When I was looking at colleges, I procrastinated for hours browsing the incredible variety of classes I would soon be able to take. After I was admitted to Pomona, I went through their entire catalog and made a list of every class I was interested in (I won’t tell you how long it was; suffice it to say it was more than three times the number I could ever take). So when I had some extra time last semester, I figured that taking five classes during second semester would be doable and fun, and allow me to cram in another one of the awesome classes I’d been drooling over.
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Well, I haven’t changed my mind about that, but this semester has certainly been an interesting experience thus far.
A brief look at my classes in the order I experience them through the week:
Physics 71/72 – intro physics courses for major students (which I am not, potential chem major holla ovah heah). Each is a half-semester. The professor, Thomas Moore, is amazing: he’s very invested in his students and the class, though I’m really not very good at physics, is absolutely excellent.
Modern Architecture and Sustainability – a lecture class (one of the largest at Pomona at just 60 people) with George Gorse, an art historian. We examine the history of architectural movements and, through that, develop our ability to look at and think critically about buildings and landscapes. Definitely thought-provoking, and full of beautiful things to look at during lecture.
Linguistics 10 – intro linguistics, which is tremendously fun. I’ve wanted to take a linguistics class for years – it’s not something you can take in high school, generally speaking – and it’s completely worth it! It’s sort of like problem-solving and logical thinking about languages, like their structure and the sounds they use and stuff like that.
Environmental chemistry – a combination of two things I love, chemistry and environmental analysis. So far we’ve covered atmospheric chemistry and we’re just doing global climate change. Bonus? The co-professors are Charles Taylor and President David Oxtoby, who’s an atmospheric chemist by trade. Who doesn’t want to take a class with the President??
History of the Middle East, Ottomans to the Present (CMC) – My first non-Pomona class, and it’s a killer in the best possible way. The professor is amazing. She’s incredibly knowledgeable about her field, but also an excellent lecturer and leader of class discussions (half of our class time is devoted to discussion, with high class participation). She also brings us food!
Those are my five core “academic” classes. But I’m taking two other partial-credit classes: Beginning Latin Dance (a PE class, which is super awesome and fun because I love dancing!) and Advanced Spanish Conversation (basically a structured chance to hang out with cool people and speak in Spanish with a native teacher. It’s run in Oldenborg, and is a perfect way to keep up my high school Spanish).
So those are the classes. The workload is pretty substantial: not going to lie, I don’t always quite finish my history readings (which are upwards of a hundred pages with some frequency). I’m sleeping less than I was last semester, and my stress is inching up. Luckily spring break is coming soon! But overall, I absolutely love my classes, I’m learning a ton, and I wouldn’t drop any of them!