For those of you who have already taken or are currently taking organic chemistry, you probably know exactly where I'm going with this. Organic chemistry: the class that we are all warned about and told to fear. Most science majors reconsider their area of study when they encounter this course. The thing with orgo is that it's not like any other course we've had to take in the past. There aren't a bunch of formulas that you need to memorize and then apply; instead, you have to understand conceptually what is going on in each reaction and mechanism. Sure, in class you follow along and think you get it, but then you get the exam and it all goes downhill from there.
1. Denial
It's the night before your orgo exam, and you still haven't accepted the fact that you don't really understand anything that you were taught in the last few weeks. Rather than actually reading the book that's been sitting in front of you (untouched) for hours, you try to justify your lack of knowledge; "I mean I'm sure no one else gets this either. It's totally fine. He'll curve the exam, and I could probably end up with a B. I'm cool with that. And I guess if I really had to I could bounce back from a C." After giving yourself this little pep talk, you feel much better about finally putting away your notes and cuddling under your sheets to watch that show that "you absolutely cannot miss."
2. Anger
It's not until you're sitting in your exam room, waiting for the exams to be handed out that you finally realize that you aren't ready for this. In your head you start cursing out whoever had the brilliant idea that organic chemistry should be a required course. Is this level of cruelty even legally allowed? That first question on the exam - is that even something you learned in class? Suddenly you forget about all those times you actually enjoyed your professor's lame jokes and attempts to make you love organic chemistry as much as he does, because all you can focus on is your hatred for this course.
3. Bargaining
You skip the first question on the exam and tell yourself you'll just come back to it later. Maybe the professor played some sort of cruel joke where he put all the easy questions at the end of the exam instead of the beginning. Except there are no easy questions. Everything looks like it's written in a foreign language. Before you completely freak yourself out, you make one last attempt to decipher what's on the page in front of you; "Just try to remember the major concepts. I'm sure you must remember something. And if not maybe he'll feel sorry for you and help you out."
4. Depression
You think that things are finally picking up for you when you finally get the answer to one question.
Except there's still another 13 questions left. At this point it's 45 minutes into the 75 minutes you were given to complete this. People have started to pack up their stuff and leave. They must have just given up, you tell yourself. There's no way anyone finished the exam that fast. Now you're just starting to feel overwhelmed. If it weren't for the professor staring at you from the front of the room and your classmates sitting around you, you definitely would have been a crying mess on the floor by now.
5. Acceptance
There's no point in beating yourself up about something that you can't change. Sure, you may have failed this exam (and the last one) (and probably the next one), but you still have your charming personality. And really, what's more important? Science isn't for everyone. So you accept your defeat, hand in your barely answered exam, and move on with the rest of your life.
Although I've definitely experienced all of these emotions while studying for and taking an organic chemistry exam, in reality, it's not as bad as I made it out to be. This wasn't an attempt to scare people away from being science majors. Honestly, you get out what you put into it. So do the problems and study for at least an hour every day the week before the exam, and you'll kill it.
