag: chemistry

  • My First Year of College: A Reflection

    first year of college

    And just like that, I am done with my first year of college! Wow was that an experience! Here’s what I have to say about my first year at Colorado State University.

    It feels like I was just moving into my dorm. At first, living there felt like I was in a hotel but then over time, it began to feel more like my own living space (minus the fact that I shared the room with another person). People were always telling me that it was going to be hard to adjust but I really didn’t find it that difficult. I have always been close with my family and I kept myself busy throughout my time at school so I never really felt “homesick” or worried about my transition into college life and a more independent life.

    My first semester, chemistry was rough. I had the worst professor out of the general chem professors offered that semester and had to teach myself a lot of the material. Thank goodness I had a decent high school chemistry teacher. She saved me a lot throughout that class. I squeezed by with a B+ which wasn’t what I had hoped for, but was still incredible considering the amount of work and difficulty of the class.

    Second semester, chemistry was tough again but I really enjoyed my honors seminar on dance, my biology class, and my honors section of ecology. I had a wonderful professor for that class and it consisted of only eight other students, considering that it was the first honors section ever offered of that class. My schedule was extremely flexible and I really loved all of the free time I had in the afternoons.

    This first year of college, I really learned that if you take time to get stuff done right after class or in between classes, you can allow for more time to do the things you really want to do. The work you put into a class is the results you’ll get out. I studied my butt off this past year and I think that the work I put in really paid off. I’m really proud to say that I made the Dean’s List for both the fall and spring semester (as long as everything went well with my finals this past week!).

    Some of my favorite memories include getting cookies from Insomnia Cookies one night with one of my friends, going to get breakfast with my chemistry friends on a snowy Saturday morning, hiking Triangle Mountain with my roommate and one of my other friends, and the countless hours I spent studying and working on chemistry with my chem study group who I am proud to call my good friends. Ram Welcome, dinners with my floor, decorating my friends’ doors for their birthdays, trips to Torchy’s Tacos, and trips back home helped make this school year the memorable and amazing year it has been.

    I’m sad to be leaving Alpine Hall 375 but I’m so excited to see what’s next for me at CSU. This next year is going to be tough but so much fun. Organic chemistry, I’m looking at you! Thanks to everyone who helped make my first year of college the magical, fun experience it was. See you in the fall CSU!

  • When Things Don’t Go Your Way: College Exams

    college exams

    So this past week, I had my first exam for my second semester of general chemistry. I studied super hard for it and took several practice tests. My study group and I worked through any confusion we had and just like that, Wednesday (exam day) rolled around. During the exam, I felt super confident. After the exam, I felt super confident. Seeing my grade on Friday, I didn’t feel confident at all. Why college exams?! Why??

    It was truly devastating to see my hard work go down the drain like that but sometimes you work really hard and you don’t get the results you asked for or worked toward. From what I’ve learned, that’s a part of life! It sucks, but you have to learn to move on and not make the same mistakes down the road.

    Hearing all of my friends do well on the exam crushed me and honestly, after seeing my grade, I was feeling pretty down. One of the things I learned from this experience is that grades matter, but they don’t define you. This is something that high school teachers drilled into our heads but it didn’t sink in until now. A test is a test and I know that I have a better understanding of the chemistry material than was reflected by my grade.

    Also, from this experience, I’ve learned that it’s okay to not say anything about how a test went. If a friend asks about how it goes, it’s honestly none of their business. My grade and circumstances are my grade and circumstances while their grades and circumstances are their own thing. For myself and other people who have been in this situation, it’s important to understand that we are our own human beings and we all mess up in our own ways. The only people we can compare ourselves to are ourselves.

    So now looking forward to this next exam, I’m not going to bite myself in the butt for my last unfortunate performance. I’m going to study just as hard and take what I’ve learned from this experience. The only way to go from here is up with my grade in chemistry. This isn’t the way I planned to start off my semester in general chemistry II but it is what it is!

    College exams can be a real kicker and sometimes, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You do know that you’ll always come away from an exam with more knowledge though, regardless of the outcome. This not only relates to college exams, but it can relate to many other things in life. It’s important to remember that you learn from everything you do and it’s all about a growth mindset. Keep this in mind!

    If you’ve got an idea for a blog post don’t be afraid to leave a comment on my new page, “Contact Me!”. You’ll find this page in the menu above. 🙂 And even if you don’t have an idea and just want to say hi or ask a question, that’s okay too. Have a good week everyone!

  • Done With First Semester!

    By now, some of you are probably sick of hearing about my school life and all of the hullabaloo leading up to this past week. Sorry to disappoint you if that’s the case, but I promise, this is the last one of it’s kind for a while! Finals week was rough, but I made it and my wonderful five week break has begun! It’s really crazy to think about how fast this first semester flew by.

    It only seems as if I was at Ram Welcome (which is CSU’s big orientation before the first week of school for new students) was yesterday! I feel like was just moving in and honestly, I’ll be moving out of my room before you know it.

    This past week I only had two actual finals, which was SUPER DUPER nice. I had a final for my chemistry lecture and for my honors biology lecture. Both were manageable and even though I didn’t get the grade I wanted on my chemistry final, I still made the Dean’s List which I am extremely proud of. 🙂 I studied really hard and worked my butt off this semester to make sure I start college on the right foot and I can see that the hard work I put in paid off. It’s important to start off strong in your first semester of college (I’m talking to all of you high school seniors getting ready to go to college soon)!

    And what would finals week be without getting sick. Haha, boy did I get the rough end of it. The week before finals week, I was definitely getting sick and I COULD FEEL IT. My sinuses hurt and I was coughing and feeling cold all the time. I did all I could to not get sick during finals week, but that still didn’t keep the yuck away. Eventually, I got SUPER sick and the night before my biology final was a real fun one. Can you sense the sarcasm? We’ll just say that I spent a lot of time in the bathroom that night, and what really sucks is that I have a communal bathroom and I was also playing the “don’t wake your roommate” game. I spent a lot of time in bed before my biology final that same night and thank goodness I was feeling well enough to trek across campus then. Yikes. The stomach bug is not a nice thing.

    It’s been nice to be home the last couple of days and I look forward to the wonderful time I get to spend with family and friends over these next couple of weeks. Cheers to first semester and I can’t wait to see what college holds for me next!

  • T-Minus One Week Until Thanksgiving Break

    Thanksgiving Break

    Man has this semester flown by! It feels like I arrived at CSU, blinked, and now I’m sitting at my desk watching the snow fall trying to not be stressed about all of the stuff that’s happening this upcoming week. I need it to be Thanksgiving break!

    This upcoming week I have a chemistry exam as well as a biology exam. On top of that, I have a paper due for my honors’ seminar (which is already done) and a lab report due for my biology lab. I’m feeling ok for my tests, but we shall see what happens. I would love to hold my A’s for both classes heading into finals. 

    So after this week, I’m on Thanksgiving break (woohoo) and then when I come back from that, I’ll have 2 weeks of classes and then finals and then WINTER BREAK! I’m so excited for college winter break because it isn’t the tiny thing I used to get in high school. Oh no no. In college, or at least at CSU, we get six whole weeks off! I’m very excited. I see a lot of tennis in my future. 🙂 

    I’m going to have to end this blog here today, because I have a lot of work to do. I hope this wasn’t too boring and I hope that those of you also getting ready to go on Thanksgiving break are surviving. Have a great week everyone!