I miss the laboratory

It has been almost half a year since I’ve last set foot in a chemical laboratory. Although it was much longer when the first lockdown was in place, half a year is still a long time for me. I literally miss the smell of burning stuff and cancer in the air (it’s a chemistry joke and it may be half-true since even solvents can be carcinogenic). I also miss my samples that go into spontaneous combustion. And while I was scrolling through my gallery the other day, I thought of making an adventure blog too. Since I see so many people posting retrospections, adventure stories, and personal stories, why not take a break from my fantasy land to share what it’s like when you’re studying chemistry. 

This shot is actually meant as a joke saying "Soda spilled on my laptop" because it's 
Carbonated water XD

Although I literally don’t leave the lab once I’m placed in one… but learning also counts as a journey and so this will be my laboratory adventure, starting from college to my last job since those are my adventures so far.

To start off, I was actually a geology student. It’s also a science and I legit chose it because of the number of fieldworks and the beautiful mineral collections I could possibly have. Sadly, I didn’t really enjoy my stay in geology. After spending 2 and a half years there, I shifted to Chemistry. My first year, 2017. I was actually a semester ahead of my batch then and it was nice, it gave me more free time and more time to catch up on the chemistry fundamentals I lacked. I was lucky the chairperson at the time gave supplementary lectures to us shiftees and transferees. Because of those extra classes, we sort of got an edge in lectures. What we didn’t have was the edge in the laboratory classes XD yet we all still managed. 

It was only in the chemistry community that I felt close to people. Mostly because we all saw each other in the lab all the time. Unlike in geology, everyone was either out on fieldwork or they’re in class. Here in Chemistry, because of our population size (our batch only had 28 students), we all knew everyone in our batch and we all knew each other’s schedules. We were that close. And we even know everyone from the freshmen to the seniors and even the alumni who visited often. It was a nice feeling that people actually looked out for you. That’s really when I knew that I belonged in that laboratory UwU

This is our little sanctuary. Although it was located on the topmost 
floor for safety measures

Of course, we weren’t all study there in the lab. Every semester, before it ends, we always have this Chemistry week and it was always grander than the last. Although we students never really got to enjoy the actual event since we were the hosts and we all had to prepare tricks and presentations, it was always enjoyable when we kind of get into a discussion with our crowd, and what’s cooler is when we get them to shift or enroll in the chemistry program XD we often call it converting rather than shifting since we view chemistry as a religion of sorts. Then after the event, we would throw a huge after-party. We sometimes cook in the lab… Yes, we use our beakers (they were all sanitized before doing so) And I can’t count the number of times we grilled meat on the burners, or made ice cream and stored them in the chemical freezer, or even made wine and other fruit preserves because we all want something to munch on by our evening classes. 

This was my last chem fair, and what's funnier was that us seniors had to perform a 
harry potter kind of play. WE did that 4 times a day for 3 whole days. But when we didn't 
have to perform, we presented our thesis to some science professors that stop by 
(They honestly just want to roast us but it was great help in our presentation skills tbh)

Elevator selfies were fun for me XD since I was always one of the earliest people to 
arrive in the lab, I usually had the elevator to myself in the morning. Buttttt I rarely 
had the confidence to take pics

This is one of the after parties we have after a successful chemistry week
But then we also have all our major events here like seminars, presentations, school 
starter parties, christmas parties and orientation parties (yes, we have so many parties
in a semester)

This is where I’ll end my trip down memory lane for now. Maybe next time, I’ll show off the school’s equipment (some of them). I don’t even have a proper flow I want to follow but I just miss the memories I have in the laboratory.