1. "Baby, this is what you came for."
Love it or hate it, if you’re majoring in chemistry or a biological science, then this is what you came for. I started anticipating organic chemistry as soon as I decided to be a biology major - my junior year of high school. I was so anxious over starting organic chemistry that it consumed my every thought for the two weeks leading up to it. Although I knew the course would be extremely difficult, after almost four years of dread, I was just ready to get it over with.
2. The minor detail that my entire career may hinge on this class.
It’s impossible for you to ignore the fact that your future as a scientist depends on your grade in organic chemistry - especially if you intend to apply to medical school or graduate school. With that kind of stress weighing on you, you’re bound to see your life flash before your eyes as soon as the professor takes the cap off of their expo marker.
3. Maybe organic chemistry will actually come naturally to me, and I won’t have to study at all!
On my first day, the professor told us “To some people, organic chemistry just makes sense. They barely have to study and they get an A. It’s rare, but there’s bound to be someone in this class like that.” I couldn’t help but wonder if that was me - if I was actually some sort of chemistry genius all along and no one realized it. What if all of my agonizing worry had been in vain, and the upcoming year was going to be a cakewalk?
4. But then the professor covers resonance structures, constitutional/structural isomers, intermolecular forces, formal charges, and molecular geometry in the first half hour and calls it “review”.
By the end of class, you will probably realize that your aforementioned thought was just complete denial. The reality is that organic chemistry is an extremely difficult, face-paced, memory-intensive course that will require the majority of your time and energy.
5. Why am I being trusted with deadly chemicals and fire?
We can’t exclude the organic chemistry lab from lecture, because you do just as much (if not more) work for that one credit than those three. On my first day of lab, the professor lectured for three hours straight on lab safety - and of course, we had to stand the whole time. (There are no chairs allowed in chemistry labs, and my feet learned that the hard way.) With getting a C or higher in gen chem being the only prerequisite, we are faithfully handed incredibly dangerous chemicals, incredibly expensive glassware, and good old-fashioned bunsen burners. And yes, I did accidentally tear-gas myself, drop a round-bottom flask with my product in it, and set a rubber tube on fire.
In conclusion, yes, organic chemistry has deserved its reputation. However, it can only crush your dreams if you let it. Put together a study group, and rely on each other for help and advice. Although this course is a perfect opportunity to really push yourself academically, in my experience, it was also a great exercise in self-acceptance for when my best wasn't always good enough.
