Author Archives: alexandro.araujo

Some things at Baruch this semester were like I expected, while other things greatly exceeded my expectations. One thing that surprised me was all of the work I had this semester. I knew that when college started that it was going to be a lot of work, but the last couple of weeks it seems like my professors have been piling it on. Another things that exceeded my expectations was how easily I got used to being in college. In the first week or so I was having some trouble just getting to my classes on time, I thought I was going to have some trouble getting used to a new schedule. However after a few days I got used to it real quickly and I haven’t had any trouble since.

I think that my first semester at Baruch has gone pretty well. I have gotten used to most of my professors and their teaching styles. That is not to say that I liked all of my professors, I’ve just learned how to learn in their classes. My grades this semester have also been pretty good. I have mainly been getting between an eighty and a ninety. I am sure that by the end of this semester I’m going to have a pretty good GPA.

If I could do this whole first semester over again I think that I would probably try and study more. I have always had a little bit of trouble studying. This semester, while I did study, I might not have studied as much as I could have. I think that if I had maybe spent a little more time studying I probably would have done better on some of my tests.

I don’t really think that I’ve changed all that much since this semester began. I have gotten better at doing work and not waiting until the last second to do it, but I think that I’m pretty much the same person I was three or four months ago.

Ever since I started college I have been doing okay in all of my classes. however I haven’t felt that I have been doing my best. Here are a few things that I think have been hindering me.

One big thing that I think has been hindering me from doing my best in college is all of the work I’ve had. Ever since I started college I have been trying to manage, although I do still have some trouble. Back when I was in high school the workload was much lighter. My entire senior year of high school I only had to write an essay every two months. Now in college it seems that I have to write one every week or two. This combined with all of the homework and the midterms I have been taking lately makes for nonstop work. It has been very hard trying to balance all of this work. even though I end up finishing all of the work, I feel like since I only have so much time to do it all I’m not able to do as good a job as I used to. I’m sure that as time goes by I will get used to the increased work load of college. However until that happens I think that the heavy work load is going to continue to impede me from doing my best in college.

Another issue that has been hindering me in college is the fact that I have always been kind of lazy. Even when I was in grade school my teachers would always tell my mo at parent teacher conference that while I was pretty smart I never “applied myself” which is pretty much code for lazy. I’ve never used to work any harder than I absolutely had. Good enough was always good enough for me. Even though I did not work exceptionally hard I would still get good grades. All throughout grade school and even into high school I would always get between a eighty and a ninety in all of my classes. College however has been a totally different experience for me. I have found myself having to study more just to get into the lower eighties. Part of this problem is that I only end up studying the night before because I am a chronic procrastinator. I have almost always put everything off until the last possible second. If I get a report due the fifth I wont usually start it until the third or fourth. This has always been one of the biggest if not the biggest things that hinder me in school. I have been trying to change this recently. I am actually writing this a week before it is due.

My difficulty with focusing is the last main thing that has been hindering me in college. One of the main reasons I was able to do well when I was in high school is that I already knew most of the material. It was easy for me to focus mainly because I already knew what I was being taught. In college however almost everything I am learning in my classes is new to me. With all of this new information coming at me all of the time it is hard for me to focus on the subject I have to. Another reason I was able to focus better in high school is that my high school schedule was much easier than my college schedule is. My last year of high school I would wake up at seven and by noon I was out of school. Nowadays I have to get up at six and I usually don’t get out of class until a quarter to four. The length of the college classes also took a toll on my ability to pay attention. Trying to pay attention to a professor talking for an hour and forty five minutes is a lot harder than it seems. I have been noticing however that in the last month or so staying focused in class has started to get a little easier.

Since I started college laziness, a heavier work load, and an inability to focus have been hindering me from doing my best. Some of these problems I have dealt with my entire life, while others only started affecting me after I started college. Over the last few weeks I have been trying to fix these problems and work harder. While I haven’t completely gotten rid of what impeding me I have started to focus more and get rid of my work load sooner.

I’m Alex, I was born and raised in Queens. I went to bayside high school in bayside Queens and now I go to Baruch college. On the surface I may seem like your average tall, skinny teenager. However once you find out more about me like what I like, dislike, what roles I play, etc you start to find out how unique I really am. I’m a son, a brother, a student, and for the last three years I’ve been a godfather. one of the things that I’m really into is sports. I have been a Mets fan all my life and a Jets fan since I was ten. I actually spent most of last summer at citi field watching the Mets lose. Another thing that I like a lot is cars especially classic cars. I really like old mustangs and corvettes, come to think of it I actually like most classic muscle cars. Besides that I’m into video games and I’m starting to get into tech. there are only a couple of things that I don’t like. One thing I don’t like is cold weather. As soon as it dips below sixty degrees it starts to bug me. Another thing I don’t like is long commutes. Living in Queens and going to school in the city means my commute is between an hour and an hour and a half and I cant stand it. I also don’t like insects especially spiders. Ever since I was a kid I’ve never liked bugs and spiders have always creeped me out. The people who are most important to me are definitely my family. Over the years whenever I’ve needed help my family has been there. My College career has been going pretty well. The only thing I’m having a little trouble with is writing essays. I’ve never really liked writing and now I have to write an essay every few weeks. I’m sure that in a few weeks I’ll get used to it. Besides that college hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be. I’ve been doing pretty well even with all the added responsibility and all my professors are pretty cool.

l.

My name is Alexandro Araujo but you can call me alex and i guess this is my first blog. I was born in Queens New York in the summer of 1992. The youngest of three kids I’ve lived in Queens my whole life with my mother, my sister, and my brother. I am a six foot two inch Portuguese guy who hates waking up early and likes to make other people laugh. I am also a big sports fan, mainly the Jets and the Mets. I guess I only like the teams that never win.

My first big concern is having to get used to a heavier work load. In my last year of high school I think I only had 3 classes and the work load was pretty light. Freshman year at Baruch is certainly going to be a lot harder and a lot more work. Another one of my concerns about freshman year is just getting to class on time. Like I said I don’t like getting up early and this year most of my days start at around nine in the morning. Though I think that after the initial few weeks I’ll get used to it. I guess that last concern is getting used to the city. Before starting college I would only occasionally go into the city, but now that I’m in the city on a daily basis I’ve just got to get used to finding my way around Manhattan.

There are two big things that I think are going to be different between my high school experiences and my Baruch experience. The first like I said is the work load. College is to be a lot more work and studying than high school was. The second thing is that in high school if you start slacking off with your homework or something there is always someone there to push you. I think College is totally different. I’m going to have to keep on top of my own work because if I don’t nobody there to make me.

As for how I think freshman year will change me I think I will learn how to be more self sufficient and hard working.