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I am sorry that happened to you. I will warn you that what you described, which sounds akin to "pimping", still occurs in many medical training programs, and can be very triggering to those with a history of childhood abuse. It is upsetting, especially if you take it personally, and certainly if it is not equally applied to all students. If there is even a hint of racism, that makes it much worse.

It sounds like you go to a small liberal arts college now (given that you were able to go into the VP office and be seen!) Of course you can consider transferring, and if you have been doing well, you may be able to transfer "UP", to a bigger name school, which will not hurt you in the application process. However, transfer applications take a lot of time, which can distract you from your current semester. It is also late to transfer, in that many schools have Jan deadlines (but some have March deadlines). And of course, to the extent that you already have friends, are involved in activities, etc, transferring can be difficult. And financial aid can limit some people from transferring - just another thing to consider. IF you really think that even outside this isolated incident, this school is not the right place for you, then by all means, look into transferring.

I do think that you should expect to be accommodated by getting moved to a different lab this semester. However, I highly doubt many other professors will hear about your experience, so you should not assume you will be hated. Who is going to tell "everyone"? I doubt that the accused will want to publicize his bad behavior and the VP will be constrained by privacy rules. So as long as you do not tell a bunch of people, I doubt it will be a big public thing.
 
gorowannabe said:
I am sorry that happened to you. I will warn you that what you described, which sounds akin to "pimping", still occurs in many medical training programs, and can be very triggering to those with a history of childhood abuse. It is upsetting, especially if you take it personally, and certainly if it is not equally applied to all students. If there is even a hint of racism, that makes it much worse.

It sounds like you go to a small liberal arts college now (given that you were able to go into the VP office and be seen!) Of course you can consider transferring, and if you have been doing well, you may be able to transfer "UP", to a bigger name school, which will not hurt you in the application process. However, transfer applications take a lot of time, which can distract you from your current semester. It is also late to transfer, in that many schools have Jan deadlines (but some have March deadlines). And of course, to the extent that you already have friends, are involved in activities, etc, transferring can be difficult. And financial aid can limit some people from transferring - just another thing to consider. IF you really think that even outside this isolated incident, this school is not the right place for you, then by all means, look into transferring.

I do think that you should expect to be accommodated by getting moved to a different lab this semester. However, I highly doubt many other professors will hear about your experience, so you should not assume you will be hated. Who is going to tell "everyone"? I doubt that the accused will want to publicize his bad behavior and the VP will be constrained by privacy rules. So as long as you do not tell a bunch of people, I doubt it will be a big public thing.
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Thank you for your kind words, I needed it.
 
No one deserves to feel this way, and you're strong for dealing with it the way you did. When it comes to situations like this, I am extremely confrontational (I'm a very big guy, so this may have something to deal with it). I don't want to see anybody being bullied, especially a powerless undergraduate at the hands of a loser PhD. I would have gladly asked him, loudly, to please explain to the entire class how this behavior is justified. What school did he go to? Did this school teach him this behavior? Does he feel like a big man for picking on a student who's just trying to do his/her work? He represents this school and displays this behavior? This is coming from a professional with a doctorate? An educator and professor? Shame on him for what he's done. Why doesn't he pick on someone his own size?

You have my support. We all make mistakes on our coursework, that's why we turn it in. To get feedback and improve. You can give feedback without being a dick.
 
Hey OP. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. That behavior is unacceptable for a teacher imo, and I hope that the school takes action so that you won't have to experience it again. I don't have any real wisdom on transferring, but I can't imagine it would hurt your application. You should do what's best for your mental health, but I'd definitely suggest that you think on this for a while before you decide to begin the transfer process.

Either way, good luck to you, and I hope that you don't have to experience this sort of abuse from faculty in the future. Just remember that the teacher's behavior does not reflect on your worth or intelligence at all!
 
Sorry you feel this way OP. Stay strong!! You’ll be OK!!

Idk about transferring. Is it just this one incident that’s making you feel this way? Furthermore, just wait it out.

Not to increase your fears, but if the VP talks to the TA and reprimands him, won’t the TA know you complained about him? Switch to another lab ASAP.

Try to get that done. If not, give him a bad evaluation at the end of the semester...
 
Sorry you feel this way OP. Stay strong!! You’ll be OK!!

Idk about transferring. Is it just this one incident that’s making you feel this way? Furthermore, just wait it out.

Not to increase your fears, but if the VP talks to the TA and reprimands him, won’t the TA know you complained about him? Switch to another lab ASAP.

Try to get that done. If not, give him a bad evaluation at the end of the semester... I just don’t want him to be harsh on grading your stuff if he finds out you complained about him.
 
The amount of love and support I’m getting from y’all is healing me. Thank you so much[emoji4][emoji173]️

I have decided not to transfer. I love the college so much and I have got tons of support from every single individual. I was being too emotional about it.

Again, thank you so much for the love you gave me. It just means a lot to me.
 
Platinumabi said:
The amount of love and support I’m getting from y’all is healing me. Thank you so much[emoji4][emoji173]️
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No problem. You'll be good... TA's can be ***holes ... I've had rough experience with TAs as well...
 
Alex1234* said:
It seems like from your past posts, you don’t get along with any of your professors or advisors. Are you sure there isn’t something you could do to maintain better relationships with your professors/advisors?
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Not to hijack, shut curious... from your signature... how did you go to three interviews, get rejected by three and then get accepted by one?
 
Alex1234* said:
It seems like from your past posts, you don’t get along with any of your professors or advisors. Are you sure there isn’t something you could do to maintain better relationships with your professors/advisors?
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Yeah, lol and I don’t blame you for saying that. It seems that way but I am loved by almost all of the community and campus employees. Based on a lot of the comments I get from employees and other students, I am one of the sweetest kid they’ve ever met. The reason why I think a lot of people, in this case 3 people, treat me this way is because of my physical appearance. I am short, skinny, black, and feminine. It seems as though I am weak and people can take advantage of me knowing that I can’t defend myself. This is a subconscious thing and not a lot of people understand it, but yeah.

I will make sure to do some serious soul searching and see what personality of mine triggers this type of behavior in people. For now, the only thing I can think of is my femininity as a black man. Also English is not my first language and it’s really hard for me to fit in with people without being discriminated against because I can’t speak fluent English like any other individual. I also am confident in myself and a lot of the times people would not expect me to be that confident, so that’s another reason I can think of. Another thing is that I was raised in a culture where interaction with people has little limits. Sometimes I go too deep and see my professional interactions as personal interactions. I am scheduled to talk to a counselor and hopefully I will be able to fully understand the whole situation better after telling what you’ve told me to my counselor. I will also ask my friends what they think triggers this type of attitude in people.

Thanks for the insight.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
I hope you reported that professor.
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I did, and I demanded an apology. Good thing is I built great relationships with other campus employees and that is good for my future. Plus, it has opened a lot of doors for me to impress my teachers who will possibly write me a recommendation letter in the future. That’s a good thing I got out of it. And the teacher, well now everyone who knows about the incident hates him, including students and campus employees (this is based on what they’ve said to me).
 
Ever thought about bulking up? I used to be a black skinny kid

I used to weight 112 lbs ~12% bf now I am 163 lbs ~15-20% bf. At my peak bulk I was never messed with and people were saying I was diesel AF. I remember getting asked about arm training advice.

Looks are everything imo.
 
puahate said:
Ever thought about bulking up? I used to be a black skinny kid

I used to weight 112 lbs ~12% bf now I am 163 lbs ~15-20% bf. At my peak bulk I was never messed with and people were saying I was diesel AF. I remember getting asked about arm training advice.

Looks are everything imo.
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Yes, I started working out. The problem was that the teacher was so big and very chubby so he felt entitled to bashing me in front of all those people. It’s really hard to get respected as a black man trying to become a doctor when everyone thinks you’re not even smart enough to be there. Not a lot of people on here know what it’s like being black, but I am glad at least you know the difference. Bulking up seems like a very good idea and I hope I’ll be able to be buff soon. You have no idea how physical appearance plays a huge role in getting respected.
 
puahate said:
Ever thought about bulking up? I used to be a black skinny kid

I used to weight 112 lbs ~12% bf now I am 163 lbs ~15-20% bf. At my peak bulk I was never messed with and people were saying I was diesel AF. I remember getting asked about arm training advice.

Looks are everything imo.
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Eh. It’s also about position. If anything, people like that prof (assuming it really happened that way) would be more likely to do that to a big guy just to demonstrate that they have the power.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Eh. It’s also about position. If anything, people like that prof (assuming it really happened that way) would be more likely to do that to a big guy just to demonstrate that they have the power.
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OP in general tends to have this issue with other people tho. The prof is definitely in the wrong no doubt but OP has had bad experiences before with other people.

I am not saying I am right at all but I been through the same and made changes during high school to combat and disrespect I might receive.
 
puahate said:
OP in general tends to have this issue with other people tho. The prof is definitely in the wrong no doubt but OP has had bad experiences before with other people.

I am not saying I am right at all but I been through the same and made changes during high school to combat and disrespect I might receive.
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Yeah, the previous incident happened because I applied to a volunteer opportunity on my own without telling my school. I have never disrespected anyone and neither did I do something bad to trigger this type of attitude of theirs. You have no idea how people underestimate me based on my immigration status, looks, and not being able to speak a fluent English. Social interaction is very look and impression based.
 
umm.....if a professor yelling at your for substandard performance makes you feel bad. . . . .maybe medical school isn't right for you.

I know I'm going to get hate for this, but medicine is hard.. If one professor yelling at you makes you wont to move colleges. . . . . I'd want to get yourself stronger before going to med school.
 
NITRAS said:
umm.....if a professor yelling at your for substandard performance makes you feel bad. . . . .maybe medical school isn't right for you.

I know I'm going to get hate for this, but medicine is hard.. If one professor yelling at you makes you wont to move colleges. . . . . I'd want to get yourself stronger before going to med school.
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in what university have you seen professors yell at students becuase of substandard performance? Most just give you the F and move on, yelling is not even needed.
 
Platinumabi said:
Yesterday in my Orgo 1 lab, a teacher screamed at me for not knowing the names of certain items in the lab. He was mocking me, screaming at me, and just glaring at me in front of twenty students. He was checking my lab notebook and I did not word things correctly, so he felt the need to scream at me for around 10 minutes while I stand there in fear. He just reminded me of the abuse I went through when I was a child. I did not say anything because the culture I was raised in taught me not to talk back to the elderly especially teachers no matter how rude they are. I was crying for hours and hours after I left the lab and even when I was in the lab, I could not focus on what my teammates were doing. Then I went to talk to two teachers and they all said that he has that type of reputation. Then I went to talk to the Vice President of the school with one of the teachers I know from my other class. The president said that she will talk to him and ask him to apologize to me soon. I’ve also faced some type of racism here on campus and I really don’t feel like I belong here at this college. The Vice President didn’t even want to switch my lab section to another class. Now, everyone is going to hear about this and every single teacher is going to hate me because he is their friend. I really want to transfer to another liberal arts college and continue my education peacefully. Will transferring affect my medical school application?

Thank you so much for reading!
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Yelling at you? Really?

Sorry, all but being a parent, and a long time SDNer, I have found that there are always two sides to every story .
 
Goro said:
Yelling at you? Really?

Sorry, all but being a parent, and a long time SDNer, I have found that there are always two sides to every story .
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Yup screaming at me and asking me the name of a small beaker after I already said that I did not know the name.
 
NITRAS said:
umm.....if a professor yelling at your for substandard performance makes you feel bad. . . . .maybe medical school isn't right for you.

I know I'm going to get hate for this, but medicine is hard.. If one professor yelling at you makes you wont to move colleges. . . . . I'd want to get yourself stronger before going to med school.
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You’re not getting hate for saying this, but for not considering the fact that I am still a freshman and discouraging me from being a doctor. I have four more years of undergrad and I know I will grow out of this.
 
puahate said:
in what university have you seen professors yell at students becuase of substandard performance? Most just give you the F and move on, yelling is not even needed.
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One persons yelling is another one's normal tone expression of disapproval. Hard to know whether the op is embellishing/overreacting or if the professor was truly out of line.
 
dpmd said:
One persons yelling is another one's normal tone expression of disapproval. Hard to know whether the op is embellishing/overreacting or if the professor was truly out of line.
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After talking to teachers, employees, other students in the class, and the academic dean, I have gotten the same response: the teacher was being extremely disrespectful.
 
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Not knowing the names of chemicals in a lab can be VERY DANGEROUS. Mix 2 certain chemicals together and something could explode or cause a fire. Not knowing what acetone is when you think it’s something else can hurt someone. I don’t think you understand the severity of not knowing what you’re doing in the lab. This is a serious matter and you bet a professor will get upset if you don’t even know the names of chemicals. You clearly didn’t study what you were supposed to know. I’m guessing you were the only one who had this problem?

And apparently from your past posts you seem to not get along with others, especially authority figures. I wouldn’t be surprised if these people weren’t actually mocking you but simply telling you the rules and you didn’t like their tone or just didn’t have respect for the rules. You probably answer back disrespectfully or perceive they are mocking when they actually aren’t. When someone is always a victim most of the time they’re not. It’s on them and not everyone else.
 
On_The_Way_Up said:
Not knowing the names of chemicals in a lab can be VERY DANGEROUS. Mix 2 certain chemicals together and something could explode or cause a fire. Not knowing what acetone is when you think it’s something else can hurt someone. I don’t think you understand the severity of not knowing what you’re doing in the lab. This is a serious matter and you bet a professor will get upset if you don’t even know the names of chemicals. You clearly didn’t study what you were supposed to know. I’m guessing you were the only one who had this problem?

And apparently from your past posts you seem to not get along with others, especially authority figures. I wouldn’t be surprised if these people weren’t actually mocking you but simply telling you the rules and you didn’t like their tone or just didn’t have respect for the rules. You probably answer back disrespectfully or perceive they are mocking when they actually aren’t. When someone is always a victim most of the time they’re not. It’s on them and not everyone else.
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I don’t think I said chemicals in any of my posts. I did not know the difference between a beaker and a flask. Apparently, you just assumed a lot of things in your post. It’s so funny how you act like you know all the stuff that happened based on the little evidence too much assumption you had. Please, I am already hurt with the flashback memories of the abuse I went through as a child, so just stop saying something that makes me feel like crap.
 
On_The_Way_Up said:
Not knowing the names of chemicals in a lab can be VERY DANGEROUS. Mix 2 certain chemicals together and something could explode or cause a fire. Not knowing what acetone is when you think it’s something else can hurt someone. I don’t think you understand the severity of not knowing what you’re doing in the lab. This is a serious matter and you bet a professor will get upset if you don’t even know the names of chemicals. You clearly didn’t study what you were supposed to know. I’m guessing you were the only one who had this problem?

And apparently from your past posts you seem to not get along with others, especially authority figures. I wouldn’t be surprised if these people weren’t actually mocking you but simply telling you the rules and you didn’t like their tone or just didn’t have respect for the rules. You probably answer back disrespectfully or perceive they are mocking when they actually aren’t. When someone is always a victim most of the time they’re not. It’s on them and not everyone else.
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Person Injured in Chemical Explosion in Lab at UCLA
 
This is very hard to believe that someone was screaming at you, especially for ten minutes (my voice would've been long out). Please update us on how your complaint proceeds through the system. I do not believe it has to do with ESL/foreign/migrant/minority unless you go to a university that has like 5% nonwhite students. I am also a minority. You write on SDN about how your advisors don't like you, your biology professor doesn't like you, and now your biochem professor is abusing you in public. Add that to your profile picture and the smell of anxiety in your posts.

Perhaps you are overreacting to any little critique and it triggers anxiety in you because of your past child abuse. But I'm not licensed to give this advice. There is no shame at all in visiting the university counseling center. Many people have gone to it and can preach about the benefits.

*Also, I'm curious. Did you bring a witness in the classroom to validate your complaint to the higher ups?
 
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Goro said:
In all honesty, plati, this is something one learns in 7th or 8th grade science classes.
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Eh... 10th grade is when the first legitimate chemistry course is taught. 6th grade is geology/earth science, 7th grade is biology, 8th grade is physics. At least that’s how it was in my school district, which was one of the better ones too; others may differ. Science/math education in the US is pretty abysmal in general though.

But yeah don’t they make you do a prelab so you know the procedure and everything?
 
doctorcocter said:
Eh... 10th grade is when the first legitimate chemistry course is taught. 6th grade is geology/earth science, 7th grade is biology, 8th grade is physics. At least that’s how it was in my school district, which was one of the better ones too; others may differ. Science/math education in the US is pretty abysmal in general though.

But yeah don’t they make you do a prelab so you know the procedure and everything?
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For my school it was 9th bio, 10th chem, 11th physics, 12th optional
 
doctorcocter said:
Eh... 10th grade is when the first legitimate chemistry course is taught. 6th grade is geology/earth science, 7th grade is biology, 8th grade is physics. At least that’s how it was in my school district, which was one of the better ones too; others may differ. Science/math education in the US is pretty abysmal in general though.

But yeah don’t they make you do a prelab so you know the procedure and everything?
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speedwalker said:
For my school it was 9th bio, 10th chem, 11th physics, 12th optional
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In my school, it was: 8th physical sciences; 9th Earth sciences; 10th Biology; 11th Chem (elective) 12th: Biochem or Physics (elective).

But still, OP should learned this before college.
 
Goro said:
In all honesty, plati, this is something one learns in 7th or 8th grade science classes.
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I understand that, but I am an immigrant who never had any lab class in my entire life prior to coming to college. I learned it while I was taking intro to chemistry but forgot the names. I know the difference in their purposes and the names in my own language, just not in English.
 
doctorcocter said:
Eh... 10th grade is when the first legitimate chemistry course is taught. 6th grade is geology/earth science, 7th grade is biology, 8th grade is physics. At least that’s how it was in my school district, which was one of the better ones too; others may differ. Science/math education in the US is pretty abysmal in general though.

But yeah don’t they make you do a prelab so you know the procedure and everything?
Click to expand...

My instructor for ochem lab made us draw and label the equipment in our notebooks lol
 
speedwalker said:
This is very hard to believe that someone was screaming at you, especially for ten minutes (my voice would've been long out). Please update us on how your complaint proceeds through the system. I do not believe it has to do with ESL/foreign/migrant/minority unless you go to a university that has like 5% nonwhite students. I am also a minority. You write on SDN about how your advisors don't like you, your biology professor doesn't like you, and now your biochem professor is abusing you in public. Add that to your profile picture and the smell of anxiety in your posts.

Perhaps you are overreacting to any little critique and it triggers anxiety in you because of your past child abuse. But I'm not licensed to give this advice. There is no shame at all in visiting the university counseling center. Many people have gone to it and can preach about the benefits.

*Also, I'm curious. Did you bring a witness in the classroom to validate your complaint to the higher ups?
Click to expand...

I wish someone recorded a video so that I can assure you what happened was as exactly as I explained. He was screaming and asking me questions repeatedly when I clearly stated that I did not know the answer. He was saying “what is this?” “ what does this say?”... he was not screaming the entire time, but for the majority of it he was screaming, smiling at me for making fun of me, and just bashing me in front of other students.

And for the advisors and biology teacher you mentioned, I had every right to do what I did. I am obviously not going to ask questions about how a person likes me on here. The number of people who love and support me is way higher than the three people who hate me. As I said, physical appearance plays a huge factor in how people perceive me and once they get to know me, they get shocked by how much of a hardworking and devoted student I am, and that when I leave them and stop being around them and they get frustrated because of that.
 
ciestar said:
My instructor for ochem lab made us draw and label the equipment in our notebooks lol
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Same. We had to draw the whole apparatus if there is one and label each part. We also had to write the chemical formula, draw the structural diagram, and list the biochemical hazards from an MSDS of every chemical/solvent.
 
Platinumabi said:
I wish someone recorded a video so that I can assure you what happened was as exactly as I explained. He was screaming and asking me questions repeatedly when I clearly stated that I did not know the answer. He was saying “what is this?” “ what does this say?”... he was not screaming the entire time, but for the majority of it he was screaming, smiling at me for making fun of me, and just bashing me in front of other students.

And for the advisors and biology teacher you mentioned, I had every right to do what I did. I am obviously not going to ask questions about how a person likes me on here. The number of people who love and support me is way higher than the three people who hate me. As I said, physical appearance plays a huge factor in how people perceive me and once they get to know me, they get shocked by how much of a hardworking and devoted student I am, and that when I leave them and stop being around them and they get frustrated because of that.
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This isn't about love or hate.
 
Platinumabi said:
Yesterday in my Orgo 1 lab, a teacher screamed at me for not knowing the names of certain items in the lab. He was mocking me, screaming at me, and just glaring at me in front of twenty students. He was checking my lab notebook and I did not word things correctly, so he felt the need to scream at me for around 10 minutes while I stand there in fear. He just reminded me of the abuse I went through when I was a child. I did not say anything because the culture I was raised in taught me not to talk back to the elderly especially teachers no matter how rude they are. I was crying for hours and hours after I left the lab and even when I was in the lab, I could not focus on what my teammates were doing. Then I went to talk to two teachers and they all said that he has that type of reputation. Then I went to talk to the Vice President of the school with one of the teachers I know from my other class. The president said that she will talk to him and ask him to apologize to me soon. I’ve also faced some type of racism here on campus and I really don’t feel like I belong here at this college. The Vice President didn’t even want to switch my lab section to another class. Now, everyone is going to hear about this and every single teacher is going to hate me because he is their friend. I really want to transfer to another liberal arts college and continue my education peacefully. Will transferring affect my medical school application?

Thank you so much for reading!
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Don't tranfer because you had 1 really bad teacher.

Lol did he yell at you for labeling your Organic 1 notebook "Biochem 1" ?
 
SterlingMaloryArcher said:
Don't tranfer because you had 1 really bad teacher.

Lol did he yell at you for labeling your Organic 1 notebook "Biochem 1" ?
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I don’t even know why I put Biochem. My mind is so disturbed and sometimes I can’t really think properly. Now y’all are mocking me. I would highly appreciate it if someone closes this discussion.
 
Platinumabi said:
I don’t even know why I put Biochem. My mind is so disturbed and sometimes I can’t really think properly. Now y’all are mocking me. I would highly appreciate it if someone closes this discussion.
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I highly recommend counseling for you. It seems your past trauma is affecting you still and will continue being a problem as long as you are so sensitive to perceived mistreatment. Even if it is egregious mistreatment you don't want it to cause you to cry for hours and consider changing schools.
 
Platinumabi said:
I don’t even know why I put Biochem. My mind is so disturbed and sometimes I can’t really think properly. Now y’all are mocking me. I would highly appreciate it if someone closes this discussion.
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No offense, but this super-touchy response makes me wonder if you just have a tendency to overreact to things. Also, your past thread about a conflict between you and a different instructor makes me wonder if you just have trouble getting along with people. Before pursuing your issue with this organic chemistry instructor further, you might want to do some serious reflection and maybe seek the input of a mental health professional. Best of luck with your situation.
 
Platinumabi said:
I don’t even know why I put Biochem. My mind is so disturbed and sometimes I can’t really think properly. Now y’all are mocking me. I would highly appreciate it if someone closes this discussion.
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Yeah if this innocuous internet ribbing is bothering you, I think you should seek out counseling for anxiety. Seriously, it will help with everything. It won’t make people stop doing bad things but it may change your outlook on your responses (since that’s the only thing you can control).
 
Platinumabi said:
I don’t even know why I put Biochem. My mind is so disturbed and sometimes I can’t really think properly. Now y’all are mocking me. I would highly appreciate it if someone closes this discussion.
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As OP you can lock your thread by going to the orginal post, clicking edit, more options, unchecking "open"
 
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