When I first started declared my major freshman year, I received so many question asking what did studying biochemistry actually entail. Naturally, I had no idea what to say, especially since this was only my second semester of my undergraduate career. But now, it makes much more sense.
Before taking my first actual biochemistry course, I took three courses of biology, two courses of general chemistry, and two courses of organic chemistry. These were truly building blocks because biochemistry is not just one major, it’s a compilation of the greatest hits in science. In a simplistic definition, I see biochemistry as being the study chemical processes within a biological system. Biochemistry is able to look at things on the microscopic scale and break down the complexity into simpler components that integrate various concepts of the prerequisite courses. I’m not just studying one thing when entering biochemistry course, I am diving into an elegant arrangement of familiar topics.
Why study this? The better question is why wouldn’t I study biochemistry. This is the major for those with the utmost desire to understand things at its core. Here I am able to see how certain human processes occur. For example, do you know what exactly happens when food enters your stomach? Well I have a better understanding now than I did in middle school where they just tell you that the food becomes that you use to do jumping jacks or run a mile. Biochemistry paints the picture of what enzymes are utilized to break down the food and what exactly it breaks down into. Life is a great mystery to naked eye. But with biochemistry, we are able to remove the mask and see and understand what lies behind the shadows.
Like many before me, I study biochemistry with the intension to continue on to medical school. Medical school then will equip me with the knowledges and skills that I can then use to assist the general population. Each time a doctor writes a prescription, he/she is is executing what they feel is the best course of action to address the problem at hand. In order to do that, an understanding of what is happening in body. Being more knowledgeable about the workings of complicated systems can only help make a more informed decision on what to prescribe. Having studied biochemistry, I hope to have gained a better ability to understand what is occurring at a cellular level and tailor a course of action which best suits the situation. The world of medicine is not a simple realm, so it is only logical to prepare for the complexity by studying the complex.
Biochemistry is not easily defined, but it holds vast potential that may never be reached. It is a dynamic field and further breakthroughs are eminent. So much of the world is unexplored, but biochemistry creates a window to uncover some of the fundamentals of the world and aid us in making it a better place.
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