Conseils du premier semestre

The first semester of my freshman year is coming to a close. The days are long, but the months are short. Here is what I've learned; hopefully you will at least laugh. :)

1. Don't skip class. You'll realize how useless giant lecture courses are, and you'll never go back. There are all sorts of bonus points and test hints to be had, and you're missing out, even if you don't learn anything that you couldn't have found in the book or published Powerpoints.
   
   
2. Download everything you ever MIGHT need on eLC. The day you need it will be the day that it's broken, or you don't have internet access.
   
   
3. The buses can't stop. Don't walk/drive in front of them; it's embarrassing when they honk at people(you). And no, you don't get free tuition if you get hit.
   
   
4. Don't go to Snelling and stuff your face every night. You'll get fat, promise, and you should be sleeping anyway.
   
   
5. Choose one weekend and get drunk to oblivion. If you do it right, you won't want to do it again, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. Remember to account for recovery time.
   
   
6. Add everyone you meet on Facebook, and make friends in your classes. It'll be less awkward to ask when you need something for class, or have a question. eLC has rosters for all your classes, so asking for last names doesn't even need to be awkward.
   
   
7. Don't take chemistry unless you have to. They're dirty tricky bastards in that building. You start out learning what an atom is, with ridiculously simple material, but don't underestimate their power to thoroughly screw your GPA. After the second test, your class will be half its original size, and shit will get real, so be ready.
   
   
8. On that note, if you're failing CHEM 1211, you're doing it wrong. There are TAs in the CLC every single day doing homework help. They desperately want you to pass, as it makes them look bad when 2/3rds of the kids drop the course. And yes, the lab is curved, so don't freak out.
   
   
9. Go to sleep. It's all you ever wanted in high school. Revel in the fact that you can work all day, play, and then get enough sleep too. Don't take that from yourself.
   
   
10. Take all AP credit that is awarded to you. AP standards are much higher than colleges' are, and if you retake your exempted classes to get easy As, you'll end up working with tedious B+s.
    
    
11. You are smarter than you think you are, but that doesn't make you invincible shit. You get a head start, at best.

Le Bonheur

I really don't deserve all of the good things that happened to me this week. I was not supposed to pass my calculus exam, let alone get a B, and I wasn't supposed to get a 95 on my chemistry exam, either. None the less, I am pleased.

I'm really looking forward to next semester. Hopefully my classes will be a little less vacuous, and hopefully the physics section I want will open up. I'll be taking CHEM 1212, CHEM 1212L, FREN 3010, CBIO 3800 (neurobiology), and then hopefully PHYS 1112 and PHYS 1112L, if it opens up. If not, I'll think of something else, I guess. It'll be 14 credit hours, but 18 real hours...yay science.

I'm working on the Anatomy and Physiology test for BSO. I think it will go well. I'm a hair nervous, but I'm sure everyone is, and it'll work out.

Ma vie vit

So far, in college, I have:

Celebrated my two year anniversary with Martin

Done poorly on a test I thought I would ace

Aced a test I thought I would fail

Had the worst hangover I've ever experienced

Felt on top of the world

Cried

Laughed

Bought my own groceries

Tripped the circuit breaker on my hall

Made friends

Lost friends

Bought a broken microscope and fixed it

Woke up and asked myself, "What the hell just happened?"

It seems like a success so far. I am really happy.

Also, I used my microscope to see real live sperm. Nothing has made me feel more human. It was such a tangible representation of the wonders of our life. I took a poor-quality video of what I saw with my iphone so that I can remember what it was like.

I hope that things keep working out.