Author Archives: Yelena Melnichenko

I would like to be completely honest with this assignment and say that my outlook on my resources, future in college, and community service, hasn’t changed at all. Baruch offers a wide variety of resources for all of its students, and I am grateful for that, but I haven’t utilized them for any projects. I’ve visited the library for personal reading, contacted departments for course registration, and researched the multiplicity of centers for my own reasons. However, I don’t believe that I haven’t gained anything from that. Despite the fact that they weren’t helpful in certain ways, they were helpful in the ways that I needed them.
I would also like to say that my outlook on community service hasn’t been altered. This is due to the fact that I’ve always respected the value and experience that ties into it. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine that people may not understand the true value and benefit of doing community service. I don’t quite understand how they’ve never considered that it may effect them personally. This is most likely due to my experiences with volunteer work, but I feel like it’s also common sense. I don’t mean to offend anyone when I say this, but it is fairly obvious good moral behavior. It is necessary that everyone should reach out to help somebody other than themselves, because it is the right thing to do. Helping others is generous, beneficial and productive. And since most of the people who need help are those in vastly different situations, it is no wonder that we’d gain learning experiences and grow as individuals. Hence, it is hard for me to believe that a lot of people don’t understand that volunteer work is such an incredibly important and beneficial idea. And on the other hand, I feel as if the whole concept of encouraging community service is an attempt to glorify the idea. We shouldn’t be applauded for understanding service, we shouldn’t be pressed into doing it, and we shouldn’t be bragging about our positions as Baruch scholars. A true understanding of community service is the understanding that you won’t be rewarded for your deeds. It is understanding that true mitzvah’s are done through every day interactions, not eight hour mandated periods of time. It is understanding your role in your community, internalizing it, and taking action. By presenting all of our intended volunteer work and our ‘revelations’ of scholarly status, we’ve simply stated the obvious. I understand the effort in trying to get Honors students to understand their value and leadership capabilities, but I feel as if we’ve been given way too little credit. Personally, I know what kind of role I hold and what importance volunteer work holds. I’ve always viewed it that way, and I always will. Therefore, I don’t believe that I’ve changed my outlook. I simply reinforced my beliefs.

On another note, I’ve explored a few of the clubs. Initially, I planned on joining over three clubs within the semester. However, I realized that it would be far too difficult. I then spaced out my clubs based on their goals, interests, and my priorities. This allows me to dabble in all of the fields that I find interesting without taking time away from my academics. Personally, I decided that I would join, and stick with, the Radio for the majority of my college experience. This ‘club’ is closely related to my major and is definitely something I’m interested in. Additionally, I chose to participate in the Volunteer Tax Assistance Program , which I will join in my sophomore year, and possibly the Ticker or some creative writing group. Honestly, I also feel as if the clubs are slightly difficult to handle. Some of these require you to attend mandatory meetings which are held at the same time as other club meetings. This makes it difficult to prioritize interests and actually attend these sessions. In my experience, I joined the Radio as a part of the Operations group. However, I was told that there was nothing for me to do there at the time. I would like to participate, and not seem like the type of personal that bails, but there really isn’t anything I could do and I can’t go to events that are held around 8pm. Therefore, I don’t think it is fair that I should be held accountable for not participating as much as the others. This is one of the difficulties I experienced with club-joining. On the other hand, though, I don’t think it will continuously be a struggle. I envision the next three years to be quite interesting, educational, and hopefully rewarding on many levels. With the freedom to do things on my own, and time to do these things, I believe I’ll get more out of the experience. I plan on following through with my major, finally settling on a minor, possibly studying abroad, and then graduating happily. I would like to contribute as much as I can to the college during my time here, but my primary focus is to make the most out of my education and keep my grades up for the Honors program in the meantime.

Serving your community is a series of gestures you make in order to give back to the place you can call home. These actions can range from small acts of kindness to larger attempts at trying to make it a better place. Everyone should feel obligated to do something for their community, whether it be helping the elderly or simply not worsening it with litter, graffiti, or things of that nature. As a student, I have a duty to use my role as an educated individual to help others take on those tasks and lead them to making better choices. As a Scholar, I should have the responsibility to motivate my peers and help them realize their potential in their community. The kind of service that is promoted by the honors program definitely helps with the process of enlightening and encouraging students; by setting a requirement, it ensures that students fulfill at least a part of their duty to their community. Additionally, there are many opportunities within the school that help students find places to volunteer. However, I don’t think that service should be limited to mandatory hours for school. It is essential to a persons growth as an individual to give back. By helping the less fortunate we expand our point of view beyond ourselves & take a moment to realize how much it is we really have been blessed with. In general, though, it is important to understand what is going on in your community. Which is why, as a Baruch Scholar, I feel that I have more of a responsibility to help others see the benefits of giving back.Ever since my freshman year in high school, I’ve been doing my very best to make the difference. From joining teen advocacy, helping out at a soup kitchen, cleaning parks, tutoring children, to an even broader range of actions, I’ve gone out of my way to look for opportunities to do something for others. In fact, I may one day join the Peace Corp in order to take that mindset and expand it to the fullest. Because of that, I understand how truly necessary it is and believe everyone should have a similar motivation to do the same. As Mohandus Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish the see in the world.” And I hope that I, as well as my peers, can be that change.

Everything that I’ve been doing up until this moment has been a huge blur. I’ve been living in a whirlwind of movement; I traveled back and forth through time, analyzing my past, trying to understand my present, and simultaneously building towards my future. Every day I found that I’d been looking back towards a certain moment in my life, or some situation, that led me to see things the way I do now.
In fact, there are still many things that I look back to. Many moments in my life that I, almost, wish I could rewrite. But then I stop myself. Every day. Every moment. Every second. Every unfortunate incident still led me to become the person that I am today- and I couldn’t imagine being anybody else.

Sometimes, I am insecure. I don’t trust others. I am withdrawn. I lack confidence. I get nervous. I doubt myself. I can’t rely on others. I get uptight. I worry too much. I fall apart. Sometimes, I think of all the times that made me this way. Ever since the day I was born something has been going on and, many times, going wrong.
I moved to America when I was just 3 years old. My mother and I didn’t come over here because she needed a new job. She didn’t come over here because she needed a better education, or freedom of religion, or any of those things that we usually assume come along with immigration. We moved because my mother and I needed a new beginning. We left my no-good, abusive, selfish, greedy, ‘father’ in hopes of starting a life free of oppression and abuse within the family. A few short years later, my mother married again. Later that year, she filed for divorce. I wasn’t that disappointed, to be honest. I never really felt like I had a father anyway. A few men came along, here and there, but most of them didn’t last more than a few weeks. In fact, I barely remember a single one. I was in fifth grade, however, when my mother finally met someone decent. He lived with us, worked nearby, and always treated me well. After years of dating my mother, and taking care of me as much as he could, the two of them got married. I probably should have been happier for them than I really was. Don’t get me wrong, though. I love my step-father. He’s a great man who’s intelligent, hard working, and supportive. However, he’s never around. I don’t remember just how many years ago he became a truck driver, but I know that It’s sure been a while. When you’re driving a truck, and making deliveries, you’re making grand voyages across the 50 states. My step-dad works out on the road about 3 weeks in a row, and comes home for a very unpredictable amount of time; he could be home for a week or home for an hour. With this kind of schedule, I end up seeing him a week out of the month at most. We never talk. We barely ever discuss school. He doesn’t know about my friends or my relationships. We don’t spend any quality time together. We barely ever hug. But, once again, don’t take it the wrong way. He really is a good guy. But, ever since my sister was born, he never has time for me. Whenever he makes it home he takes time to spend with his daughter (his real daughter) and give her as much love as he can. But, I guess he runs out of it when it comes to me. But, anyway. I believe I made my point. I never really felt like I had a father, and my mother never understood.

When we’re children we absorb all of the things around us. Our surroundings, our environment, the actions of the people around us, and many other things. When I was a child, I absorbed the way that people treated me. By the time I made it to third grade, I had moved 8 times. Finally, by that time, I found a place to settle in. I started off that school year realizing that I was different from everybody else. I was a little reserved. I was a little poor. I was a little uncool. It seemed as if everybody around me wore brand names, knew everybody else, and knew exactly what was going on. I was the odd one out. I guess that was an invitation to make fun of the new kid. So, that’s exactly what they did. By the time I had graduated elementary school, I’d been made fun of, teased, ridiculed, taken advantage of, and outright outcasted. By the time I started middle school, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I knew exactly what people were capable of, by then. I knew that, once they realized you were different, they would try their hardest to take advantage of you. And I was right. The three years I spent in that school were probably worse than the three I spent in elementary school. People spread rumors. People put gum in my hair. I was literally pushed around. I was criticized. I was called names. I was ugly. I was friendless. Through them, I learned to focus on my schoolwork, ignore everybody else, and eventually try to prove them all wrong.

Why am I even writing this right now? These experiences, specifically, helped me become everything I am today. I may doubt myself, I may feel weak, I may feel lonely, and I may not trust other people. I may feel a lot of things inside, but I know that I will find a way to get through it. I’ve built up true strength, courage, and resilience. I rely on myself more than anyone else and I try to never let myself down. I may be walking the beaten path, but I will never wish to have it any other way. I am strong and independent because of who I was before. I am outgoing, sarcastic, and studious because I’ve made these things a habit. Every single part of me has grown into something new. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, each and every time I look back to where I was, I will rise again and endure.

These experiences not only made me who I am, they have led me strive for an even better life for myself and everyone around me. I believe in justice. In freedom. In understanding. I will never look down on anybody else unless I’m helping them up. I will always do my best to give back to my community, be a leader, be a friend, and make sure no one has to suffer as long as I can do something about it. I believe in change.
Now that I’ve started college, and embarked on an amazing journey, I will be that harbinger of change. I expect to make friends, I expect to excel (hopefully), and I expect to grow even more as a person. I do have my worries about my grades, but I will do my very best to keep them under control. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the world ahead of me. I will be sure to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way and become the best that I can be.