I'm back!

So keeping in line with the whole theme of this blog (HINDsight)... I apologize that it takes me forever to post here sometimes. But just remember, I have to live through these mistakes before I can blog about it so you do not make the same ones!

The spring semester is finally OVER! I am so incredibly excited, you have no clue. But I am also quite disappointed in myself for the way I prioritized things and justified things to myself throughout these past 16 weeks.

For instance, WORK. I became a bartender about midway through the semester because cash-on-hand is a college kid's best friend. Waiting every week or two for a lump sum paycheck, then subsequently paying all of your bills with it leaves you very little pocket change to survive off of (this is where Ramen noodles usually come into play). So "what'ad'happened'wuz" I was working at the bar from like 8pm til 3:30am.... with a 9:30am class the next day. Then, on the other end of that, my last class would get out at 4:45pm and I would still have to get my you-know-what ready for work. Where does homework and studying come into play during all of this? EXACTLY. Needless to say, the two courses which required the most amount of studying I fell short and will have to retake ($$$$$$$$). So mad at myself for not giving them the time they deserved.

Keep in mind that I do not take out student loans; all I have are federal grants... and at the university level they do not cover the entire cost of my tuition or the cost of textbooks, a parking permit, online homework programs (which are so incredibly frustrating), clickers, clicker software, and the like. So I HAVE to work to make ends meet. Oh did I mention my own household bills like: rent, utilities, food/groceries, and cell phone? Also, start saving for a coffee fund. Yes, JUST coffee. You'll thank me later. Actually, I'm thinking about writing Starbucks and asking if they'd sponsor me since their iced coffee keeps me running most of the time. Eh, it's a thought.

Let's just say I've, as of now, used up all of my "outs" (i.e. grade forgiveness). I have the opportunity to make these up, have the new grade put in and have the old grades dropped from my GPA... but I'm seriously killing my chances at grad school!

Not to mention my mid-life crises through finals week... ugh. I'm stuck between my two majors: do I stick with the biomedical science route, or dive head first into the political science side? The most difficult thing about a double major, or at least those in which they are complete opposite concentrations, is being able to flip back and forth between them seamlessly. For instance, the day Hugo Chavez (Venezuelan President) passed away, I was on my way home from class and ready to study biology like crazy... I come home and turn on the news to catch the weather, and bam. There it was as a headline. I couldn't concentrate on sciences for at least 2 days because I was so deep in thought as to the gravity of that situation. *Now don't go thinking I'm some crazy vigilante; my dad lived in Venezuela per a contract job for about a year, and he had nothing but great things to say about the country and their people. If you are interested further, I HIGHLY recommend watching "South of the Border" on Netflix. You'll see South America and the US's stance on foreign policy in a whole new light.

Anyway, back to college.

We all go through ups and downs throughout this ridiculously expensive journey (if you're parents pay your tuition, grovel at their feet every so often... they've earned it), especially through finals. I'm sure I was not the only person going through some sort of personal crisis during the 2-3 weeks of balls-to-the-wall/24hr library/assignments-due-everyday, and don't think that this kind of stress will not get the better of you!

It will.

Not in some creepy "it's gonna getcha" ax-murderer style. It's all in how you deal with the stress, and how well prepared you MAINTAIN your studies throughout the semester. Keyword: maintain.

Do the work as it comes to lessen the stress towards the end. Don't be like me and make excuses to procrastinate on homework, papers, assignments, etc.

Also, another HUGE HUGE HUGE lesson.... every. point. counts.

Seriously! I was 10 stupid points away from having a good enough grade to advance to Organic Chem. I blame myself for 2 reasons: letting points go, and not buying the second homework program because "orgo doesn't need it, so why pay $120 for a program I'm going to use for one semester?" Um, here's why: because it will help you pass the *#^$ class!!!!!

So now I get the pleasure of re-taking chem over the summer, Monday thru Friday at 8am.

Don't be like me!

One down, three to go..

Ok now that I have a little bit of time, I'd really like to finish my thoughts from my last post because, like I said, it was almost an "a-ha!" kind of moment...

You have to be confident in your abilities. You have to finally cross the line from using words/phrases like "perhaps," "maybe," "I think.." to "I know," "It is certain that," and "definitely" because these introduce doubt to your audience (whether it's an auditorium full of people or yourself). I can definitely say ( <-- see? More certainty..) that I may be ( <--still working on it, haha) discovering this later than others because I grew up with 3 older siblings who just loved to tease me and play jokes and call me stupid, etc. 

So I'm explaining the difference of impacts between being given instructions/standard solutions versus being assigned a bin of glassware and given raw chemicals. My main point was that the labs allow students to be as precise and accurate as they want to be, and those who really do have an interest to pursue more lab work have opportunity surrounding them! There are x million dollar research experiments going on all over the place! All you have to do is talk to people, be diligent, and apply (you have to choose which faculty and which of their research projects you want to work with; they don't post positions like a job website).

Me, personally, I'm using the tactic of sticking with the same Gen Chem professor because he is currently doing research in nanomedicine. Also, I'm always nice and say hi to my lab TA because he is part of a research group intensively studying proteins. Making your presence known, becoming a familiar face, and showing interest in further study never hurts.

Okay now that one test is done I have three more finals to go plus two papers are due. Getting back to work!

As my math professor likes to say, "happy studying!"
>.<