I went to an OChem lecture as a non-science major

With finals coming around the corner, people are starting to bash majors more than ever.  The classic ‘humanities students don’t have to work as hard’ pokes are becoming full-force jabs, and I am sick of it.  To see how much ‘harder’ these sciences majors have to work than me, I decided to sit in on an OChem lecture to prove them wrong.

With only high school chemistry under my belt, I knew this would be a struggle.  I have been strictly off science since I finished all of my general education requirements, and walking to this class on a Friday was brutal.  I even texted my friends who had taken OChem about my article, and the responses were all the same.

I walked into the huge lecture hall, and I immediately felt out of place.  My class sizes as an English major are about twenty, and this hall could easily seat 100 students.  It was easy to hide in this class, and I soon saw many people did.  Everyone around me was on their phones, and seating in the back of the lecture was prime real estate.  What a bunch of slackers, I thought, trying in any way to make my major feel superior to theirs.

I was surprised, however, at the number of women in the class.  Women exceeded men by a staggering amount, which was incredible to see.  From stereotypes, I expected to be in a sea of testosterone for 50 minutes, but I was wrong.  I was glad to see the number of women engaged in the sciences.

From just one lecture, I can say I learned a lot about science majors, and what my strengths are as an English major.  I kept a running tally of who had the upper hand, me or OChem.

I know how to decipher foreign words

When this was the first slide presented on the board, I felt strangely comfortable.  I’m used to breaking down words and looking at etymologies in my major.  Without taking one class, I knew what was going to be discussed simply by decoding words in their parts.  Me: One.

I can’t draw a shape to save my life

I haven’t had to draw a shape since I took geometry my freshman year of high school, and I struggled with the hexagons.  I spent so much time trying to perfect them, I missed what was said in lecture.  I had to peer over at someone else’s paper to see what I missed.  OChem: One.

I know how to take notes

My life is writing, listening to nuances, and documenting verbatim.  I do it every day in my English classes, and I know the smallest details can make a world of difference.  I noticed the people around me struggled with this.  This could be because I was sitting in the back of the class where the slackers hang out, but I heard lots of ‘I missed that’ or ‘I don’t get it’ from the people around me.  Even though this was my first class, I could answer some of their questions simply because I was paying attention.  Me: Two.

50 minutes is nothing

I can’t remember the last time I had a 50 minute class.  I’ve been exclusively taking power lectures and lab-length classes since I declared my major, so this short class felt like nothing to me.  I understand science majors have labs, but try keeping your attention during a three hour class about literature interpretation and theory.  I bet these students would have a harder time in my shoes than I did in OChem.  Me: Three.

My response to having to go to class on Friday

With the final score, I win three to one.  Suck it, science.

What was instilled in me after sitting through this terrible lecture was that I was not made to be a science major, and I’m OK with it.  Someone has to teach these peoples’ kids how to read or write a cohesive paper someday, and I will be the one to do it.  Though OChem was hard, I know not many science majors would last in my Backgrounds to Modernism class.  I can barely last through the class.  I do have a new appreciation for those who choose science, but my classes are just as hard.

Good luck with exams everyone, and stop telling people how much harder your classes are.  No one wants to hear it.