It's no doubt that I like and dislike chemistry SIMULTANEOUSLY. It's one thing to consider to love the study of different topics like the applications of chemistry, linking biology to chemistry, or whatever memorization and simple computations are there. However, I do still dislike stoichiometry like I don't like performing accounting cycles on my own. Both stoichiometry and accounting are important though I get dizzy doing balancing while I understand why I need to study them. Stoichiometry is a subject that requires extreme precision otherwise EVERYTHING blows up. I get panicky about it though it does get interesting to rediscover chemistry even if I'm no longer pressured by problem-solving.
The science of weight loss is one. I have been trying to burn calories since I got myself a pedometer. Now, I wanted to know how do you lose weight? It's not that emphasized in high school biology except in qualitative matters. High school biology teaches about the human body and the different functions. The excretory system removes body waste. The digestive system digests food. Now, how about assessing them CHEMICALLY? I would have panicked as a teenager but now it just gets more fun to analyze things you've previously disliked. It turns out that fat leaves the body as 84% carbon dioxide when you exercise. Only 16% is excreted as water. So it's in the huffing and puffing that causes you to lose weight and not in the sweating. Sweating is the body's cooling process.
All cooking involves chemical change which allows raw meat to be digested or food to taste differently. Cooking food changes the composition as evidenced by the change in taste. Notice the taste of banana before and after. Notice the taste of raw table sugar vs. caramel. My recent desire to learn to cook both kacang tumbuk (a Chinese delicacy that ended up becoming a part of Malaysian and Filipino culture) and soan papadi (which is the Indian version of kacang tumbuk) have wanted me to do some restudy of chemistry but at my own pace. Kacang tumbuk and soan papadi both involve physical change (crushing peanuts) while the chemical change happens with the barley flour and sugar.
The current Legacy Virus crisis has me interested in biochemistry. Sure, I'm no virologist or doctor but it doesn't mean I won't be interested in learning how to help stop its spread. Making the Legacy Virus vaccine is absolutely urgent. Not to mention, I'm wondering how chemistry plays a part in converting plants into medicine for the body. I don't think those plants didn't undergo any chemical change either. I think even the lagundi tablets that I seldom use also underwent a chemical change along the way since making medicines involves a LOT of chemistry.
While I may suck at classroom chemistry but I don't see any reason why it should stop me from seeing its real-life application. Just had me thinking I did fall in love with a chemistry freak that made me love the subject. The feeling may be gone but I'm still rediscovering it more than ever even if I'm not going to become a chemist.
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