On An Update

So here's the update I promised you in my last post.
My grades finally came out, and I am proud to say that I didn't get any C's hahaha : )

Chem 3A: I really enjoyed learning organic chemistry. I was really scared going into it due to all the horror stories I heard about it, but surprisingly, I didn't encounter much of those problems. A lot of people said that ochem involved a lot of memorization. But in my recent experience, Chem 3A didn't require 'memorization' per say. I did a TON of practice problems (Pederson problems, some problems in the book, practice tests- all teachers' past tests- not just Bertozzi's, etc.) and went to SLC reviews/GSI reviews three times a week. By the way, sign up for those reviews. Although Bertozzi was an amazing lecturer, the SLC groups helped solidify concepts so I did most of my learning there. Overall, I believe in organic chemistry, you get the grade you earn (unlike chem 1A). The more effort you put into learning the material and understanding the concepts, the better your grade is likely to be. In my opinion, organic chemistry (at least the first half of it) was a lot easier than Berkeley's chem 1A (General chemistry) because the material was very focused and narrow so we knew what we had to study and what path to follow. I loved ochem with Bertozzi- definitely one of the best classes I've taken at Cal so far : )

Math 16B: I'm not sure why, but I did not like this class at all. Maybe it was the teacher, or perhaps it was the subject material. Whatever it may be, I didn't so well in this class, or at least, not as well as I'd hoped (I got a B- not the end of the world but still embarrassing for math 16B). I had professor Sarason. He seems like a really nice guy- old, yes, but nice. I can't say too much about him because I never went to lecture. Now before you criticize me about this and its correlation to my grade, I have to say that I couldn't understand a word he was saying and his notes were all posted online anyway... My GSI for discussion gave us really hard quizzes and I made a lot of stupid mistakes on the midterms. The subject material was not the easiest to learn for me. Sure, it started out easy, but then it delved into probability and taylor series stuff at the end and that's what did it for me I think. The other teacher who taught 16B at the time was Judson (he's new so I was afraid of taking him). But I went to one or two of his lectures and he's a very good lecturer (although I heard his tests are harder). The teacher who teaches it in the fall, Scanlon (or however you spell his name) is not any easier- at least that's what I hear. So I can't give you any advice about this class except that Sarason is supposed to be the easiest 16B teacher (although personal experience teaches otherwise). I'm just glad it's over lol ; )

Asian American Studies 20B: I took this class with professor Dong because I needed more units and I thought this would be a GPA booster. Throughout the semester, I fell behind on my readings and my weekly write-ups (ochem was taking over my study schedule). So I got scared that my GPA 'booster' would turn into a GPA dragger. My GSI, Abraham, was not the most strict instructor in the world. He didn't really come to discussion prepared so he always asked us what we wanted to talk about and he let us out early all the time. He was a lenient grader as well so that was good lol. In the end, I got an A in the class so it ultimately did boost my gpa : ). Lesson to be learned- falling behind in readings at cal is extremely dangerous. Did I learn much from the class? Umm... yes and no. I learned more about the issues effecting Asian Americans today, but it wasn't anything I haven't heard before. The class just went deeper into the issues, such as racism and the model minority myth. Would I recommend this class? Yeah, I think I would. Just because Professor Dong is a nice guy and he's been very influential in developing ethnic studies at berkeley and other universities. He really knows what he's talking about. It's just that the subject matter is not so captivating (for me at least).

Classics 10B: This class was on ancient Roman civilization and it was taught by Professor Murphy. I really enjoy history so I took this class as a breadth. Professor Murphy is an amazing lecturer. I never missed a lecture and I enjoyed listening to him talk. He's very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject and it's like listening to a story each time he lectures. The subject matter itself was very interesting, although there was a lot of reading involved, which I also fell slightly behind (big mistake). The papers we had to do and the midterm given were graded unfairly in my opinion. They expected a lot of small details which was impossible to store in our heads, especially with classes like ochem looming before us. My GSI for discussion was Darcy and she was a great GSI. You could tell she was really passionate about classics and she was really nice- great laugh too (you'll see what I mean if you ever take it with her ; ). I ended up taking this class Pass/No Pass because with all my other classes, I couldn't put in the effort that this class required (luckily I passed hahaha). I'm even debating taking another classics class just so I could have Murphy as a professor again : ) In all, this class is not an easy A, or even an easy B in my opinion. But it's still a great class to take p/np.

That's it for now. My gpa this semester turned out to be 3.43- not too bad, slight drop from last semester but that was expected. Like I said before, I worked really hard for my grades this semester and I'm glad the hard work paid off : )
Now, hopefully I can enjoy a few months of no homework, papers, or exams and I'll be ready for next semester. On to Chem 3B! ; )

If you have any questions or topics you would like me to write about, please leave a comment or shoot me an email :D

Thanks!

-K

On Being Done- Finally ; )

First year of college has officially ended for me : )
I had my last final today- ochem. How did i do? I'm not sure exactly. All I can say is, the test was fair. It wasn't ridiculously hard like the second midterm (average was 40%) or easy like the first one. I just hope I get a B in that class...
As for my other finals, math 16B was crazy hard. I know what you might be thinking- psh, it's 16B! It's supposed to be the easiest math class! .... I know... but for some reason, it was a challenge this semester. I don't even know if I can pull off a B- at this point hahaha. Two C's on my transcript is not going to look so good for med school... *sigh... We'll see..
Classics final was o.k- not too bad- but I pass/no passed it so I didn't concern myself with it too much. Asian American studies final was a bit difficult...
Overall, my gpa isn't looking too good right now, but once again.. we'll see..
I'll do a review of the classes I took this semester (like I did for last semester) once I get my final grades. Then I'll be able to assess everything. : )

Anyway, now that finals are over, I've started packing all my things to go home tomorrow : )
Surprisingly, I fit all my books and whatnot into one box + bag which is an incredible feat hahaha

I feel myself sinking into a depression as my time in the dorms draws to a close. Over the year, I've gotten to know great people who have become great friends. I just hope we can keep in touch over the years.
On a positive note, we're all living somewhat close to each other next year so that should be fun : )

Looking back at this semester, I can say that it was a lot of work- a lot more work than my first semester. But on the other hand, I enjoyed this semester a whole lot more, mainly because I had amazing teachers and became better acquainted with my floormates and roommates.
Looking back through the year, I feel like the year went by way too quickly. It was a tremendous growing experience- from moving out, to failing tests, to getting out of comfort zones, to making new friends- and I feel so fortunate to have the experience that I did.

Summer plans: Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any classes at the community colleges where I live (damn budget cuts) so I'll hopefully find a job this summer. I plan to get a head start on my reading for next semester for both my english class and ochem 3B (yikes), and hopefully travel a little. : )

2nd year plans: So for next semester, I plan on taking chem 3B (ochem second semester), english R1B, and music (gpa booster-I need to take it easy after this semester). I also got a lab position at the Lawrence Berkeley lab so I'm both scared and excited about that hahaha. Plus, we'll be living in an apartment next year so that'll be a whole different adventure ; )

I'll post again during the summer regarding college for all the incoming freshman and I'll keep you updated as much as possible.

Thank and have a fantastic summer!

-K