But when the opportunity to take a course at Cornell called “Understanding Beer and Wine,” I knew I couldn’t pass it up. So I filled out my paperwork, and IC’s paperwork, and Cornell’s paperwork. Then I enrolled in the class. When I read that we had to bring four glasses for sampling each class, I knew thought this course was for me.

But then came the second week of classes. Our syllabi had been handed out and the summary of the course had been explained. I found myself listening to professors explain proteins binding to starches and some other scientific vernacular that was over my head. The history and cultural aspects of beer and wine-making is all very interesting – those notes are detailed and thorough. The scientific notes on the other hand lend themselves to doodles and jokes about how over-my-head half of the course matter is.

When it came time for the test I studied hard. More so than I study for most tests I take at IC. (I don’t take tests at IC anymore, if anything I write papers.) An hour two days before, three hours the night before, and another two hours the morning of the exam weren’t enough.

The test was hard. I was as prepared as I could have been. And worst of all – we didn’t get any samples to take the edge off.