I know what you’re probably thinking. Organic Chemistry and party in the same sentence? Organic chemistry is advertised as impossible, miserable, and associated with other negative emotions. The class that could make or break someone’s medical career. While organic chemistry requires lots of failure and repetition, the lab environment doesn’t match the horror stories people hear about. In my opinion, nothing beats a day in lab. All of the lecture material can be applied to understand the reactions during an experiment. No one has to be a chemistry expert to take organic chemistry and enjoy making crystals. I didn’t even take AP chemistry in high school, and I majored in chemistry. In most experiments, the objective was to use different methods to isolate a compound and use other methods to identify the product. Obviously, this is an oversimplification, but understanding the nuances of organic chemistry is doable, and better yet… enjoyable. The lectures help clarify the foundational concepts, so during lab, people understand why each step is performed, whether it is using heat, acid, base, or an ice bath. Who wouldn’t want to make crystals?
Before every lab, the Teaching Assistant normally introduces the experimental procedure and supervises a lab section. The TA also worked as a pseudo-DJ, while commandeering the music playlist. The TA’s music taste could make or break someone’s jam session. It’s hard to dance a little bit between tasks and get hyped when the music sucks. There was definitely a trend toward the beginning of the semester; the playlists had more of a broad appeal: Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and Bruno Mars. I remember a lot of people jamming out for the technique labs. Throughout the semester, the playlist vibe drastically shifted toward crunchy granola artists like Noah Kahan, the Lumineers, Lord Huron, and a couple of weirdly niche Hozier songs. The labs got progressively more technical, so maybe the TA just wanted to set a relaxed tone. Or honestly, maybe he was just from Vermont? I couldn’t say, our conversations mainly consisted of “is this supposed to be that color?” “Where is my product?” and my personal favorite, “I need more clarification.”
The music was a bit ironic at times. At one point during a lab, somebody had black smoke coming out of their solution. The person beside me on the lab bench and I DID NOT have black smoke coming out of our solutions, so this was definitely cause for concern. While the person frantically closed the hood (a protective glass screen), the backdrop song was “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan. While the TA attempted to understand what had happened or… didn’t happen… Noah Kahan was quietly singing about being scared of the weather. Simultaneously, a person two hoods over was concerned about their costume rotation for Halloweekend. Organic Chemistry Lab is always eventful in a chemical sense, and everyone just chats about their lives while the solution vacuum filtrates, boils, or freezes. Aside from short bouts of panic, personal drama, and light dancing, the majority of lab time is dedicated to washing the glassware. I don’t know how many times someone recounted their mid-week crisis while in line for washing a beaker.
While each procedure is done independently, the lab environment is largely collaborative and social, like a party, except the questionable DJ is a lab TA that might be from Vermont…
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