My question involves criminal law for the state of: Tennessee

Hello,

I'll just cut right to the chase.

I was at a music festival in Tennessee, I was searched and found to have 5 "tablets" of LSD. Long story short, it was taken away, and I was left with a citation. 3 weeks later, I got a letter in the mail saying I owe ~$2500. Or I can go back to Tennessee and go to court. I'm probably going to go with paying the fine. (unless it's suggested otherwise)
"Upon paying the fine, my charges will be placed on hold for one year from the date of the citation. Conditioned on good conduct and no criminal record conviction during this period, the charge will be dismissed after a one-year period."
Basically, my questions are A) What in the world does that mean? B) Do I need to start checking the convicted of drug possession box on applications? C) Is this considered probation? D)I live in Michigan, how would probation work? E) Can I expect this to ruin my career after graduation?
I've never had a legal problem in my life and for the most part stay away from the whole scene. However, being in college, sometimes you do things you might not normally do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want this stupid choice I made to prohibit my the rest of my future from progressing.

Thank you for any help