Do I have what it takes?

All I can say is....Wow. this courseload is pretty intense. I am taking some of the hardest classes offered at my university all in one year. I've already taken an exam and made either a B or a C. I have a Genetics and Physics exam early this week....Damn. I don't have much time to be on here, so i'm just going to get right to the million dollar question. Do I have what it takes?

Am I in over my head?

Well as you can guess, the summer is over with. Just to catch you all up on some things I made an A in both Organic Chemistry 2 lab and lecture. *dances* Not many people can say that they have done that. Anyways, the Fall semester has started. My classes are pretty tough. Here is a list of my classes (i'm too lazy to put up the class times):

Chemical Literature
Biochemistry
Physics 1
Physics 1 lab
Genetics
Freshman seminar

Okay, besides freshman seminar (don't ask ughh), this is a tough workload. I don't even have the prerequisites completed for Physics, but i'm still doing it anyways because I'm taking the MCAT in 2009. Am I properly preparing for this? Am I in over my head?

Organic Chemistry I....is OVER!

Well I took Organic Chemistry I....And after an endless amount of hours studying, I have my grades:

Organic Chemistry I lecture: A
Organic Chemistry I lab: B

I was absolutely disappointed with getting a B in Organic lab. It was so easy, I don't know why I slacked off so bad. Well I'm in Organic Chemistry II right now, and wow it's pretty tough so far. A concept called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is quite confusing. I've almost grasped it, but still having trouble with determining the number of signals emitted in a benzene containing compound. We'll see how I do. If I can pull off an A in lecture AND lab then my gpa for the summer will be a 3.9! I still have a chance of pulling off a 3.6 gpa for my undergrad gpa, which if I keep up this trend, I will be almost guaranteed in med school! Please excuse my naive attitude, it's 2 a.m. Thanks, hehe.

That's how we roll....

Just got home...It's Saturday night and it's 11pm (about to head to bed). No I haven't been drinking. I really am not fond of alcohol...I know what you're thinking....wait till you get into residency, right? Lol well maybe...but until then i'm as dry as a bone. Anyways I was hanging out with my old friend since elementry school (technically we hated each other in elementry school lol) and now we attend the same university, his name is Alex. He is debating on either sticking with nursing or go premed. I've been twisting his arm to go into medicine. We were even talking about going into private practice together (no that's not a homo erotic notion! lol). We were talking like a bariatrics/plastic surgery clinic in Atlanta. Chattanooga may yield a good return. I've heard so many medical students and residents wish that they took some business classes back in undergrad, so I will probably be at least minoring in business. Possibly get my MBA as well if I have the time and money. an M.D., M.B.A. suffix at the end of my name would be pretty cool, right? We would own this area because entering the profession as a surgeon has a whole new feeling (Scrubs reference). Because that's how we roll....

My moment of truth....

First off, I'd like to delve a bit into the social part of my life. Lately, with my phone being cut off due to my car breaking down and no way of getting to the store to pay my bill, I have been feeling a bit socially isolated. Finally a week before class started I got it fix and I have been driving to my local favorite study spot to...well you know...study. Believe it or not, but girls hit on me moreso when I'm studying than anything else. I honestly do not understand it. A month ago I had a beautiful 30 year old real estate agent ask me for my number while I was studying for my Chemistry 2 final. Not to mention throughout the semester all the "distracting" girls that would just come in and sit with me for hours. Of course when my guy friends found out they flocked McDonalds like they were giving out free money and I actually had to leave once because so many people were there and being loud. But anyways back to my point, I've met someone new again and she seems really nice. It would be great to find someone to be with that understands my time consuming schedule and be supportive....at least before Med School...

...Anyways....

First day of Organic Chemistry!
Yeah I know it's Friday and no I do not know why today was the first day. I assume it's because of the first summer a.m. term classes. Anyways, today was a little review of the quantum mechanics and geometry of molecules. I guess it would help to elaborate on my schedule. Here it is:

Organic Chemistry I lab: 8-11 MTW
Organic Chemistry I lecture: 11:40-1:20 MTWTF

15 weeks of material compressed into a 4 week period. 4 exams and they are on every friday from now on (thank goodness there was not one today hehe). Well me and Sam are suppose to meet up tomorrow at Starbucks to have a study group. We're very confident that we will pull out with A's. But deep down, I know that this will be the most challenging obstacle in my premed journey. This is my make or break opportunity, my rite of passage.....my moment of truth.

The grades are in....

The title says it all. I am quite pleased this semester. I have made it to the Dean's list once again since Freshman year. I will get straight to the digits...err letters.

Chemistry 2 lecture: A

Chemistry 2 lab: A

Spanish 2: B

Psychology: A

Precalculus 1: A

I am taking Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 over the summer. It is not until the 2nd and 3rd term, but I'm getting a head start by prereading the material. Sam is also taking it in the same class as I am. I have to be honest, I am quite worried about the subjects and material that is ahead of me. All I hear are horror stories about Organic in the summer. But I keep telling myself that I can do it, which I really think I can. But here's the best part; My bud Sam is taking it as well. Every class that we take at the same time and hold study groups for we make A's. Okay, except one time. I made an 89 in Biology 2, but that was a fluke!

I will also be volunteering and shadowing during the next month as well. I still can't get this coming Fall semester off my mind. I'm taking 18 hours, according to my current schedule. They are not the easy classes that one can just get an A without hardly studying. They're the 300 and 400 level classes, except two of them which are Statistics and Freshman seminar. I have Rishabh to tutor me in Physics, and since he made a 103 in that class I'm not too worried about it. Genetics is kind of intimidating though. Other than that I think I'll be fine. Okay, I think I'm done reiterating the statement that I'll be okay. I'm going to get back to reading my Organic Chemistry textbook. Oh! One more thing. For Organic Chemistry I bought a few supplement books that I am going to try out. I bought:

Organic Chemistry I for dummies
Organic Chemistry as a second language
Pushing Electrons
and some kind of lab survival guide

I'll let you know how they work out to my advantage. Untill then, cheers!

Another semester gone by....

Yeah by the time I get into med school these kind blog posts will become cliche. So far I'm getting all A's except Spanish 2. It's going down hill in that class. I barely have a B and the exams are way too hard for an intro level course. Most of my classmates are even failing. Oh well, at least I have that rant out of the way. I registered for my classes for Fall 2008 and it looks quite busy. Here is the schedule:

MWF:
Biochemistry 1-1:50pm

MW:
Physics 1 2-3:15pm

M:
Chemical Literature 12-12:50pm

W:
Physics 1 lab 10-11:50am

TT:
Genetics 8-9:15am

TH:
Genetics lab 1:40-3:30pm

Precalculus 2 unregistered

Only 16 hours I know, but the Physics dept. at UTC is extremely challenging so if I want an A I need plenty of study time. I think this schedule will keep me more than busy.

They're trying to force me to take some kind of freshman seminar, and i'm a Sophmore taking 400 level courses. I guess I'll petition it and get it taken care of I suppose. Well it's 12am and I got class in the morning. Today I'm going to find out what I made on my Spanish 2 exam that I took yesterday. I hope I made a B or higher, but I'm not feeling very confident about it. I need to stop obsessing about it. Going to go watch some Scrubs I guess and fall asleep. I'll post an update when I get my grades to let my fans know how my semester went hehe. I am the underdog after all, so you gotta cheer for me, right? Bah lol.

After class tomorrow--err today... I'm going to meet up with another premed and play some tennis. Afterwards I'm going to study for my Chemistry 2 lab final that is this Thursday. Oh crap....did I just say finals? Oh well, looks like another semester has gone by....

Spring break....Is over?

Wow this week has just flew by like it was nothing. During the whole spring break all I did was just work on my S-10 truck, 4x4 Isuzu, and study. I'm getting my small block S-10 ready for Rod Run coming up in April in attempt to sell it. The 4x4 Isuzu project is about to be scrapped. The only motor I could find is a Chevy V6 and even that would require too much work so it's about to be hauled off to the junkyard....Oh well.

As for school I have been attending my Chattanooga State class this week while UTC is out for spring break. Having only one class is nice lol. I've been getting ready for an exam in Psychology 101 that is this Monday (first day back from Spring break). Hopefully since the class is full of freshmen, they wont remember to study and whatever I make will be curved to something even higher allowing me some leverage with an A. This is one of those classes that I'm borderline A and B, but after this test I feel confident that it will be an A. Also, another Precal exam is coming up next week. It will be a breeze since it's a community college class.

Women.....Ugh, I don't mean to start a new paragraph with a cliche, but it is inevitable. "We" aren't talking right now for some reason. I do not honestly know if I'm happy or sad about it. This way I can get over her a lot easier and quicker, but I kinda miss her. I can't understand why I would like someone that doesn't feel the same way about me anymore. I guess the past interferes with the present, where logic and reason no longer plays a role. But since this chapter in my life is over, a new one begins....

Spring break is over, time to get my hands dirty again (metaphorically speaking)!

B-day time....again.

Well it's been 46 minutes since my birthday. I'm 20 years old now and it honestly just seems like yesterday I was in middle school playing Starcraft and the Sims in homeroom. Where does the time go? A few years ago I would be hounded to death about my b-day and all the happy birthday wishes bombarded me. Now just a handful of people even remember. It's sad how we all move on, whether it's that crush you've had since highschool or just letting another year fly by without seizing the moment. It is my fault that this has happened. My studies have taken up a lot of my time so my time for friends has dropped. Just another sacrifice that one must make in the long journey on the path of medicine.

Anyways on a brighter note, I took Kaplan's practice MCAT a few weeks ago and wow, I did bad. Actually for having only 1 chemistry course and 2 biology courses I did quite well. I made either a 19 or a 20 in all. I made a 9 on the verbal reasoning section, which is pretty good considering I have not studied for it at all. I must admit, i'm looking forward to this test. I have to take Physics 1 and 2, Organic Chemistry 1 and 2, and possibly Physiology.

My grades are going pretty well so far. I'm slacking in Spanish 2. I have a B so far, and the rest of my classes are either A's or borderline A/B. This semester is quite easy, but it is very time consuming.

When I say that schools academic levels are different, I MEAN IT! My highest Precal 1 test grade at UTC was a 68. I took my first exam in Precal 1 at Chattanooga State and made a 105 (perfect score). So you cannot tell me that they are on the same level. Chattanooga State is so easy!

I made a friend a few weeks ago. He's a premed biochem major too! He went to Vanderbilt and transferred to UTC. I can't seem to make any friends with anyone that is on the same level as me. He is about to graduate and head on to East Tenn. School of Medicine. Best of luck to ya' man!

I have been staying active and eating right lately. I have lost some weight plus I have been in a good mood more often without stressing over school. Exercise should be on everyone's top priority list. Only 2nd to studying heh. But I can notice a difference in the physical aspect of my body as well. I am keeping consistent.

Well that's about all the updates I have over the past month or so. What can I say? My premed life is boring! But still the drama sometimes don't seem to end.

Cheers to me on my 20th b-day! Let this year be full of joy, straight A's, and the one girl I want to see myself grow old with....

My last easy semester

So day two is down in the Spring semester. It has been crazy! I had to take my Eclipse the shop to get a new water pump on, because it went out while I was halfway to school. I don't want to take that turn down memory lane (this was on the first day of school). I received my financial aid and went to pay for my new math book for Chattanooga State. Oh boy it was a mess over at the main campus. I went with my highschool friends Andrew and Patrick. Alright anyways, my first day of Chem 2 was a bit shocking. After a quick overview of the class we jumped straight into Oxidation Reduction, which is also known as Redox Reactions. Yeah, yeah, it will seem like nothing in a few months (Stoichiometry was the same way), but it seems tedius now. My prepharmacy buddy Sam is in there. We've decided we're going to make an A in there. We also have planned that during the summer we're going to take Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 + Labs, and he even went as far as agreeing to take Biochemistry in the Fall with me. So here I am, my last easy semester is before me. I will try to enjoy it with every waking moment, although there are some things that will--err have distracted me. It's a bit cliche, but you guys out there know where i'm going to go with this, but i'm not going to reiterate anything I've said in previous posts (sound familiar? Heh). Whats new....Well I took some financial aid money and bought a gym membership. Believe it or not, premeds, the best place besides the library that I have found to study is the gym! Take note and try it out sometime. Yeah you're probably saying the same thing to yourself when I mentioned that I studied at McDonalds. But a lot of premeds are not active, and being active is as important as studying! I get on the cardio machine, whip out my Chem 2 book and go to town on that thing. I even go as far as highlighting important information that I feel will be useful. Of course this method of studying is only good for qualitative material only. Quantitative material is definately meant for sitting work. By studying while exercising you allow more blood to flow, you feel more relaxed, and yes i'm going there, it makes you feel all around good! Exercising addictive? Yes to me it is, I cannot stand going through life without it. If I dont exercise I feel sluggish and icky (yes I just said icky), and trust me, I feel that way now. My friends stopped going to the gym so I have been stuck playing video games through Christmas break. I know i'm such a slacker! Give me a break though, I'm getting back to it. I'm going to make this into an experiment and call me crazy, but i'm also going to try and publish it! I need to be studying now....I'm going to look around online for some Sparknotes for Chemistry and put it in my Chemistry folder. I know this is what I do at night if i'm not studying, i'm such a loser. I've developed a daily schedule and I must discipline myself to follow it. Here it is:



MWF:

8am: Wake up and get ready for class

9-9:50am: Precalculus class. Leave for UTC (43 miles away).

11-11:50am: Arrive at school and go to Spanish 2 Class

11-12:50pm: Chemistry 2 Lecture

12:50pm-5pm (on mondays): Study and read ahead

5-8pm: Psychology class. Afterwards head for the gym.

11pm: Leave the gym and go home for a few hours of sleep