natsky

Hi everyone I am graduating within the next year or so, and am beginning to freak out about my letters of recommendation. I wasn't always planning on going to grad school, and I don't know anyone who has had to get LOR so I don't know much about them. First of all, does it matter what subject the professor teaches in relation to your degree? For example, I'm a psychology major going into counseling, so would it be bad if I got a LOR from a professor who taught a completely different subject? Also, I had a professor back in Fall 2009 who was also a therapist... I feel like that would be a really, really good reference, but it's been such a long time since I took her class. I didn't form a super strong bond with her, but I would have felt confident about asking her for a letter of recommendation at the time. But is it way too weird to email her now? I'm afraid she wouldn't remember me, much less the kind of work I did in her class. Would it be better to just forget about it and find someone else I had more recently? Finally, do you have any basic tips or advice about attaining these letters? I'm becoming very intimidated by the idea of forming some kind of close bond with a professor, especially when I take a lot of large classes. Is it enough to be doing well on the tests & assignments and speak to the professor sometimes outside of class, or does it take more effort than that? I have always felt that professors are so busy that even if they know who you are, the second the class is over they'll forget. Thanks in advance for any help!