Monthly Archives: September 2010

Who do you think you are? – Brian Tang

Who am I? Well, I’m just an average Chinese-American guy. Nothing special. I was born in Manhattan, New York and I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York all my life. I am a musician and I’ve been one since I was 9 years old. I took on the clarinet at the age of 9 and continued playing it until college. I went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, a performing arts high school. I had a great experience there, being around other fellow musicians. I’m also an athlete. I have a passion for volleyball. I was the captain of my highschool’s volleyball team last year and I’m hoping to join Baruch’s volleyball team some time soon. I truly am “addicted” to volleyball. I play it whenever I can. No, I’m not crazy.

My top 3 concerns about my freshman year at Baruch College are time management, maintaining my good grades, and procrastination. I don’t know, I think I still have senioritis. I still don’t feel like doing any work. I mean, I do the work eventually but usually I would do my work when I get the assignment so I wouldn’t have to stress about completing an assignment the day before or something. It’s getting better though, so I guess that’s a good thing. Time management. I’ve always managed my time well and I hope I can continue to do so. Because of my early-ending schedule, I work in the afternoon. I have to incorporate time for work, homework, study time, and my own personal free time. So far I’m still hanging in there! I hope I can maintain a high GPA. Why? Well, that’s common sense. Who wouldn’t want a high GPA especially if you’ve received 95+ grades in high school? If I want to do this, I must manage my time well and stop procrastinating!

One thing that’ll make my Baruch College experience different from my high school experience is independence. That’ll be a huge difference. In college, we now have to register for our own classes, buy our own textbooks, and keep track of your own grades and credits. But it’s okay. I guess we’ll all adjust to that soon, if not already. Oh and some positive differences! We have a lot more freedom! We’re no longer in boring high school! We no longer need to follow high school rules and restrictions (which were quite strict, right?).

I think my first year at Baruch College will definitely make me a more independent person. It’ll make me become a more responsible person. as well. How so? Like I said before, with all the responsibilities that we take on in college (registering for classes, remembering deadlines, etc). Anyway, this so far it has been a great experience and I know there will be more excitement to come!

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I am who I am (Who are U?)- KP

The other day an acquaintance of mine asked me “Who do you think you are?” and that got me thinking, “Maybe I should write a blog about that.”

So here I am. First off, my name is Kevin Persaud. As far as I know I’m an 18 year old Guyanese/American young man who was born and raised in the great area that we can New York. All thought I was born in America I take great pride in my culture and language and enjoy practicing it regularly. I am an only child, so I’m used to having the spotlight shone on me. I also have one of the most common first names around which can sometimes make it harder for me to be a unique as I want, but I usually find other ways to deal with that. I grew up in Queens and have dreams of moving to (Manhattan) someday. This is part of the reason I love Baruch so much.

In my spare time I love to travel to new places. I’ve been to many parts of the world Caribbean, Europe, & South America. Also I LOVE to DANCE, pretty much if I hear anything that has a good beat I can start dancing to it pretty quickly. You could also describe me as a sort of media buff because I like to keep up with many TV shows and with both Hollywood and Bollywood movies.

I had many concerns about my freshman year at Baruch College. Like many other freshmen I started out this year extremely nervous about how my time at Baruch will turn out. One of my top concerns about my freshman year was that I was going to get a few of those evil teachers you see on T.V. who takes pleasure in torturing their students. Thankfully I did not have to worry about that because I found my professors to so far be very good and helpful. Another concern of mine is that I would not like the people around Baruch, but any worries I had about that were taken away on the first day when I realized all the people that were in my block are in all of the same classes as me. My last concern was that I would be constantly getting myself lost. I still am finding myself a little bit lost at times but it is not as bad as expected.

There are many differences between Baruch and High School. For example, I now have lecture classes that require me to pay more attention to the professor and take detailed notes. Also in some of my classes I enjoy the small student to teacher ratio we have, because it allows for more interaction with the professor.

I have high hopes for Baruch College. I believe that my time at Baruch will change the way I look at the world and everything in it. At the same time Baruch will also introduce me to exciting new things while opening many doors for me.

– Kevin Y. Persaud

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“who do you think you are?”

I am a perfectionist. It doesn’t matter how good I do something I want to do it better. I consider this trait as my biggest weakness as well as strength. Sometimes I feel that I’m not good enough and I discourage myself, but it also helps me better myself in every way. I am a person who wants everything to be perfect but of course it’s almost impossible. One of my concerns about my freshman year at Baruch college is my grades. I want to have A in all my classes. When I don’t get the highest grades possible, I loose my “appetite” for studying. My second concern is my professors. If I don’t like the professor then I am not interested in the subject, which makes it harder to get an A in the class. And my third concern is Lateness. My classes start early in the morning. At 7:50am I should be in Vertical Campus 5th floor room 165. I am not morning person at all. I love and enjoy sleep very much so it’s really hard for me to wake up so early in the morning. However, College is still much better than High school. I feel much more independent and mature. I am much more responsible in the College than I was in the High School. I have Much more reading and writing to do in College. I think my first year in Baruch College will teach me more about adult life, responsibility, and organization skills. I have very little time and so many work to do that without good planing and organization skills I will get lost soon. I hope Baruch will help me to gain more confidence and gain all the necessary skills to overcome obstacles in my life.

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Post One

I am Kevin Kim, male, Korean, and nineteen years old. I was born in Queens, and lived there for most of my life. I like all types of sports and I often play soccer. I am an only child so I guess that makes me selfish by default, but I am easygoing. I came to Baruch to graduate from the Zicklin School of Business and like everyone else, I hope Baruch opens my eyes to the business world and to my choices.

I am concerned about my bad studying habits. High school was a breeze for me which made me very academically lazy; I hope I can put myself on good study habits by the end of the first semester. One of the things I learned from living for nineteen years is that opportunities come to those who are always moving about and “on their feet”. I don’t like to miss out on important opportunities so I hope I don’t miss out on any new idea or knowledge given through Baruch. I worry about my luck with professors also, I know from high school how important having good professors is. I like the way each of my professors teach so far; I’m hoping I choose well next semester. Lastly I’m concerned that I won’t learn anything new or helpful for my future. This is also why I want to explore Baruch more.

The feeling I get from Baruch is a lot like middle school where I had more or less the same classmates but different rooms/teachers. I expect Baruch to be a lot more challenging academically and more rewarding for my efforts. One very obvious difference is the commute which is a lot longer from Queens. I like the level of freedom that separates a college student from a high school student.

I am sure that I will gain new knowledge about the way the world works and learn new skills to better my future. I am sure of change, and I am hoping for a change for the best. I have more free time outside of class and I’ll use every moment to change who I am.

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Who do you think you are?–Miree Lee

I am a Korean American, but I consider myself to be more of an American even thought I physically look Korean. I have lived in New York my entire life and I’m more comfortable in speaking English rather than in Korean. I was taught to appreciate the cultures and traditions of South Korea, so that I would never forget where I came from. I am a girl who has grown up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn my entire life. I can be pretty shy and timid at first, but I can also be loud and outgoing . I have played the piano since I was six years old, and I continue to play when I am in the mood. Additionally, I have done tae kwon do since the sixth grade; however, I stopped right before my black belt because sparring with others gave me too much fear.

My top 3 concerns at Baruch College are maintaining a 3.5+ GPA, making new friends, and making it to Sociology on time. I need to maintain a 3.5+ GPA because I  received a full scholarship for 4 years at Baruch and that is the main reason why I even enrolled at Baruch College. Making new friends in college is generally important, because it’ll be harder to make friends when we are out of our block systems and because I want to actually enjoy going to school. Sociology class is the earliest class in my program, which basically starts at 7:50 AM. Being in class on time is one of my concerns, because I hate walking into class late and I would hate it even more if I missed any notes.

Baruch College is different in a way when compared to my high school because I have more freedom to do what I want to do. I can control my schedule and I would also be expected to make adult decisions. Professors won’t be there to remind me my homework, etc. I would have to rely on myself to do what I have to do. On the other hand, the commute to Baruch College is more like my commute to high school, so that didn’t really overjoy my thoughts of going to college.

After my first year at Baruch College, I’ll be more comfortable with my environment so I’ll feel more like a college student. Since I know my goal and I know where I want to be in the future, I hope to have most of my core curriculum finished by the end of my first year and I hope to be fearless in my mind to face any obstacles that will help me be one step closer to becoming who I want to be.

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WHO.R.U.?

“Who are YOU?” said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, ‘I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then. ‘‘What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar sternly. ‘Explain yourself!’ I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you see.”

Have you ever been face to face with death, lured into its eyes, searching for the courage to contest the fate before you? I have.

One January morning, I found myself in a one-on-one duel with my conflicting fate, where roads were snow-white, and I could see my breath sprawl out before me… my life, and the way I perceived it was immediately changed forever. I recall each instant as a separate frame, a slow motion recap of my experience. For a minute the catalog of details present in my mind is beyond belief, until I realize the impact this encounter with death has had upon me as an individual.

In a very real way, this incident served as a crucible in my growth and helped to create an epithet for my identity:  “Vires, Artes, Mores.”  These Latin words, meaning “strength,” “artistry or intellectualism,” and “character,” respectively, allude to the profound impact this incident has had upon my life.  That is, the car accident helped to reveal my strength, which in turn has helped me to focus on developing both my intellect and my character.

Anything art related intrigues me…yes, anything! I’m a creative soul, to say the least, and I try and find the good in everything. There’s beauty around every corner and I’m the type of person to stop and appreciate that.

I think that in this day and age, it’s an extremely important attribute to know who you are, what you stand for, and what exactly you hope to accomplish in life. Now, granted there will be variations as you grow physically, mentally and spiritually…but it’s never a good idea to let anyone or anything influence what makes you, you.

Concerns about freshman year at Baruch College? Procrastination, procrastination and let me see, oh, procrastination! I may seem like the type to have everything organized but truth is, I have a million and one things constantly running through my mind and it’s extremely hard for me to prioritize and make sense of all the clutter.

My experience here the past couple of weeks is almost an unexpected pleasure. Leaving high school, although glad to finally do so, meant taking a step into the unknown. Even though college is just a continued education after senior year, it’s already worlds apart. The course work, the professors, my fellow classmates…it’s all undiscovered territory. To take this journey as an independent adult is, well, different. We already hold so much responsibility as students here at Baruch and I’m inclined to make of the best of it!

I believe college will only expand the traits I already posses, sharpening and recycling them for more than they’re currently worth.

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Who do you think you are?

Who do I think I am? Let me think about this for a second… I am a Ukrainian and Jewish girl who was born in Brooklyn, New York. Although I do not look Jewish, I take pride in my religion as well as my culture. But I do in fact take interest in other cultures as well. I speak English, Russian, and Spanish. I am very passionate about languages and want to make sure that I have time to learn more of them.

If you want me to get into my personality, that’s a whole different ballgame. When I am with my friends I am really outgoing, friendly, and always smiling. At home I tend to be a pest because I sometimes take my angers and stresses from school out on my family members. In school I try to be attentive, quiet, and reserved but if I have my friend next to me I might not be able to resist talking. One thing about me is that I absolutely love talking – my phone bill says it all.

When it comes to Baruch, I have some concerns. One of my top concerns is that I will get behind in the work and not be able to catch up. I have always been good with prioritizing, but lately I seem to have way too many things on my mind, which gets in the way of what I have to do. Another concern is that I will be too busy with homework and studying and lose out on some great opportunities to take part in extracurricular activities. I want to make sure that I meet a lot of people and make friends because that’s one of the great things about college – especially in a diverse one like Baruch College. My third concern would be that I get some professors who are not as favorable as some other ones. Also included in this would be that I don’t get the professors/classes I want when I get to register for my Spring 2010 schedule in January.

Even though I just started college, I can already see the differences between high school and college. At Baruch, like any other college, the professors only say things once. For example: they will announce the due date for an assignment or post the exam’s date on the syllabus and you will have to know about them. They will not repeat themselves and/or baby you – after all, they have hundreds of students and to them you are just a number. Most of the professors may not even know your name, let alone be able to pin a name to a face.

I think my first year of college will change me in a few years. It will teach me the hardships of living in a city. For example: cold winters, hot summers, train delays, school closings, and terrorist threats. I have to be aware of the traffic and weather news to make sure that nothing will affect my commute to school. College will hopefully make me into a more organized and disciplined student. Senioritis may still be in my blood… I also hope that college will teach me how to effectively prioritize and then carry-out with the things that I have to do in order of importance. I am not worried about my grades because I am a hard-worker. So, in this sense, I hope that college doesn’t change my perfectionist personality and my drive to succeed.

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valmiki.amarjit – who do you think you are?

When I am usually asked this question I automatically associate myself with race and religion. I say i am an Hindu of Indian Guyanese descent.  I also like to throw in that I am 6″5 and some of my likes and interests, which include shooting pool, playing cards and dominoes, and basketball used to be one of them until I tore my ACL my junior year of high school in a game. Who I really am though is much different, especially depending on the setting. At home and with my family and close friends I act much more wildly and am somewhat of a charloton. As my grandmother says I laugh very heftily and make too much noise. In school though with people I am not that familiar with I am shy and reserved. I still talk but I am much more calm and seem alot more nice and pleasant than I really am. I am not saying that I am not a nice and pleasant person at home, but at school that’s what people define me as. My top three concerns at baruch right now are obviously grades, my organization and management of my life and also fitting in and getting to know some people. Grades are obviously my biggest concern. In high school I was a big slacker and thought of every situation and every excuse to not do work. Once for some reason my teacher thought that I was really down about something in my life, because I wasn’t doing homework but still getting good grades, so I went along with it and made up stories of how being injured for basketball was really bothering me, when in reality i was just really lazy, but intelligent, which was why i still maintained good test grades. Here in college I realize I can’t do that and have to study a lot so my biggest concern is changing my bad habit of laziness, which will take some time. Organization and management of time are also a big concern for me here at Baruch. In high school I just threw all my papers in my bag, and didn’t even right down my homework, I would just remember it. Now if i do that my grade will be reflected in my organization skills and we are loaded with so much assignments, that if I don’t write it down I will forget. Getting to know people is also another problem for me here at Baruch. Since there are no dorms or parties and everyone just goes home after class it is hard to get to know people, which I have trouble doing anyway. I really don’t feel college as much of a big difference from high school except for the massive workload we get here compared to high school. This is probably because Baruch is a commuter school and everyone just goes home after class like in high school. There is no experience of what the media put into my head as the ideal college lifestyle, which is dorms, parties, and other fun things. Hopefully I think that my first year of college will make me a more disciplined student and that I won’t be as lazy anymore. I can sense that it is already working because in high school I had to write blogs for Spanish but I rarely did them, and they were only supposed to be a hundred words. Now I am writing close to a 600 word blog. I just hope that I can stay on track.

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