My Life!

So these last few weeks have been kind of stressful.  I haven’t blogged too much on account of a couple 20 page lab reports*, three midterms, a variety of other tests and quizzes, and Ultimate Frisbee (more on that later).  On top of that, housing and class registration begins next week, which just adds to the stress, but I think I may have it all figured out now.

Next year I’m rooming with Sam, Janet, and Liz and I am SUPER excited about that!  Liz and Sam are both bio majors as well, and Janet is civil engineering with an environmental engineering concentration. 

The classes were a little trickier to figure out.  I came in with most of my base requirements filled, which is great because I can pretty much make my schedule whatever I want, but also not because then I have to decide what I want, and I’m not sure what exactly that is yet.  Because I already have 65 credits after my freshmen year, I have a ton of room for other classes that I want to take.  I’ve decided to minor in business for sure, since EVERYTHING is a business and it will be applicable in any job I decide to take.  I’m also thinking right now of pursuing an environmental science minor.  I’m not sure as of present if I want to go into the more molecular/biotech side of biology or into a more conservation/environmental field.  I figure if I take classes in both and try to get experience working in both then I’ll be able to decide based on what I actually like doing more. 

The problem I have been having with classes is that I want to study abroad.  I REALLY want to study abroad.  And I don’t want it to be a semester wasted academically because science classes don’t transfer back very well and I’ve already fulfilled all of my elective requirements.  But I found this program earlier this week in Costa Rica.  It’s a conservation biology semester abroad first doing research and then analyzing it and taking classes.  I’ll live with a host family for part of it, learn some basic Spanish, and get to see if conservation biology is something I would like to do for the rest of my life!  It meets my biology requirements, and although I could graduate about a year and a half early, I could still stay and take classes on the molecular side of the spectrum to get experience there as well.  I figure since I’m not losing anything and I’ve just got the rest of my life in front of me after college, I may as well stay here as long as I can.

So this weekend I mapped out my life for the next four years**.  I figured out what classes I can take when, when the best time to study abroad is, and when I’ll go on CO-OP.  I am so excited because I worked out a way to “do it all,” and not settle for anything less than what I can get from my time here.

Next semester, if scheduling*** works out, I’ll be taking the following courses:

Organic Chemistry 1 – “The course that separates those who think they want to be doctors and those who are meant to be doctors…”

Ecology – Required for both my major and my environmental science minor.

Finance – For my business minor

Environmental Ethics – I am so excited for this class!  I love ethics and discussing and thinking about problems that affect us all and I think it will be a great supplement to the rest of my science and math based courses.  Additionally, it works for my environmental science minor as well!

So that’s my life as of now.  I’m sure things will change, and I hope they do as I discover who I am, what I like, and what I want to be.

*I wish I were joking, but I’m not.

**Subject to change at any moment.

***This is that very stressful time when you hope beyond hope that you can get into your classes even despite being so low on the totem pole.