When my mom first suggested taking CHEM142 over summer at UW in order to get a head start on my major (bioengineering), my initial response was one word: no. Why would I want to sacrifice my summer going to UW for over half the week in order to suffer through lectures and labs? However, as I had learned in the past, things inevitably end up going my mom's way, and next thing I knew I was signing a contract to devote 10 weeks to General Chemistry and countless hours of commuting.
Fast forward to 7 weeks later, and I'm actually doing pretty okay. I've met new people, learned a shit ton of new things, and found a new sense of independence. The first couple weeks of the course seemed like a review of high school chemistry, so I just did what was required of me (worksheets, pre-lab quizzes, online homework) and spent the rest of my hours binging on Netflix. Although Orange is the New Black is never a waste of time, I found out I made a big mistake when I got my first midterm score: 55/86. I checked my grade online and slightly freaked out (understatement)..sure the average was 60, but then again the average is a 2.6 GPA.
Anyways after that I learned that college classes are no joke. Unfortunately, high school classes are a joke. So I wasn't really prepared at all. However, I felt more motivated and challenged than I have in many years at public school. I started investing more time into homework to really understand the concept, I went to the chem study center to get whatever help I could from my TA, I started talking to other students in my class that were willing to study with me and help me out with homework and lab reports. I found myself putting in more effort into one class than I had in an entire semester of high school, and I loved it. I still do.
My second midterm is on August 5th, and I look forward to doing much better than I did on my last one. :-)
At this point, I'm so glad my mom convinced me to take this class. I'm thankful to her, to my professor and TA, to all of my new friends, but mostly to myself. For not giving up at 1 am when I had to redo my entire lab report, for commuting 2 hours every day, for doing online homework 4 hours straight, and for strangely enjoying all of it.
Fast forward to 7 weeks later, and I'm actually doing pretty okay. I've met new people, learned a shit ton of new things, and found a new sense of independence. The first couple weeks of the course seemed like a review of high school chemistry, so I just did what was required of me (worksheets, pre-lab quizzes, online homework) and spent the rest of my hours binging on Netflix. Although Orange is the New Black is never a waste of time, I found out I made a big mistake when I got my first midterm score: 55/86. I checked my grade online and slightly freaked out (understatement)..sure the average was 60, but then again the average is a 2.6 GPA.
Anyways after that I learned that college classes are no joke. Unfortunately, high school classes are a joke. So I wasn't really prepared at all. However, I felt more motivated and challenged than I have in many years at public school. I started investing more time into homework to really understand the concept, I went to the chem study center to get whatever help I could from my TA, I started talking to other students in my class that were willing to study with me and help me out with homework and lab reports. I found myself putting in more effort into one class than I had in an entire semester of high school, and I loved it. I still do.
My second midterm is on August 5th, and I look forward to doing much better than I did on my last one. :-)
At this point, I'm so glad my mom convinced me to take this class. I'm thankful to her, to my professor and TA, to all of my new friends, but mostly to myself. For not giving up at 1 am when I had to redo my entire lab report, for commuting 2 hours every day, for doing online homework 4 hours straight, and for strangely enjoying all of it.
