Journals

The Little Things in Life

October 9, 2012   

After a long week, I was almost ready to relax and enjoy my weekend except for one last assignment.  I had to run an NMR Spectroscopy for Organic Chemistry II lab.  Basically, this is one of many tools that helps you to determine the structure and composition of a molecule.  We’ve been doing this technique in lab since last semester, but I have always found it difficult to interpret.  I thought that this time was going to be no different, but I was greatly surprised.

After gathering my data, my fellow classmate Ashley Williams and I started to look at our spectra and noticed that both of ours turned out beautifully.  It took us no time to interpret the structure of the molecule!  We were both so excited to finally be able to proficiently accomplish this task by ourselves.

Although this may seem very nerdy, the experience reminded me to always appreciate the little things in life.  In the long run, completing this task correctly or incorrectly was not the end of the world.  However, my small accomplishment made my week and I can start to see that all of my hard work is paying off.  Also, it was so nice to share this experience with my friend.  I know that I can always count on Ashley (or Clare or Ashley K- my other Orgo buddies) to help me with Orgo or anything else.  We are all getting through this together and I’m so glad that I have gotten to make good friends from this class.

PS- To top my week off even more, there was a plethora of cider donuts on campus for Fallcoming!!  If you come to campus anytime during the fall, you need to stop by the Clinton Cider Mill and enjoy one (or a few) of their delicious donuts!