Dear past self,

You are going into this course thinking it will be difficult and boring, involving a lot of memorization of cell parts that you will never be able to keep track of. While it has been difficult at times and often very detailed, you should know that cell biology is actually very interesting. You will learn about all kinds of things that you have often wondered about, such as what the glycemic index really means and whether you should really be putting hydrogen peroxide on your skin. You will find to your amazement that you can actually read scientific articles about cell processes and follow along with only a few visits to Wikipedia to clarify acronyms. Your questions about toxoplasmosis were perhaps a bit too ambitious. It turns out that only research into long-term effects of toxoplasmosis on human behavior only really started this century. I did find out some of what goes on at the cellular and molecular level in the brain of an infected person (assuming it’s similar to what happens in a mouse, which is likely), but how it leads to changes in behavior is still a bit mysterious. I also still need to find out what communication exists between the parasite and host cells. Altogether, this course has stimulated my interest in this and many other topics, which I hope will last for years to come.