Chemistry used to terrify me. Now it's one of my favorite subjects!

Confession time: When I started college, I didn't get Chemistry. AT ALL. I honestly don't know how I made it through high school science; because when I got to college and took my first chemistry class, I had NO IDEA what was going on! It was as if I walked into a class being taught in a foreign language. The teacher might as well have gotten up to lecture and said, "Bleep blorp, stickity wicket" for all I knew. Nothing he said made any sense to me. No matter what I did, I would only hear nonsensical syllables being spoken by the professor, then I would start getting incredibly sleepy in class. Because I didn't understand anything, I would get very bored. Then, I started to get very frustrated. I tried to study, but I was so lost and the textbooks were written so far over my head, I didn't even know where or how to begin.

I felt stupid. I interpreted what was going on as a sign that I was bad at chemistry, and that it's something I will never understand, never be interested in, and a class that I could never pass. I even changed my major to get out of the chemistry requirements. I was hurt, angry, and rejected. I HATED chemistry!

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Before it was over, I enrolled in - and dropped - Chemistry I 3 different times, with 3 different teachers! Now I was out tuition money, AND I felt stupid! If I was lost with 3 different teachers, it MUST be my fault, right?

It wasn't until much later that I realized the obvious: the teachers were teaching at the COLLEGE level (duh). "Of course they were, you were in college" you might say to me. What's the big revelation?

...Well, usually saying something's taught "at the college level" means the teachers are assuming you already have all the background education you need to understand the basic material and work the assignments.

BUT that's not necessarily the case with every student, is it? Unless you were in AP classes in high school, or had focused all of your extra curriculars on science since grade school, or went to a fancy college prep school, AND you also did all of this in math K-12, chances are you have not yet learned everything you need to know in order to understand college-level Chemistry!

YOU CAN DO THIS! If you're aware that you might have to go back and re-educate yourself on some missing background information, then you're halfway there already. And, once you begin to understand what is going on, you'll see that you already knew how to do a lot of this from day-to-day life skills. You just didn't call it "Chemistry". You called it "cooking".

If given the opportunity, could you read the back of a box of brownie mix and make some instant brownies? Have you ever made Kool-Aid? Now, have you ever made Kool-Aid, but you had to adjust how much powder and water to use because you didn't have enough sugar for a whole pitcher? Then you've already done the first part of the semester!

Many times in Chemistry I, what is needed is a tutor with the ability to explain things plainly and to use everyday examples -especially at first, when the subject is still intimidating! The other thing the student usually needs is a math refresher. Not anything too advanced, mind you, but multiplying, dividing, fractions, and decimals are all very important in Chemistry.

One more thing: DO NOT try to flub your way through the first part of the semester, hoping you won't have to deal with it again! Most of your classes after this will be built upon understanding these concepts and being able to do the math!