Although some people genuinely enjoyed it, organic chemistry is stigmatized as the bane of every science major's curriculum. Before you actually take one or two courses in this subject, the horror stories that you've heard from those who have already taken these courses fill you with anxiety and leave you fearing the unknown. I'm not going to sugar coat it: organic chemistry is difficult but not impossible. As long as you devote enough time to study for the exams and figure out an effective study system (I used flashcards), you will be fine when it's all said and done. If you have ever taken an organic chemistry class or if you are currently taking one now, you know that there are feelings and experiences that only a past, or current, organic chemistry student understands. Here are 21 things that only someone who took, or is taking, organic chemistry understands:
1. This is what your goal of getting into medical school feels like when taking organic chemistry.
2. On the first day of lecture, this is basically what every organic chemistry professor says:
3. This is you studying for each exam:
4. This is you during each exam:
5. This is you after each exam:
6. Your reaction when you solve a synthesis problem in like 20 steps but your friend shows you that it can be solved in 2 steps:
7. During lab, you've definitely asked someone this question before: "How did you get such a high percent yield?! Wait, did you tweak your numbers?..."
8. This is you when you can't figure out that unbelievably difficult homework problem that you have been getting wrong over and over again for the past hour.
9. Your reaction to when someone complains about a class other than organic chemistry:
10. At some point you start making nerdy organic chemistry jokes.
11. Your professor nonchalantly claims that he knows how to synthesize different illegal drugs.
12. Not knowing how well you did on the exam you just finished is usually a good sign.
13. You failed your organic chemistry exam, but it was the highest grade in the class...
14. It doesn't matter if you are currently taking organic chemistry or if you have already taken organic chemistry, you instantly get a stomach ache when you see one of these:
15. You became a master at drawing hexagons.
16. That time when you knew how to answer every question on an exam except for one question, but that one question was worth 20 points...
17. Remember your nerdy excitement when an entire page of your exam was filled with questions that asked you to either draw the product(s), or reactant(s), of a reaction?
18. This is you after you finish your Organic Chemistry I final exam but quickly realize that you have to take Organic Chemistry II the following semester:
19. And this is you once you finish your Organic Chemistry II final exam:
20. Once you have had time to recuperate from all of the anxiety that those two courses gave you and realize that you did well, this is you when you realize that it all was worth it:
21.)After you are finally done with organic chemistry, this is your reaction when someone asks you to help them with their organic chemistry homework the following semester; it is also your reaction when you realize that you have to study organic chemistry again for the MCAT:
