She had a thirst for knowledge
Fuck, if I keep changing my mind about what degree to do, I'm going to be so broke never going to graduate!
I graduated from high school last millennium ten years ago shit, almost eleven years ago, in 1998. For a variety of reasons, I wasn't ready to go to university, and wanted to take a year off and figure out who the hell I was, and perhaps make a friend or two. My asshole parents, who abused me and neglected me for nearly two decades, never once asking me what I felt about things, denied me that opportunity (which has had horrific consequences), and I was forced* to go to Langara College right after high school, which was September 1998, back when we registered for classes over the phone and looked up our courses in a paper catalogue.
At Langara, in September 1998 and January 1999 (damn it, I keep typing "200x instead of "199x") I completed six credits each of first year English, psychology, French, and six credits of second year Spanish. The reason why I took these silly courses is because I had no idea what my academic goals were (I hadn't even heard of the term "Bachelor degree" or "undergrad degree"), and everyone took English and psychology, and I had done French and Spanish in high school. I took the summer semester off because going to school during the summer was a foreign concept to me (remember, I was right out of high school), and then in September 1999 and January of 2000, I decided to take a first year biology class because I was interested in that subject. I only took one class because I didn't know what else to take, and taking a chemistry or math course never even occurred to me as I wasn't interested in those subjects, and I didn't know anything about prerequisites. I had absolutely no clue about how post-secondary worked!
In November 1999, I also got my first job, and because I was only taking one course, I pretty much worked full-time, and once I finished my biology course in April 2000, I worked full-time. Even though I still didn't know what to do or how the school system worked (I should have spoken to an academic advisor, but I didn't even know that they existed...), I forced myself to go back to school in September 2001 because I felt that if I took more time off, I'd never go back. I was interested in biology and had completed first year biology, so I decided to do a second year biology course. Since I didn't have any chemistry prerequisites**, the only second year biology course I could do at the time was microbiology, so I registered for microbiology as well as the equivalent of grade 12 chemistry, so that I could do other biology courses in the future. (Registering for chemistry was the first time in my post-secondary education that I had actually done something that resembled a "plan".)
While I was taking microbiology and chemistry in September 2001, I was also working. I had moved out of my parents' house the previous year in October 2000 and was living with my boyfriend. Since I didn't have mommy and daddy to pay for everything, I had to work to support myself, and did the classic young-kid-just-moved-out-of-the-house-and-going-to-school mistake: I worked too much and as a result, did poorly at school. I did all right in chemistry, getting a B- (well, at the time I thought it was all right), but I never really had an understanding of the material, and I would have failed microbiology had my teacher not given me a passing mark so that I could go into the second part of microbiology, the class I am taking right now. (Literally, my teacher gave me a passing grade. If I recall correctly, I didn't even write the final exam, as my mind went blank and I couldn't answer any of the questions. So instead, I spent the exam time writing her a letter, explaining my situation, and asking if I could be admitted into the second part.) The reason why I did so poorly in my classes is not because I was a total idiot who didn't understand the material, but because I was working so much and commuting for hours every day, and was completely exhausted, barely having any time to eat and sleep, let alone study.
So my microbiology teacher allowed me to go on, and in April 2002 I was registered in the second part of microbiology as well as what I now know is the first part of first year chemistry. I had vowed to study more and had cut back my hours at work, but I was still working a ridiculous amount, especially for a science student, and quickly, work started interfering with my schooling. One Monday morning, I had a quiz in chemistry, and I completely bombed it because I had forgotten to study for it. Had I taken even just half-an-hour to review the material I would have done all right, but I had totally forgotten about it because I was so focused on microbiology and work. I was upset, and decided to drop chemistry and try and focus on microbiology, because clearly I had too much on my plate. I can't remember why I decided to drop microbiology later, what the impetus was, perhaps doing poorly on an exam because I was too exhausted to study, but I had to admit defeat and drop microbiology, because it was clear that I just couldn't handle school and work.
So I dropped out of microbiology, and while I did not do well in it, I did enjoy it, which is why I decided to go for my Microbiology and Immunology degree when I finally went back to school in September 2006. It was a rough couple of years at Douglas College, having to struggle through calculus and start chemistry from the very beginning (grade 11 chemistry), but I made it, and started UBC in September 2008, and have been taking courses that are required for the Microbiology and Immunology program, hoping that I can start the program in September 2009.
I only decided to go for a microbiology degree because I am interested in the subject, not to get a job in the field. Unless you go on to graduate school (or have some great connections), a microbiology degree is pretty useless, unless you want to work in a lab for $12-$15 an hour, and graduate school is just not for me. (If any of you tell me that I am capable of graduate school and ask me why I don't want to get a PhD, shut up and take a moment to think: do you think you are capable of doing research, determining what each protein component on a complex multi-unit protein does, or sequencing the genome of such-and-such an organism? If the answer is "no", you have no business telling me that I am capable of it.) So my plan was to complete my microbiology degree so I could say, "Ha ha, I have a degree, so fuck you! for the sake of finishing something and for the sake of learning, and then after completing my microbiology degree, go, "Now what? What degree should I do in order to get a job?"
Last semester, I heard about the Bachelor of Education program, and I thought that would be a good rout for me to pursue, as I enjoy tutoring, and I could really see myself being capable of teaching high school science. This seemed like a very plausible career for me, and for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do. However, there was one thing that concerned me, my lack of ability to drive. Since this is Vancouver, it's difficult to get a permanent job teaching, so most likely I would have to be a substitute teacher for a while. This would mean that I would be called in the morning of and asked to work at certain school, and only have a couple of hours to get my ass down there, and there would be a good chance that I would be sent somewhere which is either not transit accessible, or would take too long to get to via transit. Because of this, as well as some other relatively minor complications, I was going to make an appointment with an advisor this semester. However, yesterday, I received one of those mass emails from UBC, and this one was about the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science, something that I hadn't heard of before.
I don't know too much about it yet, but I've been poking around on the website, and it sounds interesting, and from what I gather, if I only do an undergrad degree, I think this one would be more useful than a microbiology degree, as far as getting a job goes. The application deadline for the fall of 2009 is February 28th, but unfortunately, I can not apply, as I lack MICB 202 (the course I am doing now), and physical and analytical chemistry courses, some of the courses that you must already have completed if applying for the program. I will complete MICB 202 this April (seven years after I started it!), and hopefully I can do the chemistry courses in the winter 2009 semester, and get into this program in September 2010. If I do get in, then I will graduate in 2012, finally getting my first degree over the span of two millennia and three decades.
I shouldn't be getting so excited about this, but this really seems like a good plan for me, and it appeals to me for a variety of reasons. However, I can't count on getting into the program, so I'm still going to apply for the microbiology program this spring, hoping to get in for September 2009, and if I do get in the microbi program, I will take the required microbi courses, and take the chemistry courses as "electives". If I don't get into the Medical Lab Science program, then I will have gotten my chemistry fix, and the chem courses will count as electives for the microbi program. However, if I do get into the MLS program, then all the courses I took last semester and am taking this semester, except for MICB 202, will have been a total waste! Argh! So that means I will have suffered through MICB 300, MICB 324, and BIOC 302, courses you don't take as electives, for nothing! However, that I can deal with; I will be a better person for having taken those courses. However, what will piss me off the most is, if I do get into the MLS program, then I will have taken STAT 200 for nothing, and so far, this is proving to be the most hellish course out of all my UBC courses! Biochem was hard, but at least it was interesting! Right now, I'd rather be taking calculus; that's how much I hate my stats course!
At any rate, whatever program I do, I won't pass if I continue to waste time on LJ, writing long entries like this instead of studying.
*Without my knowledge, my parents filled out an application for UBC, signing my name on in, although it looked nothing like my signature, and I only found out because my mom made a copy of the application and haphazardly left it lying around. I was accepted into UBC, because ten years ago you didn't need that high a GPA, and to avoid going to UBC, which would have been a huge mistake, I went to Langara just to appease them.
**I had only done grade 11 chemistry in high school, and I wanted to take grade 12 chemistry, an important class to take if you continue on in the sciences in post-secondary. But I was forced to take photography instead, as the requirements to graduate high school were, among other things, English 12; math 11; socials 11; PE 10; an arts 11 elective; an applied skill 11 elective (I had cooking--ha ha ha ha ha); and I think only one science 12 (or perhaps it was only a science 11), and I had biology 12. However, because I needed the fucking arts 12 elective, I had no room in my time table to do chemistry 12!
I graduated from high school last millennium ten years ago shit, almost eleven years ago, in 1998. For a variety of reasons, I wasn't ready to go to university, and wanted to take a year off and figure out who the hell I was, and perhaps make a friend or two. My asshole parents, who abused me and neglected me for nearly two decades, never once asking me what I felt about things, denied me that opportunity (which has had horrific consequences), and I was forced* to go to Langara College right after high school, which was September 1998, back when we registered for classes over the phone and looked up our courses in a paper catalogue.
At Langara, in September 1998 and January 1999 (damn it, I keep typing "200x instead of "199x") I completed six credits each of first year English, psychology, French, and six credits of second year Spanish. The reason why I took these silly courses is because I had no idea what my academic goals were (I hadn't even heard of the term "Bachelor degree" or "undergrad degree"), and everyone took English and psychology, and I had done French and Spanish in high school. I took the summer semester off because going to school during the summer was a foreign concept to me (remember, I was right out of high school), and then in September 1999 and January of 2000, I decided to take a first year biology class because I was interested in that subject. I only took one class because I didn't know what else to take, and taking a chemistry or math course never even occurred to me as I wasn't interested in those subjects, and I didn't know anything about prerequisites. I had absolutely no clue about how post-secondary worked!
In November 1999, I also got my first job, and because I was only taking one course, I pretty much worked full-time, and once I finished my biology course in April 2000, I worked full-time. Even though I still didn't know what to do or how the school system worked (I should have spoken to an academic advisor, but I didn't even know that they existed...), I forced myself to go back to school in September 2001 because I felt that if I took more time off, I'd never go back. I was interested in biology and had completed first year biology, so I decided to do a second year biology course. Since I didn't have any chemistry prerequisites**, the only second year biology course I could do at the time was microbiology, so I registered for microbiology as well as the equivalent of grade 12 chemistry, so that I could do other biology courses in the future. (Registering for chemistry was the first time in my post-secondary education that I had actually done something that resembled a "plan".)
While I was taking microbiology and chemistry in September 2001, I was also working. I had moved out of my parents' house the previous year in October 2000 and was living with my boyfriend. Since I didn't have mommy and daddy to pay for everything, I had to work to support myself, and did the classic young-kid-just-moved-out-of-the-house-and-going-to-school mistake: I worked too much and as a result, did poorly at school. I did all right in chemistry, getting a B- (well, at the time I thought it was all right), but I never really had an understanding of the material, and I would have failed microbiology had my teacher not given me a passing mark so that I could go into the second part of microbiology, the class I am taking right now. (Literally, my teacher gave me a passing grade. If I recall correctly, I didn't even write the final exam, as my mind went blank and I couldn't answer any of the questions. So instead, I spent the exam time writing her a letter, explaining my situation, and asking if I could be admitted into the second part.) The reason why I did so poorly in my classes is not because I was a total idiot who didn't understand the material, but because I was working so much and commuting for hours every day, and was completely exhausted, barely having any time to eat and sleep, let alone study.
So my microbiology teacher allowed me to go on, and in April 2002 I was registered in the second part of microbiology as well as what I now know is the first part of first year chemistry. I had vowed to study more and had cut back my hours at work, but I was still working a ridiculous amount, especially for a science student, and quickly, work started interfering with my schooling. One Monday morning, I had a quiz in chemistry, and I completely bombed it because I had forgotten to study for it. Had I taken even just half-an-hour to review the material I would have done all right, but I had totally forgotten about it because I was so focused on microbiology and work. I was upset, and decided to drop chemistry and try and focus on microbiology, because clearly I had too much on my plate. I can't remember why I decided to drop microbiology later, what the impetus was, perhaps doing poorly on an exam because I was too exhausted to study, but I had to admit defeat and drop microbiology, because it was clear that I just couldn't handle school and work.
So I dropped out of microbiology, and while I did not do well in it, I did enjoy it, which is why I decided to go for my Microbiology and Immunology degree when I finally went back to school in September 2006. It was a rough couple of years at Douglas College, having to struggle through calculus and start chemistry from the very beginning (grade 11 chemistry), but I made it, and started UBC in September 2008, and have been taking courses that are required for the Microbiology and Immunology program, hoping that I can start the program in September 2009.
I only decided to go for a microbiology degree because I am interested in the subject, not to get a job in the field. Unless you go on to graduate school (or have some great connections), a microbiology degree is pretty useless, unless you want to work in a lab for $12-$15 an hour, and graduate school is just not for me. (If any of you tell me that I am capable of graduate school and ask me why I don't want to get a PhD, shut up and take a moment to think: do you think you are capable of doing research, determining what each protein component on a complex multi-unit protein does, or sequencing the genome of such-and-such an organism? If the answer is "no", you have no business telling me that I am capable of it.) So my plan was to complete my microbiology degree so I could say, "Ha ha, I have a degree, so fuck you! for the sake of finishing something and for the sake of learning, and then after completing my microbiology degree, go, "Now what? What degree should I do in order to get a job?"
Last semester, I heard about the Bachelor of Education program, and I thought that would be a good rout for me to pursue, as I enjoy tutoring, and I could really see myself being capable of teaching high school science. This seemed like a very plausible career for me, and for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do. However, there was one thing that concerned me, my lack of ability to drive. Since this is Vancouver, it's difficult to get a permanent job teaching, so most likely I would have to be a substitute teacher for a while. This would mean that I would be called in the morning of and asked to work at certain school, and only have a couple of hours to get my ass down there, and there would be a good chance that I would be sent somewhere which is either not transit accessible, or would take too long to get to via transit. Because of this, as well as some other relatively minor complications, I was going to make an appointment with an advisor this semester. However, yesterday, I received one of those mass emails from UBC, and this one was about the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science, something that I hadn't heard of before.
I don't know too much about it yet, but I've been poking around on the website, and it sounds interesting, and from what I gather, if I only do an undergrad degree, I think this one would be more useful than a microbiology degree, as far as getting a job goes. The application deadline for the fall of 2009 is February 28th, but unfortunately, I can not apply, as I lack MICB 202 (the course I am doing now), and physical and analytical chemistry courses, some of the courses that you must already have completed if applying for the program. I will complete MICB 202 this April (seven years after I started it!), and hopefully I can do the chemistry courses in the winter 2009 semester, and get into this program in September 2010. If I do get in, then I will graduate in 2012, finally getting my first degree over the span of two millennia and three decades.
I shouldn't be getting so excited about this, but this really seems like a good plan for me, and it appeals to me for a variety of reasons. However, I can't count on getting into the program, so I'm still going to apply for the microbiology program this spring, hoping to get in for September 2009, and if I do get in the microbi program, I will take the required microbi courses, and take the chemistry courses as "electives". If I don't get into the Medical Lab Science program, then I will have gotten my chemistry fix, and the chem courses will count as electives for the microbi program. However, if I do get into the MLS program, then all the courses I took last semester and am taking this semester, except for MICB 202, will have been a total waste! Argh! So that means I will have suffered through MICB 300, MICB 324, and BIOC 302, courses you don't take as electives, for nothing! However, that I can deal with; I will be a better person for having taken those courses. However, what will piss me off the most is, if I do get into the MLS program, then I will have taken STAT 200 for nothing, and so far, this is proving to be the most hellish course out of all my UBC courses! Biochem was hard, but at least it was interesting! Right now, I'd rather be taking calculus; that's how much I hate my stats course!
At any rate, whatever program I do, I won't pass if I continue to waste time on LJ, writing long entries like this instead of studying.
*Without my knowledge, my parents filled out an application for UBC, signing my name on in, although it looked nothing like my signature, and I only found out because my mom made a copy of the application and haphazardly left it lying around. I was accepted into UBC, because ten years ago you didn't need that high a GPA, and to avoid going to UBC, which would have been a huge mistake, I went to Langara just to appease them.
**I had only done grade 11 chemistry in high school, and I wanted to take grade 12 chemistry, an important class to take if you continue on in the sciences in post-secondary. But I was forced to take photography instead, as the requirements to graduate high school were, among other things, English 12; math 11; socials 11; PE 10; an arts 11 elective; an applied skill 11 elective (I had cooking--ha ha ha ha ha); and I think only one science 12 (or perhaps it was only a science 11), and I had biology 12. However, because I needed the fucking arts 12 elective, I had no room in my time table to do chemistry 12!