KM 3A

Overall, I would say my first semester at Baruch was at best decent, and at worst somewhat disappointing.

Academically, I did well, averaging in the B – A range for on quizzes and exams for most of my classes. The size of workload in college was comparable to that of highschool, so I had little difficulty completing my assignments. In other words, I did not feel that I was overwhelmed with homework.

I can’t say that my core personality has changed significantly in any way. I did, however, become somewhat more independent, in that I adapted to this new NYC environment and learned to navigate it with some degree of proficiency, sans the help of others. I also enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends.

As I stated earlier, the first semester was also disappointing. In many ways it was merely an extension of highschool, replete with menial courses and their accompanying assignments that were impertinent to the possible majors or careers I wish to pursue. I wished that I had had more freedom in making my schedule.

Ciao

The previous thursday, I attended the Baruch workshop “Dare to Engage.” The workshop’s topic focused upon the recent, and tragic death of Tyler Clementi. Tyler Clementi, we were informed, was a 18 year old student at Rutger’s University in New Jersey. His room mate secretly filmed Clementi engaged in a “sexual encounter”, and posted the video live on the internet. After hearing of this news, Clementi became extremely distraught, posting a goodbye message on Facebook before committing suicide. The workshop’s lecturers discussed how Clementi’s death impacted many, including his family and friends. The potential dangers of “cyber-bullying” via social networking websites were also discussed. The workshop then shifted to raising social awareness of homosexual and transgender communities, stressing the importance of accepting other’s differences.

Yesterday, as part of the requirement for this class, I had to attend a Baruch-wide event. Being interested in psychology, I chose to attend the event entitled “The Psychology of Happiness.” The presentation was led by professor David Sitt, who also happens to be my current psychology instructor for the psychology 101 course here at Baruch. That Professor Sitt was giving this presentation was another factor that led me to choose this event. Prof Sitt is, as many of his students would agree, is a very interesting, dynamic, and personable teacher. For this presentation, Prof Sitt had dressed comically for the occasion. He wore a pair oversized “sun” glasses (tinted glasses actually in the shape of a sun) along with a flamboyant top hat to match said glasses. As usual, profesor Sitt was vivacious and inspiring.

I won’t delve to into the details, but the his talk generally pertained to was the branches of psychology known as humanistic psychology, positive psychology, and health psychology. These branches place an emphasis on how to adopt a positive outlook various affairs, and on how to interact in a harmonious manner with people. Also addressed was the role humans play in caring for the planet’s ecosystem.

Hello. My name is Dylan Larese. I live in Smithtown, Long Island, with my Italian-American family. I have two younger siblings: A brother and a sister.

When it comes to giving speeches in front of an audience, I can humbly say that I lack serious talent! I am much more articulate in writing, and find I can converse more fluently in that way. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to deliver this monologue, as it is required for this course here at Baruch College.

My hobbies include:

Reading both fiction and nonfiction – at the moment I have been immersed in particular varieties of nonfiction.

Listening to music – Jazz, improvisational, blues, fusion, etc. My favorite musician / composer / musical genius is Frank Zappa.

And playing guitar. I can proudly say that I have been a self taught guitarist from the age of 11, courtesy of having very good relative pitch, in musical terms.

An interesting thing about me is that I have had some types of OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder) since I was about 5 years old. If anyone has watched the television program “Monk,” starring Tony Shaloub, they are familiar with what I am talking about. It has been a difficult hurdle, but fortunately not been insurmountable.

(At this point in the monologue, I will share an anecdote about an OCD / Phobia of mine.)

I decided to study here at Baruch primarily for two reasons: To receive a good education, and to explore and discover NYC. To be honest, I have had mixed feelings about the former. I suppose you could say I was disillusioned by what I had anticipated college at Baruch to be. Unfortunately, I find it to be eerily similar to high school. Freshman students are still lacking freedom  (e.g., forced to choose “block class schedules”), and have to comply with a number of arbitrary school rules and regulations. Furthermore, the information presented in the majority of the classes a freshman is enrolled in is largely a rehashing of what he/she already learned years prior in grade school. I set out for college, eager to learn new, exciting, and pertinent information, but have instead been presented an extended version of high school, replete with menial tasks in the classroom.

But perhaps classes will improve next semester. For now, I will give college my best effort and strive for good grades.

Hello…My name is Dylan Larese.

My three concerns about my freshman year at Baruch are rather typical. They are: 1. Arriving to class promptly 2. Completing class assignments 3. Staying focused on the class subjects, as some of the mandated freshman courses can be quite boring and irrelevant to my possible career pursuits.      

Thus far, my expeience at Baruch has been very similar to that of my experience at highschool (which is unfortunate, frankly), albeit the change in scenery from Long Island suburbia to urban New York City.

This college experience will probably constrain me towards being more organized, and towards a greater proficiency at doing menial tasks such as laundry and commuting.