The Biochemical Debacle: A Chemical Romance

As some of you may have heard, I have relocated to a different city. The vernacular is my native tongue. I have the same job that I love in pretty much the same university, just a different campus. It shouldn't be much of an adjustment, right?

Now insert the Biochem debacle.

To those who have come to know me well enough, you may have noticed my elusive behavior towards Biochem. See previous blog post (My Chemical Romance). Much to my chagrin, I am forced to face the man behind the horrible first date (I’m still putting this in the ‘men in my life’ context). Yes folks, I am teaching Biochemistry… and I’m not just one of the lab instructors. I teach all the Biochem classes—lab and lec. I am pretty much the entire Biochem division that a former colleague even jokingly called me the division head.

While this is very funny to me and to all those who are close to me, some of you might find this appalling. How will someone who self-proclaimed that she “can’t stand” Biochem be an effective teacher? Brace yourselves. I am about to turn you over to the other side.

I was actually asked if I would be willing to teach the subject. I said yes. Why? Have you seen the latest Drew Barrymore-Adam Sandler movie? The story goes like this. They go on a date and it was the worst ever for both of them. Several years later, they meet again in a vacation in South Africa. By then, they have had their failed marriages on their shoulders and their own set of kids. Practically, that horrible first date was another lifetime ago and yet they were reluctant to give each other another try. But as all romantic comedies go, they end up together and a feel good song plays during the closing credits to suggest a happy ever after.

While I am not expecting rainbows and butterflies with Biochem, the movie has opened my eyes to something. That horrible first and last date has been a lifetime ago. Things we have changed enough to make it work this time.

I am not merely giving Biochem another shot. I am also taking the chance to redeem myself to Biochem. To those who have watched PACSiklaban during the time when I was the team captain, you may have remembered that it was a Biochem question that forced me to utter my infamous line—“I rest my case.” While I can no longer remember the exact answer I was defending at the time (I never really understood the question in the first place! haha), I still remember how it made me feel. It was like a sloppy first kiss that left a bad taste in my mouth (forgive my choice of analogy).

If you feel like I am taking a chance on something that would compromise my students’ education, this is me making my case. Teaching is something I truly love. I speak passionately about my students or little monsters as I call them. I would never do anything that would jeopardize their future. This may sound contrite but it holds a lot of truth—I will always give the little monsters their best chance.. not just at passing the course, but also through life in general. I did not make this commitment to Biochem just to see how it goes. I am bent on making things happen. Yes, I am willing to bend over backwards to make this work.

If that isn’t enough to convince you, let me tell you something that no one really knows. I was never truly bad at Biochem. It was a Biochem lecture exam that gave me a 99% score—a record high for me. I was also the only person in my laboratory class who got exempted from the final exam. Surprise! Surprise!

Sure it did not resonate with me the way Phychem, Inorg or Organic did. It did not push me as hard as Analytical did. But I also did not really dislike it. I just had a preference to all other branches of chemistry over it. I was at that point in my academic career to have had enough skills to breeze through exams without having to study that much. I didn’t wanna bother memorizing anything. Simply put—I was badass enough that I didn't wanna risk being seen dating a sissy (again forgive the analogy).

For the information of everyone, I am no longer the self-absorbed self-proclaimed badass that I was. Life has humbled me enough. More importantly, I have come to the realization that I cannot just breeze through life by staying within my niche. Afterall, I have not found my “one true love” from the ones that I thought made a better fit with me. It’s time to venture out and really work for it. As they say, the things that do not come easy are the same things that we end up holding on tighter.

Biochem may have never really been the boring sissy that I pegged him to be. Maybe I was just not that open to the idea of sucking faces with him. (I seriously need to work on my analogies)

So I’m bracing myself. This is gonna be a roller coaster ride. And I’m looking forward to it.

Don’t worry. I’ll kiss and tell this time.




[Disclaimer: This blog may contain things that one may find "suggestive". Suggestive folks, not explicit. Anything you put into this is purely a product of your imagination. So don't judge me by my choice of analogy.]