neuralsoup

[neuralsoup]

brain soup // 06.01.2023.

Days until biochem exam: 6

Lectures to review: 12

Am I screwed: a neverchanging 'yes'

I don't know how people who study for 10 hours a day can do it regularly. I did it today and my brain is soup. And I will keep making that soup for the remainder of the days until the exam, because I want to maximize the possibility of passing, maybe with something that resembles a good grade. As much as I feel tired, I feel proud that I was able to do this today. Now I'm wondering if I should go to bed before midnight to get up either slightly earlier or to get some more sleep. Or maybe read the book that I bought myself today for doing all this studying.

Pride and all, I can't wait for this enforced mega-productivity spurt to be over and for my brain to restore the ability to think about things other than biochem.

[neuralsoup]

malabsorption // 03.01.2023.

Days until biochem exam: 9

Lectures to review: 15

Am I screwed: yes, and tired

A long day that featured comparatively little studying. I still watched 2 lectures, but I legitimately don't know if I retained that much from them. I am already feeling kind of worn out by this studying, and annoyed, because I know that the details I learn now will not be retained in my brain much longer than past the 12th of January. I watched the Digestion lectures, but there are so many details to remember... I think I'll try to quiz myself on this tomorrow morning, perhaps before class. Then... it's metabolic pathway time T_T

[neuralsoup]

new year, same biochem // 02.01.2023.

Days until biochem exam: 10

Lectures to review: 17

Am I screwed: yes, but I am also doing my best to unscrew the situation, but also it feels like I'm not getting enough done and won't revise everything in time

Well, as of right now, the time is three minutes short of 1 am, so I'll quickly write an update and see myself out. As of right now, I have covered Ochem and Enzymes, which make up slightly more than 1/4 of all the course material. Tomorrow, I plan on covering Digestion, which will place me at 1/3 of course material covered. And then, the hardest part will begin... many, many metabolic pathways to look through and few, few days to make sense of it all. I still have done approximately 0.00 work concerning actual anatomy theory revision, so that's going to be fun, too. The good news is that this will all be over soon. 10 days until biochem, 3 days until anatomy, and then I get to rest, read and treat myself. Just gotta stick through this, as I have done many times before. On this note, goodnight, because I am:

[neuralsoup]

happy new year // 01.01.2023.

2023???? sounds crazy.

Days until biochem exam: 11

Lectures to cover: still 20

Am I screwed: yes

Happy new year! Ended 2022 with biochem, started 2023 with biochem. Med school do be like that sometimes. And since I do want to be a doc one day, I just have to power through. I didn't watch any lectures today (because, lol, I only started studying at 11 pm), but I made some flashcards and revised enzyme classification, vitamin names, enzyme locations in the body, and the types of bounds that exist in various sugars. So I at least did something. But the grind don't stop until after Jan. 12, and I also have to fit in anatomy test prep somewhere :')

[neuralsoup]

i told my cat she's a fatty acid // 31.12.2022

aka Alex studying for biochem exam, DAY 2

Days until biochem exam: 12

How many lectures I need to cover: 20

Am I screwed: Yes. However, as of now, I have covered more or less 20% of the material. This has only been the easiest part, though :p

Today, I reviewed the overarching concepts of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Yes, I told my cat she is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. (Polyunsaturated fat = good fat, cats = good pets. Also, each one of her ears represents one C=C bond, hence, she is a polyunsaturated FA.) And her tail is an alpha spiral, a secondary protein structure that tends to rotate rightward when forming. It has hydrogen bonds between similar monomers. My brain has been chemified.

I don't know how much of this information I will still remember tomorrow, since I was kind of speedrunning the lectures, but then again... after all the biochem I have studied over the past two semesters, these really are the basics. Funny to think back to how when biochem started I was intimidated by these details. Perhaps I truly have grown a little, huh? It is a satisfying feeling to know that in two short weeks I will be leaving this part of my med studies behind me, all my tests passed first-time and with pretty decent grades (hopefully the exam will be the same), but the 1st year students will merely be starting their journey in biochem.

On that note, I'm off to pack and go have some fun on NYE.

-Alex

[neuralsoup]

spare me, chemistry // 30.12.2022

aka Alex's rant and attempt to keep herself accountable as she attempts to make it to 4th semester of med school in once piece, DAY 1

Days until biochem exam: 13

How many lectures I have to revise: 23

Am I screwed: it feels like that, yes, and also anxious

In a desperate attempt to keep myself accountable, I have started a countdown until one of the most challenging exams of my life to date. This one feels like a giant hurdle that I fear not being able to overcome, but I have to. I just have to, because medicine is my ride-or-die, and because every single med student that is now a practicing physician has somehow made it out of biochem alive, so I can do it too.

It is currently 10:30 pm and I have just started studying (I had the whole day to do it, yet here we are), and I currently intend to go through one lecture, maybe one and a half, then get to bed. I will do as much as I can every single day. On that note, back to the properties of carbohydrates I go, and see y'all tomorrow for my biochem study check.

-Alex

[neuralsoup]

Nov 19th, 2022

There is barely anyone in the library today, I guess because it's a Saturday and no one really comes to the uni on Saturdays. Luckily for me that means that I can snatch the best study places.

- Rei

[neuralsoup]

Nov 8th, 2022

I've been feeling mentally unwell even more than usual the last couple days so I've been missing lessons and not studying. That's okay though because sometimes you need to do that to recharge and get up again.

- Rei

[neuralsoup]

Nov 5th, 2022

Went to the uni library to study today. Actually made some progress so that's great but German is really kicking my ass.

- Rei