Category: Uncategorized

One observation about Join the Conversation is that most of the content in the textbook is excerpts of other books, articles, etc. This adds diversity within the book and further sparks my interest/encouragement to read it.

Looking at the text I immediately noticed the note “with selected chapters from:” as well as “and excerpts from.” It interested me because it meant that whatever I would be reading has info from multiple sources, giving it more strength. It also demonstrates how to properly cite inspirations in your own personal work.

Hello. My name is Alyssa Liang. I go by she/her pronouns. My birthday is on January 26, 2005. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, specifically the Borough Park/Dyker Heights area. However, I unfortunately moved to Staten Island when I was 13. I graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. One regret is that I wish I had joined a sport in high school. I was simply too lazy and lacked commitment. Other than that, I had a fulfilling high school experience. I enjoy going out and trying new things. Anywhere or anything someone wants to go or do, I’d be down for. My favorite thing to do whenever I feel stressed and need to clear my mind is go biking and have picnics at Governors Island. I like to be one with nature and be isolated whenever I feel burdened and Governors Island is perfect for that. I have a boyfriend of three years. I enjoy making him step out of his comfort zone. This summer, we started traveling alone together to Los Angeles, Boston, and Orlando. I have two domestic shorthair cats who I adopted during quarantine. I have an interest in streetwear. I used to collect and resell shoes, but not so much anymore. I currently major in business management, but I am thinking of changing it to architecture. What represents me the most currently is my love for food. I have a bad habit of spending my money eating out. I love food and will never skip a meal. I always love trying new spots to eat, especially with people I enjoy being around. My favorite flavor palette would be Asian cuisine, but that may be biased since I’m Asian. 

My name is Kenneth Vargas, but most people refer to me as Ken or Kenny. My family is from Ecuador, but I grew up in the Bronx with my five siblings. There are many things about me that I could talk about but those are a few main points I would like to mention to start . Another one of the many things I love to do in my free time is go on long drives while playing my favorite playlist. I’ve found joy in this ever since I bought my first car, it’s just non stop exploring locations with friends. My true purpose behind this is the mental clarity I receive when I’m on the road. Another hobby I take part in is working out because it as well brings me mental peace and challenges me to fight through an uncomfortable state of my body. Something I always keep in mind is a quote “a strong body is a strong mind” so I do my part and try to stay consistent. The hardest part for me will always be the food because I enjoy going out and trying new things. I am currently enrolled as an undergraduate at Baruch College, studying in Business. I chose this career direction mostly for the opportunity to deal with people from all backgrounds, interests, and even needs. When I was researching colleges, I chose this institution because of the major and courses provided, which were not common. In relation to educational opportunities, I began stock trading while learning fundamentals and technical analysis. To me this is seen as a skill I can learn in order to make more income.

In this excerpt from Malcolm X’s autobiography, I observed that Malcolm X used his time in prison wisely. He found passion in literature. With only having formal education up to the 8th grade, he used his time in prison to continue his education that he never had the chance to get. I found dedication in Malcolm X when he started to copy off the dictionary. Using a dictionary is a good way to expand vocabulary, especially when it is all that Malcolm X had at that time. Copying off the dictionary also helped him easily memorize the words and helped with his handwriting. I like that he called it his “homemade education” instead of “self taught”, because he used the resources that were available in prison. With his available resources and new literacy skills, he learned about the truth of slavery and how history has been whitewashed.

Yoo what’s good  y’all, my name is Daiyan Khondaker. But you can call me either Daiyan or by my nickname Daiyu pronounced (die-you) if you’d like. I prefer this nickname because it is an adorable one given to me by my mom. My preferred pronouns are he/him/his. I have a bunch of other nicknames which I would like to share just for entertainment purposes, most of  them coming from my last name. Dai pronounced (Die) from my first name and the following from my last name: Candy car, K Honda car, Khondy, Khorn baiter, Khorn cater, Khorn dator, Khorn gator, Khorn later, Khorn hater, Khorn mater, Khorn skater, Khorn Tater, Khorn Darth Vader, and Klondike bar just to name a few. I have loved business and entrepreneurship ever since I was a little boy old enough to understand these things. My love for business and entrepreneurship comes from a lot of different reasons, one of them being my faith. I believe in  Islam and I am a devout muslim. I learned early on from my family and life experiences especially one of my biggest inspirations and role models which  is my paternal grandfather that you do not necessarily need college and or formal education in order to do business and or entrepreneurship which is why I did not necessarily want to attend college but it was my parent’s wishes for me to at least earn a bachelor’s degree which is why I am here now. I figured the best college for me to go to is Baruch in order for me to have the lowest cost but the highest return in order to get the best business education out of the best business school in New york City. I like business and entrepreneurship so much that I legit wrote my whole college essay about it. A few of my hobbies and interests are animals, cars, cats, driving all kinds of vehicles, exercising/fitness/health/working out, fashion, futbol (Soccer), motorcycles, music, nature, all sorts of sports in general, traveling, vehicles, hanging out with my beloved close friends and family. I love to help people and make people laugh/smile and just make people happy. Below is an image of myself that represents and captures the essence of me and how I would dress and the car I would drive as a successful businessman/entrepreneur which speaks to me and reflects my identity.   

Hi, my name is Sarahy, but everyone calls me Sarah. My name is pronounced in Spanish as “sa-ra-e.” I go by she/her pronouns. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, specifically from Bushwick.

I’m majoring in Digital Marketing in hopes of being able to get into the advertising side of the makeup industry. I’m heavily invested in cosmetology and one of my life goals is to become a beauty advisor in top makeup companies such as Charlotte Tilbury, Fenti, Rare Beauty, etc. In my free time, I teach myself how to master different makeup techniques, study color theory in order to color match, etc. I’m also invested in fashion design. I own a sketch book that hold a bunch of future designs I plan to use because soon I will be opening my own business that specializes in screen printing. In my free time, I love to thrift and sell clothes that I either make or thrift on different platforms such as Depop. I also have been doing professional dancing for 10+ years. I do ballet, modern, contemporary, hip-pop, etc. I have performed at places like Kings Theatre, school assemblies/shows, parades, etc. I’m currently on break to focus on school and work but hopefully I’ll be able to get back to it soon.

I have two dogs, a Chihuahua named Bella and a Shih tzu/Maltese named Sophie. They are both super important to me because I spend majority of my time with them when I’m at home and I love them so much.

Heyy, My name is Sahir. I like when people say my name in spanish because it sounds better in my opinion, but I know its a little hard to say so you could say my name in both spanish or english, I dont really really mind either way is fine. I was born in Dominican Republic and was raised here, in manhattan, since I was 6. I live in the capital of D.R although my family is from the countryside. I love my home country so much, most of my family is in Dominican Republic so basically my whole life is over there. My favorite snack from over there are the “caribas” plantain chips they are so good and the “bon helado” ice cream is amazing too. Everytime I leave D.R I always take so many snacks because they don’t sell anything from there in the U.S and so I always make sure to take a bunch of things. I love everything from over there, the beaches , the weather , the food , the music overall everything over there brings me so much joy. It’s funny though because when i’m over there I always miss New York just because of how different things are from here to there,but when i’m back here I always end up missing D.R and it becomes a cycle. Most of my childhood memories are from there so i just have a lot of nostalgia for that place and I don’t think that would ever change. I like to listen to a variety of music but I think the music I listen to the most would be spanish music and r&b. My major is marketing management and I chose this major because marketing is a field I would love to learn more about. However, I am not 100% set on this major and very open to seeing other majors and figure it out as i go. I know this was little short but I’m not really sure what else to say so i’m just going to leave it here. I’m excited to hopefully learn more about all of you this semester and see how we all figure out college!

Hello, my name is Rony Alfaro. I come from Long Island and my ethnicity is Guatemala. I am perfectly fine with being addressed by first name and my pronouns are He/Him. I am an extrovert and love to be outgoing. I am not afraid to introduce myself and be out there because I think making connections is important because you may never know who you may encounter. But I also don’t mind keeping to myself and just being on my own because I do enjoy my own peace at times. Something interesting about me is that I am a movie fanatic. I enjoy all types of movies no matter the genre or the hype behind it or even if it’s a film that’s not known I will still sit down and watch it. I find every movie to be very fascinating because it has its own touch or uniqueness that makes it a very good film even when the film is completely boring or just not a good film at all. My love for music is unexplainable. I don’t know how many times I’ve spoken about music to my friends but I love music. My all-time favorite artists in order are Kanye West, The Weeknd, and Joji. Word for word, bar for bar I know it all. I’m also an athlete who loves playing all types of sports. I was captain and played for both varsity baseball and soccer. Basketball is my favorite sport and I love to play the game, especially with my friends when we run against other people at different parks. I don’t what this semester has in store for me but I am excited and ready to come face to face with whatever it throws at me, it’ll be one hell of a ride but I can’t wait.

This is one of my dogs named Sparky. The reason I chose this picture is because he is my yin to my yang. I love this dog so much and I see him as a son. He lightens my day whenever I see him and he always comes to me to either annoy me or to just relax right beside me. He is literally a dog version of me as many people have said and he just completes me.