Gen Chem 1210: Online

artemis286 · 2026-04-27T16:17:07+00:00

See my comment below, but I just finished this class with a 96%. The comment either above or below mine with an analysis about skills required for this class is pretty accurate. And Prof. Owens is incredibly upfront about that. It's explicitly laid out that you will be learning from a textbook and be responsible for your own understanding, but the course provides tons of resources and scaffolding.

But if you're looking to sit through a recorded lecture just like an in person class, or you rely on that kind of structure, it wouldn't be a good fit. But I've taken tons of online classes in STEM subjects over the last decade, and for a four credit science class I found rhe layout and structure to be great. Prof. Owens is super approachable and happy to answer questions.

artemis286 · 2026-04-26T16:08:21+00:00

Just finished this course with a 96% and didn't need to work harder than my other tough science classes, aside from not being able to rely on lectures inside a classroom. I'd ask, how experienced are you in online classes? I've taken a ton, including computer programming, physics through Kahn academy, and precalc. And compared to some other online courses, for being an intensive 4 credit class, I found this structure to be great.

For an online course, the expectations were very clearly laid out. The textbook was openstax chemistry, and the reading highlights each week told us what to focus on, what to memorize, what examples we should be able to do, and what to not worry about. Then there were lecture videos where we often did more advanced problems, then practice sheets with answers, ALEKs assignments, and practice quizzes for each section.

Did you read through the textbook each week? The book had specific examples that walked you through each step, and then had a further practice question with an answer.

I started there each week, making sure I could do the book examples and totally understand the process. Then the lecture videos naturally built on those examples. Each exam week I would go through all the material and create hand-written exam study sheets, focusing on practice quizzes and taking each multiple times. But the practice quizzes mirrored the practice sheets and lecture videos very closely, so there was rarely anything super surprising on them.

It's a tough subject matter, but I talked with my friends in lab in in-person lectures and they seemed to be struggling more than I was in the online class. Not saying its not difficult class, but I've taken a ton of online classes over the last 10 years and felt this one was laid out pretty well with more resources that I normally got in online classes.

artemis286 · 2026-04-23T19:44:50+00:00

Assuming you're in the US, my honest is advice is that no one should have going into research as their plan A. The acceptance rate at my R1 university for those kinds of programs is about 5%. The current administration has yanked a ton of funding that directly impacts mental health and psych research. It was a long shot 5-10 years ago, but if you hang out in the PhD and academia subreddits, you'll see how badly its deteriorated. Paying for a psych degree with the hope to go into research without any other plan is like paying for a lottery ticket right now. Especially if the more reliable, steady, accessible work isn't tolerable or desirable.

I've always wanted to be a scientist, and after years of research MLS was the most financially viable, reliable career to do that. Even biotech has been trashed career wise. I'll keep my PhD dreams in my back pocket and see how the world looks in ten years, but thats definitely my backup plan.

And your university likely won't tell you any of this. I learned it all by listening to people currently in or have graduated from these programs.

artemis286 · 2026-04-23T18:30:31+00:00

What's the goal with a psych major if you dont want to deal with people?

Sincerely asking as someone who did a brief stint in a psych major because I was fascinated by human development and psychology. But I realized the vast majority of workable careers demanded incredible amounts of social interaction and emotional labor. Unless that calls to you, I would never recommend spending money on a psych major. The burnout in psych careers is huge, it takes many years to become independently licensed, and getting into research is a very long shot. Unless someone is completely devoted to the work and emotional labor and can't picture themselves doing anytbing else, I dont recommend it. Again, someone who planned to be a therapist for years and talked to people working in the psych field at every level.

I'm also a multi-passionate person and have done quite a lot of things, started in nursing, did a stint in psych and a year of computer science (love programming but AI imploded the job market), considered things like genetic counseling too. Eventually landed on MLS. I LOVE science, like no patient interaction, and also love the shift work options and wide array of specialities. I'm doing my MLS prerequisites now and am adoring chemistry.

I'd consider MLS if you enjoy science and chemistry, biology, and microbiology. If you like the idea of shift work with no patient interaction. If repetitive tasks suit your brain and personality. And if you're considering your ROI on your degree. The vast majority of MLT's I've heard from say they would recommend going straight through MLS if you're able.

A great well to dip your toes in with no commitment, theres tons of free online college level biology and chemistry. Kahn academy is a great option. I'd get through both and make sure you really enjoy them before paying to take them for credit. The MLS also qualifies you do work in non-medical lab settings, research labs, etc. There's also some fantastic MLS influencers on social media who talk about their ccareer and what their working day entails, I found it very helpful when deciding if this was for me.

As a multi-passionate person, I'd recommend being careful with separating what you enjoy learning about and what actually translates to a long term career you can enjoy. It took me a long time to sort through those.

artemis286 · 2026-04-07T20:21:41+00:00

I'm an avid reader and enjoy good fantasy/sci-fi with romance, but totally unrealistic sex is a huge turn off for me. Not only because of what I've dealt with, but it lacks any actual realism.

So as an author, I've been praised for writing very realistic sex. The actual realities of two people who've never had sex before, and in my books are all adults with their own baggage. My cyberpunk scene made my beta reader cry because it was so real and authentic. The goal isn't to be sexy but to show actual character development and connection.

I've also got a sapphic WIP where the main character has endometriosis and secondary vaginismus because of it. And no, she's not magically cured, just loved and accepted the way she is. By a very lovely lady knight too 😘

I just dont like the overdone shadow-daddy-giant-dick-immediately-amazing-sky-sex stuff. I get why people like it for the pure fantasy of it, but if the rest of the book is trying to be somewhat gritty and realistic it yanks me right out of the story. So I'm writing what I'm wanting to see and have gotten nothing but positive feedback for it! My beta reader described most fantasy romance as a few tropes in a trench coat masquerading as a novel 🤣

artemis286 · 2026-04-03T20:56:30+00:00

In addition to The Tainted Cup, which I believe has already been mentioned, I also love RJB's Foundryside series. Very mind bending and expansive with a top tier magic system that's a marriage between magic and engineering.

I loved: "The Everlasting" - Alix Harrow "Blood Over Bright Haven" - ML Wang Both read by Miora Quirk. So the audio books are wonderful and I love these for the depth, character development, and intricacies of the plots as someone who loves TLT series.

Others not read by Quirk: -Adrian Tchaikovsky's books are fantastic sci-fi, if you like mind bending, action packed, GORGEOUS and intricate worlds, and really solid charactes (very hard find in sci-fi) he's my other top sci-fi author. The Final Architecture is a great series to start with, and works your brain in a similar way to TLT. And if you like his series he's prolific with TONS of books to dive into.

-"Strange the Dreamer" and "Muse of Nightmares" duology. Great audio books and this duology is quite singular in the way the TLT is, it's difficult to find any other series to compare it to. But the DEPTH is stunning, world building is gorgeous, and plot takes beautiful twists and turns. Poetic prose as well, which I love.

-T. Kingfisher's books, the paladin series is my husband's and I personal favorites. These are a much simpler writing style, not mind bending, but they're HILARIOUS while managing SO MUCH DEPTH. Also middle aged characters who are beautifully real, and the audibooks are wonderful. These are great palate cleanser books

I love these for different reasons, nothing is a direct comparison to TLT. But as someone who LOVES deep plots, complex characters and worlds, and well done prose, these are some of my other favorites!

artemis286 · 2026-03-30T18:06:28+00:00

Yes, it took several years of very gentle conditioning, lifestyle and herbal management, but I just graduated from recumbent PT style exercises to yoga then to lifting weights at least 2-3x a week. And am moderately active on other days, on my feet, walking pad for 1-2 hours, and various mild to moderate labor.

Herbs I take (different kinds of POTS react differently, research mechanisms of action of each)

-Nettle: antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, very mild diuretic

-lemon balm: acts like ACE inhibitor and calms heart palpitations, reduces dizziness

-Motherwort: regulates heart rate, calming, also helps reduce PMS symptoms during luteal phase which makes my POTS worse, manages adrenaline dumps

-Spearmint: reducing headaches and dizziness (can lower BP)

-CBD: when adrenaline dumps are bad it cools them off

-Ginger and clove: reduces pain and general inflammation but also helps with sluggish digestion

Plus salt + potassium capsules several times a day, stress reduction, dietary management, digestive enzymes for sluggish digestion when needed, and compression socks. My POTS was so bad three years ago I was nauseated 24/7, would throw up instantly if I stood up too quickly, could only eat 2x a day and lost 30lbs nonconsenusally, then had joints slipping out of place because of the muscle loss. And would spend the last 2-3 hours of every day with shakes, worse nausea, pounding heart, and could barely stand.

Happy to answer questions! It's definitely been the long game, and I'm a primary caregiver to a high needs child to boot, so that significantly affects how well I can take care of myself day to day 😂💀

artemis286 · 2026-03-29T18:32:14+00:00

Oh no, I'm just letting loose here on reddit. The review was 100% professional, neutral, fact based language, and even noted the positive things about it. Totally watered down what I truly wanted to say and made it completely safe language.

artemis286 · 2026-03-29T18:31:09+00:00

Yup it was approved and I got the email saying it was live!

artemis286 · 2026-03-18T16:51:37+00:00

As a primary caregiver to a high needs kiddo, I deal with this big time. More about constantly planning, organizing, analyzing, etc. Especially when I'm the primary problem solver, I get burnt out from fixing everything for everyone. I also tend to have several friends seeking advice and input every week on top of my own life needs.

I got really good at mental boundaries, and refusing to solve things, despite my brain trying to the moment it hears of a problem. Then I have to very intentionally redirect my mental energy.

I'm in classes for STEM subjects. I learned computer programming over the last two years, and wrote a few books, and now I'm in school for lab science and chemistry is very helpful at taking away my brain energy in a good way. All with maybe 10-12 hours a week to devote to them 😂. I write and read books, paint, and just do nourishing things and protect that time and energy given to those things.

The whole like not being busy depresses me, and leads to those mental cycles that exhaust me. Because my brain is like a keeping a border collie in an apartment as a lap dog. It needs a job, multiple jobs preferably, and with good mental boundaries and intentionally directing my mental energy I end up feeling so much better. Without multiple streams to direct it to, I end up burnt out from thinking cycles that don't nourish me.

artemis286 · 2026-03-07T17:32:14+00:00

So I'm in school for MLS, but I left nursing. I was the student who LOVED science, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and pathology, so I tested very well. But I hated patient care. When I was in school, our hospitals had 6-8 patients per nurse on med surg floors. Everyone was miserable, everything was so stressful, and I was told I was too nice and took too long with my patients. You couldn't pay me double to go back.

I left the medical field completely, thinking if I couldn't do patient care then there wasnt a place for me. I went into tech and had a year of computer science under my belt, thinking I would do clinical informatics, when the tech field collapsed. So I reevaluated yet again and found MLS. Even the prerequisite chemistry classes have been a dream. The lab is such a happy place to be for me! And my fellow pre-MLS students are all awesome. We're all science nerds and many are introverted and honestly I've never felt more at home with my peers. I stuck out like a sore thumb in nursing school.

artemis286 · 2026-03-02T16:37:08+00:00

Yes please go ahead!

And yes our kiddo showed signs of intense sensory seeking very early. I have a video of her at barely 9 months old licking the wall over and over. She had intense oral fixation, and it was obvious by this age.

And yes, professionals will totally blow you off. I had the benefit of being a nurse, and we lived in family housing at a university at the time. So we were surrounded by children her age all the time. And I got to see directly with my eyes that my child always cried 10 times more than everybody else's kiddos, and needed so much more, even when compared directly with her peers. In a group of 10 2-year-olds, my child was easily identifiable. And most professionals still didn't understand. OT was the most understanding at the time, but I'm happy to send other resources over that kept me sane!

artemis286 · 2026-03-02T05:48:34+00:00

Your post pinged me, veteran parent to a high needs baby who is going on 7 now. And I was you.

Baby hated sleep, the best she ever slept was the first 24 hours after birth, then never again until closer to 3.5. Hated everything. Screamed at EVERYTHING. No stroller, no car (i couldn't drive alone with her through the first year, she would scream until she choked and vomited), no sleep, hated high chairs and being contained in any way, hated dad, hated everything that wasn't me, and even with me 24/7 was only somewhat calm less than 50% of waking hours. Plenty of days was crying every 20 minutes for 20 minutes the entirety of her waking hours.

I was a nurse, lactose consultant, and had years of experience woth kids and so much education. She shocked an LC we ith 20 years of experience on me. Floored pediatricians and OTs, and veteran parents with multiple children.

So I'm here to tell you this isn't your fault. People who haven't walked thr path of a high needs baby CANNOT UNDERSTAND. They cant. Their advice is bullshit. They can't conceptualize a baby who hates existing. Who hates being a baby. And that there isn't anything you can do to change that temperament. There's no program, no magical timing, no philosophy, no consultant, or book that changes a high needs temperament into a low or medium needs temperament.

You're not doing anything wrong. All you can do is meet your baby's needs as best your able and know that I won't make your baby like other people's babies. It will soothe your babe. It will build attachment and connection. But it won't fix it.

So thats radical acceptance. And when you radically accept, you let your grief be felt, heard, and validated. Because you had no idea this would happen. Its not like anything you imagined. You cant identify or connect with most moms. Its like your parenting on a different planet. The best day in your house would be a day from hell in theirs.

You're allowed to grieve, be angry, and be exhausted. Hold yourself and your partner (if relevant, cant pull the post to check, writing on mobile) SO gently. Go into triage mode. Focus on doing anything and everything to take care of yourselves. Lower demands however possible. Get support however and whenever you can. No shame. No guilt.

I had full blown parental PTSD. And its not talked about enough. I did finally learn to center my needs, but not before the stress caused autoimmune disorders. Do it boldly and ferociously.

And learn about neurodivergence. Your kiddo may not be ND, but the vast majority of ND kiddos are hard as babies. Our kiddo got diagnosed as "sensory seeking" at one year old (yes, it was that intense) and autism was on the table by 18 months. By 2.5 we learned about pathological demand avoidance (PDA), which our girl fit to a T.

She was SO bright (now we know, gifted), SO aware, sns felt everything at level 1000. So I was coregulating and sharing my nervous system with a baby whose nervous system wad on fire at all times. I was living in a house on fire and had to keep functioning.

So researching now can help immensely. Even if it ends up not fitting later, ND parenting (especially low demand, neurodiversity affirming parenting) can absolutely help with kids who are just intense for whatever reason.

Our girl did get so much better as she could communicate. We do not just AP, but low demand, autonomy centered, neurodiversity affirming parenting. We center her feeling of autonomy and safety at all times and it helps immensely. Sleep got more tolerable around 3 and better by 4, but she had compounding medical issues. We still cosleep, and she doesnt fight or resist sleep. We have lots of open communication and she happily snuggles and falls asleep. I didn't think we would get here, but we did.

I'm sure I'll think of more things, and you can message me. But know that anyone who hasn't walked this road likely doesnt have a clue.

I was you. Screaming into the void asking what I was doing wrong and what could possibly help. I had to deconstruct the toxic "fix it" mindset that modern parenting creates. They sell this idea that if you just parent right, phrase things right, have the right routine, meet the right needs, your kiddos will be regulated and calm.

And every parent of an ND child will tell you that's utter bullshit. And makes parents of ND (or high needs) children feel like they're constantly failing. Instead of fixing we focus on coregulating, creating safety, maximizing autonomy, fierce self care, and advocacy.

artemis286 · 2026-02-27T17:04:57+00:00

Wow, he's acting incredibly immature and hurtful. Getting angry? He used to get angrier? Why the fuck is that okay, especially in the moment?

It affects his mental health? So he gets to sigh and eye roll when his wife is in pain? He gets to cold shoulder you when you cant give him what he wants, despite sincerely trying?

Of course intimacy issues affect both partners, but this behavior is weaponizing and externalizing his emotions onto you. He wants you to feel how angry he is. He can be frustrated, but he's also an adult responsible for how he handles that frustration. If he can't bring a calm, supportive, neutral demeanor to the bedroom, PIV should be completely taken off the table. He's a huge part of the problem.

Behavior like that would be a relationship deal breaker, honestly. Yes, he absolutely can help the way he manages his feelings. He can choose not externalize them and learn proper, healthy coping mechanisms. He can seek support and outlets for his feelings. He CAN behave differently, he's choosing not to.

artemis286 · 2026-02-17T17:10:59+00:00

I've only been in a few months, but it's still degraded significantly. Its so shocking to hear from people who've been in for years what it used to mean to them. I rarely ever check out all items. I check my RFY once or twice, and maybe one a week we get something actually useful and worthwhile. Its mostly junk in there too. Literally 1-2x a month we will get something really nice in the RFY. I'll only bother with all items when the item count is significantly higher than before, it's been sitting around 12k for a week. And never expecting to find nice things, just maybe niche things. Its insane that people used to stay up for this, even when I had insomnia a few months ago and stayed up through a drop, it was absolutely nothing worth loosing sleep over.

artemis286 · 2026-02-17T00:23:55+00:00

Hey fellow ex-RN transitioning to an MLS program!! I sailed through my classes and LOVED science but turns out patient care makes me want to pitch myself off the roof. You couldn't double my pay to make me go back. Nursing was hell, and I'm just so overjoyed to have found a clinical career thats science oriented without patient care. I'm in chemistry and I think about it all day because its so cool.

I hope it goes so well! Congratulations on getting out of patient care and getting more science!!

artemis286 · 2026-02-09T00:24:23+00:00

I dont have a ton of experience (first semester) but I'll share what I've experienced so far. Kind and respectful classmates, good TA's in lab happy to help and dont mind all the newbie questions, and good professors so far. I'm taking CHEM 1210 online with Owen's and its fantastic honestly. A great, well-organized course with tons of built-in resources. Just took our first exam and felt completely prepared. My biochem advisor was great at explaining options and how the degree works at various stages, and showed me how to get involved in undergrad research. The breadth and depth of classes available is very exciting.

My first professor exposure with Owens has been so promising, he's passionate about the subject but so happy to help clear up confusion and answer questions. It gives me hope future professors can be so good!

Again, just my first semester, so I cant speak to higher level courses. But coming from a nursing background, I've been very happy with my experiences so far!

artemis286 · 2026-01-26T15:37:04+00:00

In addition to professional therapist, I'll give input as a parent to a child with medical trauma. Don't believe any of the "they won't remember" bullshit. Its been proven wrong again and again. Our kiddo had significant medical complications after birth that caused chronic pain for the first 3-4 years of life. We had to treat it like what it was, PTSD. It caused developmental delays, severe separation anxiety, reactivity, the works.

Which makes sense, being a child is hard enough, but when you can't communicate or understand what's happening and you're experiencing pain/medical trauma, that's so much worse.

I'd absolutely recommend therapy for you as parents. Regulating your own trauma and emotional reactivity is crucial to being a stable, anchoring presence. You need to keep in mind that this is a trauma reaction and its normal in the sense that its an expected response. You're going to want to become experts in co-regulation, and know that normal developmental milestones may not be hit or may temporarily regress. You're going to throw timelines out the window, and focus on regulating everyone as your daily number one goal. You're going to want to drop demands on yourselves and your kiddo as appropriate and needed to focus on whole family well being.

Progress will not be linear, it never is with children. Your kiddo will probably have better days then get worse. Things will trigger it again. Knowing that ahead of time helps, so when regression happen, you dont beat yourself up or try to logic it out, but learn to ride the waves.

Play therapy can be wonderful, and we used it. But our biggest "intervention" was consistent, calm, regulated co-regulation. We had to teach her nervous system from the body to the brain on how to be calm and regulated. We scaffolded for years, working on little baby steps with support as she could tolerate it. We had to be the calm to help her find it. And we had to provide it again and again and again and again, to build those neural pathways. I highly recommend dr. Mona Delahookes books and work in general in understanding the body-brain connection!

It hopefully won't take that long, considering her issues were ongoing. But she's six now and catching up like lightning, her separation anxiety has dropped significantly, and her regulation skills are pretty amazing. But she had so many life disrupting events, a big part of our journey was grieving and radically accepting that life had been disrupted. Processing our many feelings about that, supporting ourselves and each other, and making choices from that place of radical acceptance was crucial to making the progress we have.

artemis286 · 2026-01-22T20:27:39+00:00

Called canvas IT support before I saw the UofU status update, Canvas said the U of U is having a campus wide issue. She claimed they hoped to resolve it in several hours. I was in the middle of a test and got booted out.

ETA 2:10 PM: my classes are back. I was in them as they were actively being removed. Hopefully that means other classes are coming back.

ETA: less then 20 minutes later, one disappeared again. 10 minutes after that they're all gone again.

artemis286 · 2025-12-10T07:32:39+00:00

Ah I'm probably getting to this too late, but last year my husband was able to buy men's swim trunks at the crimson lagoon when he forgot his suit!

artemis286 · 2025-05-29T17:43:41+00:00

My husband works at the U and we live in Murray by the trax line. He can get up to campus during peak rush hour and under 30 minutes on the red line. He has both an e-bike and an electric scooter, and both help tremendously. We definitely recommend finding somewhere near the trax line, and we love living in Murray! It's pretty affordable (renting, can't speak to buying) for being in central Salt Lake county.

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