Month: September 2016

Me Like Yuh feat. Hoody – Jay Park 

Play this song while reading. It is a Korean hip hop song. 

          How many times have I heard that statement? It was probably 30+ times. I didn’t take the statement in perspective when I first came to the campus. I didn’t open myself to any clubs, and any communities. I regret doing that. For the first couple of weeks, I felt disconnected from the college. Except for going to class and then doing work in the library until 8 o’clock in the night, I didn’t do anything else. I would go to the library during my breaks and eat my homemade lunch in the dining space in the Vertical Building.

Why did I do this? It was the same things I did in high-school. I didn’t participate in any clubs or organizations in the school, but always traveled throughout the city, either with friends or alone. I found joy in traveling and discovering new buildings, new areas, new food, and new cultures in NYC. I thought I could do the same in college with all the free time. I obviously thought wrong. I didn’t think that commuting and studying every day would take up all my free time.

Back in high school, I sacrificed sleep to be able to travel around NYC. I will not make the same mistake in college. I joined three clubs: Conversation Partners Program, Golden Buddies, and Korean Student Association (I’m not Korean, but they accept everyone.). I spend my breaks talking to my new friends and getting to know new people. I spend my time on the train reading the textbooks for psychology and then when I get home, I go to sleep. During the weekend, I go have my fun.

My fun has evolved. Now that I’m 18, I can go to festivals and clubs that I couldn’t go to as a high school. My most memorable event of 2016 so far has been going to the innovation event @ Northside Festival. I was able to talk to Elon Musk about his role at Tesla, SpaceX, and Paypal. It was definitely worth my time.

I am slowly becoming connected with the Baruch community. It is making me fall in love with the college, something that I was not expecting feel at the beginning of the semester.

We are all citizens. Whether it be to a college, state, country or planet. We are a protector and provider in that community in hopes of making the world a better place. Cliché, I know, but this basically provides the overview for what it is like to “serve our community.”  Although we are all morally obligated to preform these actions, many do not. On the contrast, many serve their community open heatedly without knowing of their good deeds. Within these two situation has the underlying question of what really is our role in aiding to the population around us. Grainier, what is our role in serving the one place we all belong to: Baruch?

Everyone has a different reason in society. Some are here to inform and to be stern while others are here to bring joy. Some are straight up rude, especially in New York, but others are sweet. Since I’m tend to take on a polite approach, many people like talking to me and opening up; I interpret that to be my role in Baruch. I take pride in that because people in today’s society cling to themselves, so breaking people out of their shells is an accomplishment. (while doing this to their comfort, of course.) Since we are freshmen, we don’t know the people around us. Offering that insight of care can make people feel more at home. It’s easy for someone to say, “Hey, don’t worry I’m not here to judge you,” but to follow up with the real meaning of those words is shaky. It’s a challenge and that’s why I love doing it.

By showing that one action of caring it promotes the culture of service the Honors Program inscribes. You start from a friend, then it can grow to a group, and then a larger community. It’s a simple process that’s done by baby steps.

I feel as if I currently do not have a big role in the Baruch community, but I hope to change that in the near future. I haven’t joined any clubs within Baruch because I wanted to explore what the city has to offer before devoting all my time to a single club. When I do end up settling down with a club, I hope it is something related to the field of finance so I can get a better idea of what it is like for the future. I think it will definitely help me determine if I truly love what I do and test the waters before diving in.

I think that my role in the broader community as a Baruch Scholar should be to help those in need because not a lot of people have such an amazing opportunity. Not only am I able to attend college and pursue a higher education, but I am able to do so at no cost (or at least with a tiny technology fee). I believe that if something good happens to you, you should always try to brighten someone else day just to pass it on. The culture of service within the Honors Program allows students to experience the joy of helping someone else and allows me to devote more time to help the community. Since it is a part of the program, its great to be able to have some class time devoted to researching ways that we can help the community within our groups. It was amazing to learn that those around me have the same interests and concerns as me when it comes to issues within our community. During high school, I was the Co-President of PACT (Public Awareness for Charity by Teens) and it made me feel great every single time we had an event and helped those around us. I was sad to leave it behind when I graduated, but when I found out that one of our group projects is to volunteer, I was ecstatic to find out what cause we would be choosing.

Since New York City is pretty much another world in itself, there is so many things we can do to grow as people. Whether it is to figure out who you are or how to help others, I believe that right now, as students, we should devote this time to figuring out who we are as individuals. Community service will allow me to further discover what I am passionate about and thus aiding me in my growth.

As you might have already noticed, I am not your average girl, or what a “normal” girl is supposed to be. I don’t wear dresses, or skirts (whatever the difference is), I don’t curl my hair or dye it, I don’t know what any kind of makeup is called, let alone know how to use it. Instead, I wear baggy clothes, have the same hairstyle everyday (since the 8th grade), and never wear makeup.

Ever since I could remember, I’ve always questioned why girls gravitated towards one sort of thing, while boys gravitated towards another. At age four, I wanted to play with my brother’s toy soldiers, not play dress up with my dolls. At age seven, I wanted to take Tae Kwon Do classes, not ballet. At age nine, I wanted to play baseball and soccer. At age twelve, I wanted to play the bass guitar, which apparently is a “boy instrument” according to the salesman at Guitar Center. At age fifteen, I wanted to play the biggest and loudest drum in Drum Corps, one that no girl had ever played before in a parade. Now at eighteen, I want to join the military.

All my life, up to this point, I’ve had to prove myself to everyone else. That I could do it, whatever it was, just as well, or even better than others could. When everyone told me I couldn’t, I only had a few tell me I could and will do it. Having to constantly compete with other people’s idea of what a “normal” girl, over time, caused me to become tougher and more determined to prove them wrong. Now, whenever someone tells me that I cannot do something, for whatever reason, I make it my mission to do it.

Doing things that were widely perceived to being “boy” activities has shaped me into the person I am today. I always set out to do my best in anything that I do, including school work. I don’t make excuses, but find ways to get things done.

I’m not your “typical girl”, but then again, who is?

Princess what? Princess Diana, Princess Isabella, Princess Elizabeth. No just Princess. All my life I have been questioned about my name. The most common reaction is 2 lines forming between someone’s eye brows with the most confused face someone can have. Then seconds later chuckling and once again asking “No, what is your real name?” Now this time the word “real” has been emphasized.

So whose brilliant idea was it to name me Princess? I guess we can blame it on my mother. Let’s start off by telling you how I got this name.

Once upon a time… in a land far far away (well really not that far away here in New York) my mother was about to give birth. She didn’t trust the hospital near where we lived at the time or any other hospital that was not in Manhattan. She called a cab to take her to the city. With traffic jams, during rush hour she felt as if I was going to be born in the back of the cab and all she could do was hope for the best. Somehow her prayers were answered and she got to the hospital before it was time. The cab driver offered to take her in and she thought she could make it since it was only a few steps till the entrance.

As she wanted to start walking, she couldn’t move at all. Her feet didn’t obey the chemical signals sent from her brain (probably not right, but you get the point).  She’s told me this story a billion and one times and she keeps changing it but somehow as a firefighter was coming out of the emergency room, he had seen her struggling to move and had ran up to her and had said, “Are you okay miss? Did your water break?” My mom with her not so great English at the time had understood if she would like some water. She happily said yes of course and the next thing she knew she was swung off her feet, onto his “strong muscular, vein popping” hands. He rushed her in and had said “SHE’S GIVING BIRTH. SHE”S GIVING BIRTH!”

You know what happens next. As she heard me screaming all she could do was smile. It was all over. Her second son was born. The doctor held me and as she was passing me onto my mother’s hands she congratulated my mom saying “It’s a girl.” My parents never knew if I was going to be a boy or a girl because the doctor had told that it was a 50/50 chance. As my mom held me onto her arms as sweat dripped down her forehead she asked the doctor that helped deliver me, her name. The doctor smiled and showed her, her name tag. It read “Dr. Princess B.” Till this day she can’t remember her last name but does swear that her first name was Princess.

So instead of being Jessica G. Reinoso, I was changed to be Princess G. Reinoso. She hopes, my mother that is, that I can grow up and be a doctor one day. Just like the doctor that delivered me. Beautiful, intelligent, friendly, and caring. Little does my mom know that the sight of blood makes me faint, that I don’t understand biology for my life, and I cannot stick a needle into anyone.

So here I am at Baruch trying to study anything other than the science field. Because if I became a doctor, we would have no hope.

P.S. My dad thought I was a boy. He arrived at the hospital that afternoon with my brother in his hand, a bouquet of roses for my mom, and the biggest bluest balloon in hand reading “It’s a boy.” My mom laughed at the site as she said go take a look for yourself. I understand you can’t really tell ESPECIALLY when babies are just born if they’re a boy or a girl but my dad’s mind was set. He even said, “that’s my boy.” My mom couldn’t stop laughing that she asked my dad to change my diaper. He thought my mom was crazy because of giving birth he just gave her that, we’ll get you some help smile. He grabbed me in his arms. Opened the diaper, and…Surprise! It was me. A girl. My dad faced turned completely red with tears running down both his cheeks and the biggest smile a man could have as he ran to kiss my mother.

Being born and raised in Brooklyn, I actually love living in New York City. Although the commute is long to Baruch, no other school outside the city has the same diverse environment. No other state can understand our slang terms and how we speak, which makes us unique. NY is like no other place in the world; I would never want to live anywhere else, but I would want to study abroad and travel in a few years. I am pretty introverted and enjoy just staying home and watching TV. I watch all types of shows, and I can’t even count how many I watch. Game of Thrones, of course, is my favorite, but I also like reality TV like Big Brother. I would like to get out of my comfort zone as I continue through college.

As an incoming freshman, the first semester I’m just trying to get acclimated to the environment. Attending Baruch is much like my high school in terms of the huge population and diverse population. The workload seems the same- for now, and the classes as well. But unlike high school, I appreciate how independent everyone is. I like that you can follow your own schedule, and do as you please. You can leave whenever you want without anyone questioning you. You don’t even need to ask to use the bathroom; you can just walk out. As of right now I still don’t know what place I fit in in Baruch. I’m still trying to figure out what clubs I would like, and what I should major in. But I’m hopeful as time goes on I’ll figure it out.

It’s probably common to think back to your first days of high school during your first days of college. My first days of high school I was just beginning to make my first true friends that I ever had, but I never thought I would be someone to consistently be friends with someone, as I never had before. My first days of college I was missing those friends from ninth grade, and I realized I’m not who I once was. And that’s completely for the better.

I never expected to become the person I am today. My hopes and dreams back then were not clear. I did not have a path that drastically changed throughout high school, as many people tell in their life stories, but rather I instead gained a semi-clear path that has been consistent for the past few years. I can’t say music itself changed me completely, but the experiences I had in high school with music changed me.

I talk about music a lot, but when you really care about something that often is the case. Ninth grade my best friend asked me to join a band for a talent show. Our band, although with many changes in members and fights along the way, lasted until twelfth grade and by far Fridays when we practiced were my favorite days. Tenth grade i joined chorus as a result of a deal that my two best friends and I would all join together. I didn’t expect much, as many people just take chorus as an “easy” class, but my year of tenth grade chorus transformed me into someone who not only began to understand written music, but in the long run formed my passion for music. I also ended up joining the musical, Oliver, in tenth grade, since my girlfriend was doing it. It may seem like a stupid reason to join, but clearly it was worth my time as the two next years I performed in the musicals, My Fair Lady and Cinderella, as well. Eleventh grade I auditioned for my male acapella group, the Crooners, and to my surprise I made it. It wasn’t a lack of confidence that made me feel that I wouldn’t get in, but it was more so that my knowledge of music, especially sight singing, was not on par with most of the other people in the group. But my teacher had expectations that I would improve, and she was right. Twelfth grade was a continuation of some of the same experiences, but I remember a certain experience that changed my views on my future.

The summer before twelfth grade I went on college visits. My first college visit was to New York University, which at that time I really thought I would be attending. Although I did not end up going to NYU, that college visit was necessary. My tour guide was speaking about her major, Music Business, which I at that point did not know existed. When I thought of music majors I thought of performance, composition, education, all aspects of music I could not see myself finding success in. The pure act of my tour guide stating that this was her major made me instantly realize this is where I wanted to be headed. I believe I even wrote one of my Macaulay application essays on this experience.

My favorite song throughout twelfth grade, which turned into the year I came to many realizations and conclusions about my high school years, was and still is December by Neck Deep, which I ironically started listening to frequently in December. I sang this for a college audition, I sing it in my car, I even sang it while playing hallway soccer in my dorm last week. Everyone has something that makes them happy at any given time, a song, a show, sleep. For me it is listening to this song (even though it isn’t an upbeat or extremely happy song).

Art is the expression of creation.  I express how I am feeling through it.  Movement, growth, acceptance can all be portrayed through color, paint, photography, fashion.  All that is me is art.

I relate to fashion more than any other art form because it is expression in its purest forms.  I wake up every morning feeling different.  Life experiences shape who you are, so why wouldn’t I be slightly different in every instance.  Therefore, my ever changing being cannot be defined.  I choose my outfit in the morning because it helps me to show how I feel for that day.  Bright colors for those sunny days, the happy times.  When I feel edgy, I mix tones and color pallets that would be considered unexpected.  Fashion is not mainstream, it is art.  It is different for each and every one of us, whether we like it or not.

Taking pictures just got easier.  We all have phones.  Most of us have social media.  Photography is a growing art form everywhere because of its accessibility.  I took an AP 2D class in high school and it completely opened my eyes to the lens.  Not the physical lens on the camera, but the lens of perception.  Art can be perceived in a million TRILLION different ways because we all have our opinions.  Lord knows we all have our own opinions.  Perception is how you see it, so what I see is not what you see.  That is what i love about the arts–there is no definitive answer no matter how hard someone tries to tell you otherwise.  Entitlement is often connoted with negative feelings, but everyone is entitled to their opinions.  My lens for my portfolio for the class dealt with self-portraits, which to many seemed glaringly vain, but to me felt most at home.  Self discovery through the arts…I didn’t even question it.  My lens transformed from a heavily coarsed idea of myself to the centered form of my being.  I mean it is about self discovery so I chose to portray myself from the beginning as hidden because I cared way too much how others thought of me.  I transformed to a vulnerable self where makeup was not an option and I was in my natural state.  To accept yourself, you have to be yourself.

Ever since I was a young kid, my parents would always tell me to never forget how important family is. To always remember that even if all else fails and you feel as though you’re all alone, your family will always be there for you. Now, as a young kid I took this saying for granted. Of course family is one of the most important aspects of life, who could ever think otherwise? Now that I’ve grown and have experienced more of what this world has to offer to me it seems as though my family told me that saying at a young age for a reason, almost to instill it within my being and everyday way of life. Because I have lived my entire life making my family a priority it is effortless for me to do so today. But the more people I meet, the more I realize that a strong, unified family isn’t as common as my young self had once imagined it to be. Rather, it is a blessing to have a family that is as close as I’d like to believe my family and I to be. They are one of my greatest motivations as they push me to always strive for greatness in anything that I do. I strive to not only succeed for myself, but more importantly the people who got me to where I am right now. The greatest factor in my success has come from my family and I can only repay them by showing them that all their hard work and dedication into me was to help me succeed like no other. I hope to display this success as a great student these next four years and that this hard work will lead to a life of prosperity, happiness, and love.