Greetings from Camp Chemistry

The most challenging part about getting your wildlife biology degree isn't learning the organs of a crawfish, the Order, Family, Genus, and Species of Louisiana's mammals, or identifying flat worms.  Its not even learning to do a gram stain or catching turtles in Black Bayou.  Nor is it trigonometry, Spanish, or the geology class.  The most frustrating, tiring and down-right painful part about getting a biology degree is chemistry.

I know what  you are thinking, "Clair! you're a senior.  You're about to start your seventh semester and you only need four semesters of chemistry."  Well, not only an I taking this chemistry as a summer course, its not my last. I have two more to follow.

To be honest, chemistry scares me.  Chemicals, equilibria, equations, acids, bases, and carbons everywhere it scares me.  In previous semesters whenever I have had chemistry, especially the labs, I feel so sick.  My stomach is in knots and I want to just turn and run.  My nerves aren't as bad in the summer,  maybe its bc I know that I just have to get this class done or maybe its bc I have lab 3 afternoons a week and I don't have all weekend to get nervous about it.  Regardless, its nice to walk into the lab without having to puke. 

I have a C in the course right now.  I made an A in the first chem, but I am working my booty off for that class.  It makes me nervous to think that not only do I need to pass this class, but I have to have enough of an understanding to be able to do well in my organic chemistries. Its hard to care about a course when you know that you aren't going to use it in your career. I either want to work in a natural history museum or do field work.  Neither field seems like an understanding of bond angles or the Arrhenius equation is necessary, but whatever.  I have to understand it, so I can get my degree.  Not for my career, but for my degree.

So, to all my friends that haven't seen me lately, I'm sorry--chemistry is to blame.  Sry, I just have to learn this mess.  My final is Aug. the 11th, so I'll see ya'll after that.  Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for me!


**Fun Fact about Chemistry:  The letter J is the only letter not found on the periodic table.**