Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I am going to D.C. tomorrow, so I'll just take this time to wish you a very happy holiday. I hope you spend lots of time with those you love and wrap up 2009 with joy. (Yeah, totally sappy.)

Love,

Emily

Readjustment and Happiness

Hello everyone!

My first semester of college is... OVER. I was just talking to Camille today about how it felt like we just came for the interview weekend and how this semester flew by so quickly. Gosh, I can't believe how fast it went.

I think this semester I learned not only Calculus (ahem.) and Chemistry (...right..) but also things about life. I learned how to cope with loving people who live far away, much more so than ever now that my dad is in D.C. I learned that what you learn from a class, the experiences you gain, and the amazing people you meet matter more than the final numerical average you receive in a class, and as long as you worked your butt off for something that didn't work out---you didn't fail. Having a room mate taught me how to live with someone and reminded me to be considerate of others, but also made me realize that I need to learn to be less boring (haha!). Philosophizing on the couch (:D), we've realized that we aren't all that important, life is more than just what you know in college, and in the end, all that matters are the people and values in your life.

And most important of all, sometimes you just gotta let go and have a dance party.

From now on, I'll try not to take myself too seriously and have those adventures before my wife gets old (Up reference. Please watch this movie! It is amazing.).

I hope everyone has an amazing week of finals. Do your best and go for it.

Love,

Emily

Happy Holidays!

Today was the math3500 final. After the test, I couldn't even speak English (blubbering when Dr. Shifrin asked how it went and congratulated me on surviving).... but it's over!!!! I did it! :) Hooray!

The rest of the finals should be (relatively) easy.

So enough about school.

Happy Holidays everyone! In celebration of the merry month of December, I have posted a new layout.

math 35 million. for real.

After a whole semester of endless Tuesday nights filled with calculus, proofs, and equations, I figure I should devote a blog post on this huge chunk of my life (haha).

Really, it wasn't that bad. (Or so I say now because I am calm and optimistic.)

I think that Math3500 (endearingly known as Math 35,000 and eventually 350,000 and so on to 35,000,000 when the work got progressively more frustrating as the semester--or night--rolled on..) was definitely a memorable and "worth it" part of my freshman year experience. Without this class, I wouldn't have made such awesome, smart friends, met such a caring and dedicated professor, or pushed myself beyond anything I thought was possible. Looking back, despite all of the difficult nights, I don't think I regret taking this class---even if it wasn't required for my pre-med track (*grumbles* :P).

Once in a while, we need something to struggle for. For me, this used to be AP Chemistry. And now, it is calculus 3 with proofs. Studying for Thursday's final, I feel like I am finally experiencing the true happiness of really learning. Hopefully, I won't fail.

Good luck on all of your finals! I can't wait to write about more exciting things over the break---bwaha. =D

And P.S., in case anyone cares, I did not fail the practical. =)

Multiple Trials

Today I had my Chemistry lab final. As some of you know, this is a class that I have honestly been struggling in---not because the experiments are difficult or confusing, but because even if you understand what you are doing, things may not go right. I suppose this is a metaphor, in some ways, for life. It's strange how in high school and college, you control the world in your hands. I always hear things like "Never take no for an answer--especially not in academics" or "Get it, girl!" (haha), and I feel empowered to go out and take on the world. But in Chemistry lab, things just don't go that way. Sometimes, your data messes up or the calorimeter gets all funky... or the TA has to grade in a mean way according to the professor's orders and you get penalized all over the place for the same mistake.

I don't know anymore if I am just making up excuses or if this is the reality of lab. I feel like it is kind of both. Getting over these obstacles takes patience and determination. But somehow, I feel like no matter how diligent I work, things always go wry in the lab. It's hard to just... suck it up and keep moving, especially when your GPA is on the line.

Sometimes, I worry a lot about medical school. I know it seems really ridiculous, but sometimes I think if I make a B or a C in a freshman general chemistry class, I'll never get into med school and do pubic health... Other times, I just give up on the current semester and say, hey, I'll do better next spring. I feel like this lab is part of my one shot to the rest of my life. Is it??

But life doesn't have just 2 trials. Even in the real lab, you perform hundreds of trials before drawing conclusions. If you fail, just pick yourself up and come back again. It's hard right now to think of things in perspective, especially when the pressure is on to do your best and finish the semester strong. In the end, all you can do is work your hardest, keep your motivation, hold on tight through the exam, and hope for the best.

All I can do now, is hope. And no matter how that practical turned out, I will be okay. Everything will be okay.