In high school, I paid about zero attention in my science classes. It was mainly because I knew what I wanted to do. I loved foreign languages, so I wanted to go into international business. However, I took anatomy in my senior year of high school and I fell in love with it. I loved it so much that, in fact, my love for anatomy almost exactly paralleled my hatred for business, politics, and history -- the three crucial components of an international business major. So I did a complete 180 and decided to pursue a degree in health science instead. I love it, but being a science major does not come without its own drawbacks (and blessings).
1. You have to take insanely hard math classes.
I am not a calculus major and after I get into grad school, I hope to never think of related rates ever again.
2. You also have to take upper-level classes in sciences that you couldn't care less about, just to get that Bachelors of Science.
We all know what B.S. really stands for. It's the only reason that I've made it this far into college.
3. You have to explain to your friends how you actually have so much work that you can't go out.
Yes, I know that it's Saturday. Yes, I know that I'm lame. I have a bio test on Thursday and, considering that I don't understand anything, I should probably go ahead and get started studying.
4. You have at least one afternoon per week dedicated to lab but probably more.
Let's be real, it's definitely more. When your friends are curling up for their post-lunch nap, you're headed back over to the science building. As if the massive load of homework wasn't time-consuming enough.
5. Speaking of lab, you have to know how all of that fancy equipment works.
I mean, I could ask for help at any point, but do I really want to look like a dweeb in front of this whole class of extremely intelligent future surgeons, physicists, and whatever else? I think that I'll just lay low this time.
6. Sometimes you don't do well on that test that you studied forever for.
Anyone in any major at any college probably knows this feel, but, for some reason, this seems to happen particularly often in those aforementioned deadly lab sciences.
7. You wonder why you chose such a hard major or why you went to college at all.
Why couldn't I have chosen another major? Any other major would really be fine, except anything involving math, history, or politics. You know what, maybe I should just drop out and open an ice cream store or a bowling alley.
8. On the other hand, you're glad that you almost never have to write papers.
So I don't know what half of the words in my Chemistry textbook mean, but at least I didn't have to go through the effort of thinking of them myself.
9. You have to deal with the fact that 99 percent of grad school science programs require a lot of previous experience, like completing research and hands-on hours in your intended career.
You need school to get a job and you need a job to get into school. That makes sense.
10. You're happy about the fact that there are so many research and internship opportunities in the science field.
If they're going to require it, at least it's not a totally impossible achievement. Let's be real, with as excited you are to finally be able to do what you love, would you really say no to an awesome internship?
11. You know that all of the struggles that you put up with will be worth it when you finally get to do what you really love.
I love my major so much that, in all honesty, I don't even mind the workload that goes along with it. I know that someday the classes that I hated will be long gone and the only thing that will matter is that I graduated with a degree that allows me to do what I love. Maybe that makes me a nerd, but that's totally okay with me. Unless the haters' opinions are a part of my health science curriculum, then I won't pay attention to them anyway.
