Macbook air vs. pro for uni science student

my macbook is 5years old and its time for a new computer. i was planning on getting another macbook since its worked so well and ive never had any problems with it, but upon realizing they are discontinuing the macbook i decided otherwise.
im a 3rd year earth science student, so i spend time writing up labs and essays in microsoft word and using excel from time to time, but i also use my computer a lot for music and photos - sometimes some other programs i have to download for courses i take at school. really trying to figure out which computer would be better for me and i really have no idea. ive already got an 750gb external hard drive where ive got everything stored from my old mac, and i plan to put some pictures on cds onto the drive with my old computer. after that i suppose i wouldnt have a use for a cd drive, but im debating on whether the air is really a good idea or not.
im still old fashioned and prefer writing my notes in lectures than using powerpoint. so if the air is a bit slower i dont think that would bother me.
biggest thing is the whole cd drive, all opinions for my situation would be appreciated. thanks!

I just sold my Macbook Pro 13" i5 processor, 8GB RAM for the new 13" MBA i5 4GBRam.  It is such a huge difference in size and wait that I would never go back to something so bulky(I know MBP isn't really bulky, but things have changed). It is plenty fast for everything I do...heavy duty web surfing, email, writing papers, hd video, music, etc. and I find that I still have yet to fill up the 128GB SSD it came with...I'm at about 60GB...it is truly the best computer you'll ever own.

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