Yes, being a science major is going to be very difficult but there are others that know exactly what you are going through.
1. There is no "syllabus week"
Coming back to school during the fall or spring is one of the best times of the year because you get to see all of your friends and your favorite professors. "Syllabus week" is another favorite week of almost all college students unless you are a science major. While your friends get to know their class expectations and get to introduce themselves to the class, you get to learn the IUPAC nomenclature of alkanes on the first day of Organic Chemistry..
2. You never sleep
Who has time to sleep for eight hours when you're trying to get into medical school? I'm lucky if I get six hours of sleep a night. Naps are a science majors best friend. Taking a quick 20 minute nap in between classes are a great way to stay awake and alert for the rest of the day. Another option is to just sleep in the one lecture class where your professor just reads off the slides.
3. There are not enough hours in the day
Live, eat and breathe science. If you're not in class then you are probably reading through your organic chemistry book or memorizing all of the blood vessels in the human body (and there's a lot!). You probably have six classes, a job, three clubs, a sorority, job shadowing, volunteering and research. 24 hours is not enough time to finish all of this in one day.
4. You do experiments at home
You always hear, "Don't try this at home". But when you're a science major, you never follow the rules. You are always wondering what its really like to do these things when you're not under supervision at school. You wonder whether it could be more intense or not. Science majors are just very curious creatures that want to experiment on different things, so why not try it at home?
5. Studying is your hobby
You are constantly studying, when you're not in class, you are in the library or in your room reading and re-reading all of your textbooks. You go to study sessions, tutoring sessions and meet with your professors. You barely have time for a social life. Studying is basically the only thing you know how to do.
6. You can tell science jokes that no one finds funny
A hug without U is just toxic...(get it? Mercury!)
What did one cell say to his sister cell that stepped on his toes? ..Mitosis!
I was reading a book on helium, I couldn't put it down.
Love is in the air?.. Wrong. Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide are in the air.
7. Every other major thinks that you are an odd species
No one understands why you're doing what you are doing, they think that you are crazy. You talk about things with other science majors and no one knows what the heck you're talking about. You never sleep, you drink tons of coffee just to stay awake and study, almost fall asleep in your classes and barely have time to eat or even go to the bathroom. They think science is boring or all "bullshit". They don't understand why we like it so much. They don't understand why we get all excited when we see a cadaver in human anatomy class.
8. Your heart breaks a little bit each time you have to buy a new textbook
Every professor seems to have a special textbook that you need for just that class and only for that one semester. You need a textbook for every class, along with an online code that is worth $300. I am a broke college student, what makes them think that I have enough money to buy all of these textbooks worth hundreds of dollars. I am already spending over a hundred thousand just to go to college, how much money are they going to take from me???
9. You question your major (and your sanity) almost every day
Yes, I question myself EVERY SINGLE DAY, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love science and I always have since I was a young kid. I am constantly busy doing school work, whether it's a chemistry manuscript or a biology report or just studying for a big exam that's worth half of my grade. It's especially rough when you're still up at 3 a.m. and just chugged a gallon of Dunkin Donuts so that you can absorb everything before your 8 a.m. class. I LOVE SLEEP and I never get a good nights rest which absolutely breaks my heart..
10. You would never trade this major for the world
Yes, being a science major is very overwhelming and tiring but I would not trade it for the world. There is nothing that I would rather do than what I am doing right now. Every day I am challenged and rewarded in some way, and there is nothing better than feeling accomplished. There is nothing better than helping others through my knowledge of science. I want to find a cure for cancer some day, help save someones life, do an 8 hour surgery and be able to walk out with a smile on my face.
I want to teach people the things that I know. I want people to live a better life because of what I do. I want people to survive and to be thankful because of something that I did. Science is all around us whether you realize it or not. Science helps us in every way possible, so if you're one of those people that diss on science all the time, think twice before you do it again. So many people have strayed from the path that you fought so hard to stay on. The people that come out graduating as a science major, are the people that are meant to do wonderful things. Whether it's Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Medicine or Biochemistry, we all share the same passion. We all share the same struggles.
