Monthly Archives: October 2010

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Hi everyone, I’m Thomas Kulesza. My parents are immigrated  from Poland about 25 years ago, I have brother and a sister, both older. My parents have a love for travel and so as a child I visited many places. I’ve been to Greece, Poland, England, France, Spain and many other countries, although I must say the trips I mentioned were probably some of the most fun I’ve had.

I think that all that traveling as a child, really help my learn the passion I have for travel and flying. I think sometimes I like the flight there and back as much as I like trip itself. If my parents didn’t take me on these trips and vacations I don’t think I would have ever found half the passions and hobbies that I have now if it wasn’t for my parent’s taking me to all the, at least at the time, exotic places.

I love to flying, in fact I’m going to try to go for my pilot’s license over the summer. I love art, from all the museums I’ve been to as a child, like the Louvre, the Prado, the other large museums, but my favorite are the smaller museums/galleries of art. I remember in my last trip to Spain we went to this small church where I saw “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz” by El Greco. I also have a love of being on the water and water sports. In Poland, their hometown is in an area that  is surrounded by lakes and river, and all the bodies of water are connected by canals if they aren’t naturally connected. So, in every trip to Poland that I can remember my parents would rent kayaks and we would travel all around these bodies of water, in fact last time I went to Poland I signed up and took a 3 day trip where we started about 20 miles above their hometown, Augustow, and kayaked down a winding river in the day and at night we would set up camp in a forest. It was a very fun trip, although at times the kayaking felt like it would never end. I believe that we traveled about 40 miles in those three days.

Junior high was one of my least favorite chapters of my life thus far.  It was full of hormonally overactive pre-teens who liked to act bigger than they were.  Everyone belong to some click, usually along racial lines, but it wasn’t some hostile environment.   Everyone still interacted and was friendly with each other, it was merely a way for them to congregate based on whom they knew form classes and whom they lived near.  Then there was me, the kid from who didn’t live near anyone and didn’t know anyone else in school because of that.  I didn’t really being to any click and mainly wandered between groups, getting to know more people and developing better relationships with them.  Not really fitting into a specific group led to being made fun of occasionally, but it was light.  I mainly ignored people who went out of their way to insult me in juvenile and unsophisticated ways since they were usually the narrow minded people whom I often disagreed with and too pompous for their own good.  There were many of these people, however, so I didn’t really make friends with many people and nor did I want to.  It wasn’t until 8^th grade that I met someone who would change my life.

Her name was Venice and she opened my eyes to better fill my open mind.  She wasn’t like most of there other kids and also thought that most of them were too full of themselves for their own good.  We weren’t that friendly towards each other until the end of junior high – the summer before high school.   I’m still not sure of the reasons why even when looking at this in retrospect, but that summer, I spent almost everyday out and about when I had previously done other, “more productive” things with my summer and rarely went out to just enjoy myself.  Everyday was an adventure with Venice.  We went all over midtown so much so that by the end of July, I knew every avenue and where all the fun venues were.  She broadened my view of the world though the experiences we had.  With all Manhattan had to offer, I experienced different cultures, especially the food, visited museums that enriched my knowledge of history and art, and also, inadvertently, exposed me to the world of business.

Being in midtown so often and around lunch hour, I saw the culture of the business world and took a deep interest in it.  I soon wanted to learn more about the business world and what it was like.  It didn’t seem as boring as people painted it to be.  In fact, it seemed very civilized and relaxed with polite individuals who were knowledgeable and quick in thinking.  On the rare occasion when we got lost, we would ask one of them for directions and they would kindly give it to us, detailed and accurate.  It was then that I decided to pursue a career in business but with no particular field in mind.  I still had 4 years plus ahead of me to figure that out.

Well, that was the summer come and gone of ‘06.  Soon, high school started and we were off to different schools.  She went off to Bronx High School of Science and I to Stuyvesant High School.  We still met and hung out throughout high school but not to the extent we did that summer.  Still, the impact she made on my life was lasting.  I became more accepting of new people after having such a good run with her and also became more apt to exploring and trying new things.  I had also become more accepting and less judgmental.  I think people saw me as interesting, or more interesting that I would have been if I hadn’t met Venice since I knew of many good places to hang out and have fun that most of the new people I met in Stuy didn’t know of.  I owe a lot to Venice for shaping a great part of me into what I am today.

High school ended a few months ago and Venice and I are still in contact often, but also still on different tracks.  She’s up in Buffalo while I’m still in the city pursuing my career in business, and she’s undecided.  She tried to convince me back in December of last year to follow her up to Buffalo and attend The University of Buffalo in the SUNY system, but I decided to stay in the city where I had hoped that being in the center of the business world would better prepare me for it later in my career.  I hope to learn more and be enriched more by attending college here than if I had attended college elsewhere, farther from the city.  I hope that I will get the classes I desire next semester and hope that this semester of preselected courses ends quickly.  I hope that in time, I can say that turning down other schools in Boston and elsewhere was the best choice I couldn’t made in regards to my college career.

Other than a student, I am also the son of a pair of immigrants. Due to this, I feel obligated to adhere to my Chinese heritage while trying to fit into the American world here. There has been some racism in my past due to the area I live in, this has led me to become a bit more reserved when it comes to meeting new people or trying new things, but I feel like I am starting to try and be more outgoing. Being Chinese, family is very important. Family is one of the more important aspects in the Chinese culture. I try to go home everyday to eat dinner with my family. The nights that I’m not home for dinner are usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays or parties.

I expect that in college, everything will be at least a little harder. I expect more work, but also more time to do the work. So far, this has been true. Also, I expect to learn more and to change certain behaviors and bad habits in the past. I hope to become more organized and focused. I hope that I will do well in the first semester. Back in high school, I was off to a bad start, I regretted it for the other three years I was there. However, I feel like my lack of organization and my bad habits will get into my way. Also, I have been concerned about the tests since I haven’t taken any yet. That will change by Monday though. Hopefully not all the stressful events will be crammed into 1 week again.

I was born in Hong Kong. My parents named me Lai lee, a beautiful name with no particular meanings. I have a older sister, who has the same first name as I do, and a younger brother. While we all lived happily in Hong Kong, my father had an opportunity to come to United States. I knew in my heart that my parents sacrificed their lives in their homeland for us to pursue a better education. I was glad at first because I do not have to be pressured as much to study. After I arrive US, I immediately attend school; it was then I realized it is not easy at all to adapt a different environment, culture, and language for me. I was the only Chinese in my eighth grade class. I have no common language with my classmates, perhaps except when they need help in math. I started to blame my parents for taking me away from my perfect life in Hong Kong inside me. I didn’t dare to tell them because I knew they sacrificed much more for me. As time pass by, I learned to be more independent, and gradually adapted a different life.

Baruch was not unfamiliar to me because my sister also attends Baruch college. She instructed me to go to different departments, encouraged me to join different clubs. Now, as many other students are, I expect to start a new, exciting college experience. The first month of the first semester had passed already, a lot of tests are also coming. I will do my best to encounter what is in front of me.

My story, just like everyone else’s, is a complicated one.  I am 18, living with both my parents and my younger sister. I was born and raised in a very traditional Chinese family.  Schoolwork came first.  I had to get the grades in order to have a steady future. I learned to believe in the Holy Trinity: growing up to either be a doctor, lawyer or investment banker, the three most lucrative, sought after jobs in the market. Anything else meant that you had no future or success. To guarantee we did well in school, I had to go to prep school on the weekends in addition to public school. Both gave a ton of homework and I was just in elementary school. After schoolwork, came musical talent. From violin to flute to the piano, Chinese parents expect their children to do well in school and master a musical instrument. My parents decided to choose the piano for me. I started at the age of four and still play to this day.  After musical instrument came artistic talent. Throughout elementary school my weeks were filled. School six days a week, then piano on Saturdays and art classes on Sundays.  There was no time for rest or fun and games. However once I started middle school, my parents decided to give me a bit more freedom. It was not because they felt bad for me, it was becaues maintaining a reputation was key. My friends from middle school were not all asian anymore. They were mainly caucasian and my parents did not want to be the known as the parents that were overbearing and crazy. They also had my younger sister to take care of.  I was finally free to go out and hang out with my friends and do as I please. I wasn’t constantly being watched over anymore. Now that I look back on it, I do not regret the decisions my parents made for me. Because of them, I am the hardworking, driven, and independent person I am today. Even though my parents were strict as I gre older, I have always kept their teachings close to me.  When they were not there to push me, I pushed myself to be better.  I have become a lot more independent because of them.  Also, just like them I believe reputation is key. If a person cannot present him or herself properly, then it is a dealbreaker. This belief makes me always want to striv to be better than what I already am.  It also makes me more of a cautious person.

I’m finally in college now.  One month in. To be honest, Baruch was not my first choice. When I decided to attend, I had no idea what to expect.  I thought it would make me unhappy and I’m not sure why I thought that. I was scared. I remember telling my parents the day before classes that I was terrified for my life. I wanted a learning environment where people were motivated to learn, to question the professor, to be able to feel comfortable sharing their stories and experiences with everyone.  Now that I look back on my first month of college, the Baruch Honors program definitely gave me the environment I wanted. Sure, there is no campus or dorms that are nearby, but in return I get to keep enjoying the city that I love.  I have found friends that make me break away from my comfort zone and make me be the best person I can possibly be. I do not regret choosing to come here.  In my first semester I hope to do well in my classes and just to enjoy learning while having fun. This is all a new experience to me and I will take it day by day because the goods in life do not come easy.