After coming from a tiny, and I mean TINY high school, I gotta say, the transition to a school like Baruch was pretty intense. It was a very different and somewhat intimidating experience. I was used to having personal relationships with guidance counselors and teachers who had a good understanding of who I was after seeing me grow throughout my four years there, and they gave me relevant and good advice that I took consistently. This element of personal connection with superiors is more or less gone now, and I’ve got to fend for myself and make big decisions with real life consequences. It’s scary! I’m not sure what I want to do, who I am, all that stuff, typical lazy young adult. Thankfully, this class has not only helped me develop personal relationships with my colleagues in my LC, but has also given me opportunities to join lots of potentially fun, interesting, and most of all, productive clubs and organizations. I’m definitely going to be using the STARR Career Development Center fairly soon, as that seemed to have not only the most interesting staff, but most directly useful information and help. I don’t feel so alone anymore!
As far as community service goes, I’ve really learned that it’s important to have a motive that goes further than a scholarly requirement, and that it’s okay to do something that can benefit you as long as you’re still helping others. By this I mean that you need to have a legitimate concern and compassionate attitude towards the people that you’re helping, otherwise the magnitude of the service you’re providing is almost void. Merely helping out with things is not enough; people in need are in fact, people, and need and react positively to love. Also, I think that if you are going to perform a community service where you have to cook, learning to cook in order to be prepared is a kind of two birds with one stone deal. I am tired of eating cereal and crappy fruit for breakfast, I want to know how to make myself (and others!) a big hearty breakfast in the morning.
