First Day Back 2012

After a sleepless night, I dragged myself from bed to feed the animals, gather the one egg that had already been dropped, and start my half hour drive to G-burg by 8:15 am. My first class was organic chemistry- the class that I have been dreading for what seems like years. It has always been that monster looming on the horizon, the one year-long class that I knew could make me or break me. I suppose I had always picture the professor as some mean old man, bent on making students' lives hell. Instead, my professor was a thirty-year old redheaded man with a great sense of humor, and an obvious passion for not only teaching, but also organic chemistry. It makes all the difference when your professor loves what they teach- they can excite you about it too. And so I was. I took a little bit of organic in high school and I remember loving it. While this year promises to be considerably harder, I am hoping that that enjoyment, and a true understanding of the subject are on their way! The professor's last few words to us were along the lines of "contrary to popular opinion, this class is not meant to weed you out of med school- instead it is to teach you about the intricate workings of systems, and how organic chemistry can relate to everything you have learned- biology, pharmaceuticals, genetics, and the world around you." Pretty cool stuff! I also have the class with a lot of people I know, including some very good friends. Study buddies!

My physics class will be a bit more interesting. The teacher has a very strong accent from somewhere in Europe, and it takes my mind almost a full 30 seconds to process and understand what she has said. She also mentioned that the class was trigonometry heavy, which is something I haven't touched since sophomore year in high school... I will be trying to do some reviews tonight and see if I can refresh my brain. It should be fairly interesting though- who does not want to learn about why things do what they do?

Since we didn't have orgo lab the first week, I then had nothing to do from 11 am till 5pm when we had colorguard dinner, sectionals, and then rehearsal. So I went to the SPCA with my friend Gael (who I missed terribly this Summer), and played with some adorable puppies- chihuahuas, a rotty, and a shepherd mix. We even stopped by the cat room for some kitten time before leaving. I would definitely consider it a success. While there, I did my customary talking to the techs about the possibility of observing surgeries and spay and neuters. I got a fairly positive response, but they said the shelter manager would have to talk to the vet and give me a call. She knows me fairly well, as she was an animal control officer before she became manager, and has come out to the club almost every year to give a talk. I am also up there almost every week volunteering, and I observed a few spay and neuters last year. So I am hoping that will work out.

I need to stop by the local hospitals and try to get a shadowing on a weekly basis.

~Melissa