Biology majors: we are deemed the nerds of the college world, and for some of us, we are rightfully labeled. Science is what makes us tick, and we have a real passion for learning about how and why organisms work the way that they do. Many of us will pursue a career in different realms of the healthcare industry, which also means that there is a diverse group of us all looking to complete our undergraduate degrees in biology and then continue with (eek) graduate school. There are the future doctors, future physical therapists, future veterinarians, future dentists, future optometrists and future pharmacists all with the common denominator of being a biology/pre-healthcare student. It is safe to say that we all understand each other’s struggles despite our different career choices that will eventually cause us to go our separate ways, in a sense. Here are just a few of the sometimes awesome, sometimes not so awesome things that we as biology majors get to experience.

1. You have been taught mitosis and meiosis at least three times in your educational career. You could probably write a textbook on it.

2. The same goes for DNA/RNA/protein synthesis and their replication processes. Once again, call the textbook publishers.

3. Your second semester of general biology was filled with memorization of a lot of domains, kingdoms, phyla, and orders of organisms that you have definitely forgotten about by now.

4. The words Kreb’s Cycle, Electron Transport Chain, and Glycolysis will haunt you in your dreams for as long as you live. Maybe that was an over-exaggeration -- but learning and memorizing those, ahem, boring processes was in itself a (rough) process.

5. You become incredibly cheerful when you discuss certain subjects in anatomy that align with your career choice. Like when a pre-physical therapy student learns about muscles (thank you, cat dissection,) or a pre-dental student gets to learn about the types and composition of teeth, or when a pre-optometry student gets to dissect a cow’s eye. It’s all very riveting and reassuring that you have chosen the correct career path.

6. Reciting the names andfunctions of the organelles in a cell has become one of your strong suits, and you know exactly why mitochondria is considered the powerhouse of the cell.

7. You somehow passed the feared year of organic chemistry. And what did you take from it? Drawing hexagons is way more difficult than it looks and carbon is important.

8. There is an incredibly sad moment that accompanies the failure of your chemistry lab experiment. You just stare at your lab partner as you both contemplate how dreadful a four hour organic chemistry really is. You then each simultaneously curl up into a ball and shed a few tears.

9. There is an incredibly joyful moment when you realize that you successfully completed a chemistry experiment. You let out a squeal of excitement, give your lab partner the geekiest and enthusiastic look of shock, and marvel at the phenomenon that is science.

10. Dissecting small animals in lab seems totally normal to you, and you actually find it quite enjoyable. You don’t even mind the smell of formaldehyde anymore. Looking at a human cadaver doesn’t even faze you because hey, it’s science.

11. You wonder why physics is even a requirement for you to finish your degree, and a piece of you dies inside when you realize you have to suffer through it for a whole year. But it will all be worth it in the end, right?

12. Despite the difficult classes and long labs, you know biology is the right choice for you. The many of us going into the healthcare field after graduation know that biology has helped us to truly find our passion in our lives. Remember: science rules.