I just finished the first week of classes of my sophomore year and, man, what a week it’s been!
This semester, I’m taking: American Literature (my last English class! YAY!), Introduction to Neuroscience, Neuroscience Lab, Theatre Appreciation, Introduction to Psychology, Biology, and Biology Lab.
I have my American Lit class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and is my first class of the day. The amount of reading for this class is ridiculous. It’s about 100-150 pages of reading for each class. Though that may not sound like a lot, the book we’re reading is The Pioneers, by Cooper and is most definitely, without a doubt, the most boring book I’ve ever read in my entire life. And that’s saying something, because I’ve had to read some pretty horrendous books for my English classes. This one takes the cake! It takes me about four hours to read the assigned reading, not just because I’m a slow reader, but because the book is so boring I can’t pay any attention to it! And, no, it’s not on SparkNotes… I already checked! 😦 My professor for this class also goes off on a lot of tangents and speaks in random phrases that don’t make sense… So, overall, this is probably my least favorite class. But, my classmates are pretty cool because we vent to each other about how much we hate the book before the professor gets there in the mornings.
After American Lit, I have Intro to Neuroscience. This class is team-taught, so we have four different professors. They each teach for about 3-4 weeks, give a test, then alternate to the next professor. The professor we have now is kind of braggy. He talks about himself, all of his degrees, and all of the research he’s done in his life for the first 30 minutes of class, leaving only 20 minutes of actual learning. It would be different if what he was talking about actually pertained to the class… but it doesn’t. At all. All’s I can think is, “dude, just get to the actual teaching. I don’t care that you used to give cocaine to monkeys. I care that I’m paying $100 an hour to listen to you brag on yourself…” Other than the professor, I actually find this class fascinating! I had to read the first chapter in the textbook and actually really enjoyed it! Parts of it even made my laugh out loud, so hard! (just ask my roommate)
I only have Theatre Appreciation on Mondays and Wednesdays (which gives me an hour break on Fridays, and I don’t have to treck back and forth to the BSB– hallelujah!). This class is pretty easy so far and you pretty much just sit and take notes. My professor is a second year grad student and is pretty hilarious! He’s constantly showing us hilarious/cool videos that relate to what we’re learning about. I really admire his ability to make this class interesting! Here’s one of the videos he showed us last class period:
I have Intro to Psychology on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as well. My professor for this class is so awesome. He gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him literally day or night. He said, “since my wife is a doctor, middle of the night phone calls are a common occurrence in my house. So, if you need me, call me, it doesn’t matter what time it is.” I think that is so awesome! He also told us that he would stay on campus however late we needed him to in order for him to work with our schedule to meet with us and he lives 70 miles from campus! This class is going over the same things as my neuroscience class is, right now, so the majority of the class is like deja vu!
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have Biology. The professor for this class is a great lecturer! He actually keeps me engaged, which is hard to do in a biology class. So, major props to this man! He also goes really fast, so I’m going to have to start taking notes before class and adding to them during lecture. This is my only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I get out at 10:45. That definitely makes me like this class so much more!!
My Neuroscience Lab is pretty cool because I can take it whenever I want, as long as I complete one lab a week. It’s computer-based, so as long as the computer lab in the science building is open, I can just go in and take it. I’m planning on taking it on Tuesdays right after my Biology class so that I can get it out of the way early in the week during my least busy day! Plus, I’ll already be at the BSB for Biology, anyways. I don’t know how the actual lab or TA is yet, because I don’t start it until next week, but I’ll update you guys after my first lab on Tuesday!!
Lastly, my Biology lab is on Mondays until 4:30. I was stressing out really bad about this class because I haven’t had the best experiences with lab partners in the past. But, this semester, I have two freshman lab partners: Amanda and Duc. They are really sweet and hard working (a complete change from my last two lab partners) so I’m not worried about this class at all anymore because I won’t have to do it all myself. Plus, they just seem to be so sweet, so I really enjoy getting to talk to them! And the TA is really sweet and helpful, also a huge change from my second semester Chemistry lab TA (he just sat there and watched football the entire lab).
I really enjoyed this first week of classes! I hope this post hasn’t seemed too pessimistic– I really am enjoying all of my classes! Well… except my english class. Other than that, my classes are wonderful and so interesting! This is by far the best semester I’ve had at Baylor. I think it’s because I’ve finally figured out what I want to do, so I’m working towards the goal of being a pediatrician now. Whereas, last year, I had no clue what I wanted to do so I just felt like I was spinning my wheels. I finally have the motivation I need to stay on top of things because I know that these classes are actually going to be useful to me in the future! I’m so thankful that I decided to take the leap of faith and do what I’ve always wanted to do: become a doctor. Major thanks for my family doctor and my best friend for their support and advice that helped me make my decision!!
And, it’s always a blessing to be able to walk through such a beautiful campus everyday! Here are a few pictures I snapped while walking to class this week!
On Tuesday, I got to have lunch with my Baylor Buddy (Garrett) at Which Wich– the best sandwich shop EVER. We spent most of our time talking about how much different and more relaxing this semester has been from previous semesters– probably because we’re no longer freshmen and finally have the hang of things!
On Thursday, I got to have lunch (at the same place, because it’s THAT good) and Starbucks with Josie! It was great to get to catch up!
Clubs start next week and I’m really excited!! I’m joining BU Meds, AMSA, and Baylor Buddies!
BU Meds is a Medical Humanities (one of my majors) group that focuses on the compassion, morality and spirituality of medicine as well as patient-doctor relationships, rather than just the science behind it.
Speaking of Medical Humanities, check out the shirts the department made for us this year:
AMSA is the American Medical Student Association and they do various medicine-related projects throughout the semester. I get to spend a day practicing sutures on fruit! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Baylor Buddies is by far the club I’m most excited about! It’s a program where you get assigned to an underprivileged child and you go eat lunch with them at least once a week at school and you take them to various Baylor sporting events and you just mentor them and become a positive influence in their life! I cannot even begin to explain my excitement for this club! I love children and the thought of getting to spend time with a sweet child and helping them just by hanging out with them is the best thing I could imagine!! It reminds me of the tutoring program I did in high school and makes me miss my sweet kiddos so much!!
This weekend, my sister is coming down and staying the night with my niece. I am unbelievably excited for them to get here tomorrow!!! I’ve missed them so much!! She made Paisley an adorable Baylor onsie and tutu to wear while they’re down here (it was supposed to be for the game but we unfortunately can’t go, so we’re just going to take her around campus and show her off!) :
So, overall, my week was WONDERFUL and I’m about to have an even better weekend (not to mention, NO CLASS MONDAY!) I’ll post all about my time with my sister and niece on Sunday or Monday, so don’t forget to check back to read all about it and see the adorable pictures of my niece! Or, just subscribe by entering your e-mail to the left to get it directly to your e-mail so you’re sure not to miss it!! And, trust me, you’re not going to want to miss those adorable pictures!
Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you enjoyed this post 🙂 If you’re back at school, or a first year freshman, I’d love to hear all about your week and what classes you’re taking, so feel free to comment below, or e-mail me!
Also, let me know if there are any college-specific things you would like me to post about!
– ❤ B
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