Hello! (and you are welcome for getting that song in your head, circa 2002)
After a very much needed relaxing month, I am back and with a vengeance. That's right folks, it is this semester that I battle the dreaded ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (duh-duh-duhnnn)!!!
Over break I had the opportunity to shadow at a vets office. (I've actually had this opportunity since I was about 13 but I only acted upon it now, oops), and it made me realize that perhaps THAT is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I know, you're saying : "but CarolAnn, didn't you just say that you wanted to be work in the field of sustainable business, and education, and primatology, and music, and dancing hippopotamuses?" and to that I will say "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did - please don't judge me". I am truly and honestly a bit of a hot mess when it comes to deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life. However, I was able to spend 12+ hours a day in that vets office watching all kinds of surgery and medical techniques and I didn't get bored. It was also the place I wanted to be when I took my days off and I think that says something. So right now I am going to push aside my dream of being a hippopotamus dance artist and try this whole vet thing out. That's where the organic chemistry comes in, but not just organic chemistry, oh no, but organic chemistry paired with physics, both in one semester, this semester. Am I a masochist? I'm edging on the line of YES.
I'm also taking a course entitled : TPC: Publ Part Env Pl. Which is obviously everyone's favorite class. Who doesn't like good ole TPC: Publ Part Env Pl - yeah, I don't know what it means either. I believe that it has to do something with the public's effect on environmental planning - BUT I haven't found a thing about it on Rutger's website, the professor is not on "Rate my Professor" and my sakai isn't updated yet so your guess is as good as mine as to what I've gotten myself into.
I'll do a quick synopsis on what I took last semester right......about.....now!
General Psych: I was in the same class as Dorothy (yay) the professor, Michael Leyton, looked like a cross between Albert Einstein and the guy from "Back to the Future". To be quite honest, I didn't learn to much about psychology but he explained that this course was designed to help us, the students, and in that sense I learned a tremendous amount of information. He helped me to build the confidence and sign up for Orgo this semester and (assuming I pass), I'll be eternally grateful. He's a great public speaker and a really wonderful, albeit crazy, guy.
Soul Beliefs: A new class last semester all about the soul and why people believe in it. It was cutting edge and I liked it. Be forewarned - it was a very scientific class not in the sense that the professors (count em, 2) made us play with modeling kits, but if you are very religious you might not enjoy it. It looked at the soul and religion in general from a scientific perspective and gave some answers to "why?". The tests were more difficult than I had expected but as long as you do well in recitation it balances out your grade.
Human Evolution: STAY AWAY. Really. I thought it sounded like a fun time but I was wrong. I didn't listen to "Rate My Professors" which is something I almost never do and I most definitely should have. The curve was amazing. A 75 was an A but that alone tells you how difficult the tests were. That being said, if Australopithicus aferensis is your thing, go for it. I learned that it certainly was not mine at least not with professor Cachel.
Social Evolution: This class was a cake walk for me but a bit more difficult for others. The final wasn't cumulative but had over 700 terms to learn. I don't know why but my brain works with evolution. I have always compared our actions to that of the other members of kingdom Animalia which was basically what this class was all about - behavior. I absolutely loved it and my professor, Amy Jacobson, was pretty great too. She was very laid back and knew me by my first name the first time I showed up at office hours. In a class of 400 people, that's pretty cool.
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