Category Archives: Uncategorized

My name is Kevin Kim, and I identify myself as a Korean American student. I believe one of the things we use all the time in our lives is to continue identifying ourselves through every decision we make. Recently I came to realize that I am a stubborn person. All of the talks that I’ve heard to fear nothing and pursue my dreams has been embedded in my subconscious; I can be compulsive about finishing everything that I start.

I think it is a great thing to mature and age; I see life as a very short game where everyone is playing out their lives one way or another. It is also a gift that we have a chance to pursue dreams and not put all our effort into simple daily survival. In that sense Baruch is one of those gifts and we will all change here one way or another. I am here at Baruch where I hope to not only gain knowledge and experience for a better future but also to use this place as a second reserve like a home away from home. Time is infinitely more precious than money (at least to me) and I feel that I have no more time to waste, as I am leaving teenage and nearing twenty.

I am worried that I won’t juggle between family, school, work, and friends successfully. So far it has been too hard to work, study well, and socialize which makes me pray for miracles everyday. As an only child I think very individually from my family which I love, but sense a huge generation gap from. Like many others my main values stem from what I’ve been taught since childhood. Family is very important to me and without a doubt I have a responsibility to help push them towards a better future now that I’m an adult. Seeing this always gives me a motivation greater than my laziness, doubts, and indifference.

I love to play sports where I can tire myself out both physically and mentally. I’ve played soccer since middle school and I got myself into racing after I learned how to drive. Music has also become a surprisingly big part of my life especially after my trip to Europe where I’ve learned to appreciate all types (except mainstream/AT40). I do not hold that much value to material things except gifts with sentimental value; I believe money and time can buy anything.

I like my class and besides the studying its been fairly easy to assimilate into college life. I’m hoping that good things will happen to all of us for the rest of this hectic semester.

What I like about me is that I try to be the best at everything. When I notice that I’m lacking in something, I want to try extra hard in what I do. I also like the fact that I love to clean and keep everything neat and organized. What I dislike about myself is that I worry a bit too much.

I am a Korean American. I am considered tall in my household because my mom is tall. Although I am a Korean American, I identify myself as more of an American because I grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and lived my entire life in the same area. The roles I play in life are: I am a hardworking student; I am the youngest member of my household yet I help out with a lot of the work; I am a good friend to a lot of people.

My family, friends, and education are the most important to me. My family and friends are always there to support me and vice versa. I also consider education to be very important, because education builds my future and I want the brightest future out there.

I watched my parents work very hard throughout their lives. They’ve been working seven days a week, and seeing them succeed makes me proud of my parents and makes me want to do better than them. I’m very glad and thankful to have such parents because they will always be there for me when I need their help and seeing them work hard to pay for my SAT prep and other expenses makes me want to work harder and show my success in return.

My moment and presence at Baruch College has been productive. I’ve been taking classes that are part of my core curriculum and I’ve been doing well and keeping up with all of them.

My motto in life is “Do what you believe and follow your instincts.” When I follow my motto, that’s when I truly express who I am, my individualism, and that’s when my thoughts and opinions are always correct.

My biggest challenge in school is that I have to be the best at everything. Since I have my full scholarship on the line and since I received another scholarship from the school, I have to do the best I can and study extra hard at home to achieve my perfect GPA. Another challenge is that, because I already have so much on my mind (ex: my grades), it’s hard for me to join clubs and sports and to be active in them because then I feel like my grades will be at risk.

I was born to help people, to strive in the world of business; my father named me not based on meaning, or a special liking to the name, no, Kevin was chosen so people wouldn’t have a hard time saying it. And just like that, I’m flung into the journey of the firstborn son, the one who has to hold the torch, being the first of my lineage to be born in America, first to go to college, first to live the American Dream.

Thus my integrity was founded, with the instinctual knowledge that I was born to be fluent in two languages, that I wouldn’t be allowed to have a problem with math, reading, or anything in school. If there was something I didn’t know while studying or completing assignments, I was the only one that could have helped me. This sparked my self-criticism.  With no one to depend for my academic and social successes, there was no one to blame when I messed up. I ended up doubting myself, holding back my potential for fear of screwing up, and I screwed up a lot.

Nowadays, all I screw up is my identity. Parents of two different religions, from a collapsed socialist nation, and born to live the American way, my identity is only dependant on my choices, my lifestyle. I chose to identify myself as a leader. Being first to achieve also means first to screw up, so growing up I’ve been the role model for my brother, my friends, and my peers. Although being a leader demands a lot of respect, it also commits me to a lot of responsibility. If my brother makes a mistake, he doesn’t mess up alone; I made a mistake too by not doing enough to help.

So now, I’m in college, I’ve reached the point of no return, and I’m just waiting to graduate and get my American dream rolling. So far, I’ve been doing well academically, in fact, the last time I felt this good about my studies was in Kindergarten. Back then, it was big fish, small pond, and the other fish weren’t as clever as I was. Since then, it’s been constant competition, from each Eagle class to each C.I.G. class to each Advanced Placement class, I’ve been putting just enough in to stay afloat with the grades. It’s comforting to finally catch up to my peers, to finally maintain the expectations of the people around me. Still, if I said I worked hard for my grades, I’d be lying.

I’m nothing special. Sure, someday I hope to be, but for now, I’m just another paper pushing college student pressured to do better than everyone else. No extra intelligence, I don’t work harder, I’m just someone who gets by. Despite all the pressure to do well, I hold to my mantra “enjoy the little things”, and I take in every moment life offers me, to never pass the chance to have fun, and make sure I enjoy my life while I’m young enough to do so.

Of all the free writes we have done, the one that has stuck with me the most was “what are you afraid of?” I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that most people respond to that question with things like “spiders” or “heights”. That’s not what I think of when that question is raised. For me, you don’t truly know someone until you know their weaknesses as well as their strengths.

Fear has ruled my life almost since the beginning. First I was afraid that my parents fighting would end in disaster. When it ended, I was afraid of what would happen next. And from the moment I became an orphan, I was afraid of almost everything. When you no longer have your parents there to guide you, your natural fears of disappointing them are intensified. You don’t know what makes them proud, what they want you to do with your life. And the thought that whatever you are doing isn’t good enough is pervasive.

At this moment I can honestly say I am terrified.  I watch my grandmother struggle with her meager pension, I watch my aunt break her back at a job she hates, I watch my step father dance back and forth between addictions and it scares me. What if I am destined for the same things? My greatest fear in life is failure.

But this fear is not what defines me. As humans, we all have weaknesses. It is what we choose to do about those weakness’ that make us who we are.  I could easily follow the footsteps of my family. With so many responsibilities, I doubt any one would blame me for throwing my hands up and walking away. But I couldn’t do that. I am the first in my family to go to college, I am the first who wants to be a professional, not just have any job. I am the one who makes sure the bills get paid on time and there’s food to eat. And most of the time I handle this responsibility without complaint. I don’t do it for praise or because I want to feel superior. I do it because someone has to. And that’s just who I am.

I can identify myself in many ways. I am a tall handsome African-American. I am physically fit; I played many sports that are basketball, soccer, rugby, football, volleyball and cricket. I am the second oldest but the first son so I am given a lot of responsibilities. I am a citizen of the world. I lived in America for 15 years, I lived in Nigeria for a year and I lived in England for two years. It sounds cool to live in different places. It is sometimes said that physical attributes contribute to a person identity. That can be true because if someone is tall, that person is filled with confidence and feel invulnerable. But I refute an argument. I believe physical make-up contribute to our identity but our environment. I lived in three places in my 18 years and only my memory of my life in England and America I remember. So, if anybody wants to know who I am, just ask about my past, there my identity will be revealed.

Even though my personality projects a confident young man, I fear. I am not afraid of death, loss, spiders, clowns or anything else. But I am afraid of one thing. I am afraid of failing the people I love. My father is man that does not accept failures. That principle has wrapped around my head so tight that I agree. I do not want fail the people I love. I want to count on me and witness that I can do no wrong. Many will say that this type of weakness is common but I do not want it to be common, it is a nightmare for me. Lately, I have so many nightmares.

Even though I am afraid of failure I believe Baruch will vanish that fear. As long I am surrounded by the friends I made in Baruch will succeed.

The question of the day is “Who am I?”
Good question.
I am…
Kind
Generous
Selfless
Loving
Understanding
Reasonable
Independent
I actually happen to love these qualities about myself.

I identify myself as a…
A sister
A daughter
A granddaughter
A niece
A provider
A best friend
“The-Person-I-Can-Go-To”
A Mitelman.
You’re all probably thinking, “What is a ‘Mitelman’?” Well, yeah, it is my last name, but Mitelman’s tend to be stubborn, too kind, big eaters, funny, loving, caring, and hard-workers. Now, THAT’S a Mitelman, and you’re looking at one right now.

Don’t get me wrong, though, there are things about myself that I hate, like how I’m…
Disrespectful towards those who do not deserve it,
who love me,
who would fight for me,
who would die for me,
I always question myself why I am not disrespectful towards those who do deserve it,
who hurt me,
make me bleed,
and make my head spin.
I also hate that I have not been the daughter that I should have been within this past year.

I am slightly afraid of heights.
My friends and family make me happy.
Cooking makes me happy.
Seeing people happy makes me happy.
And, of course, food (e.g. ice cream, mangoes, and strawberries) makes me happy.
I find being successful, having good health, and my mother, my father, my brother, and my friends important in my life. I also find myself as being important, because, well, I am the one that is living my life. Oh, how can I forget?! I find school VERY important.

As you all know, I go to Baruch College. So far, I am enjoying it. I love the fact that I am going to school in the city and the fact that I am meeting new people with different backgrounds and learning new things not only from my professors but also from my peers. The workload is not bad, and I definitely do see that if I want to be successful and make it to the Zicklin School of Business, I will have to work very hard. I also do know that teachers are not going to baby me anymore, and that everything is up to me. I am responsible now. It’s not high school, it’s college, it’s being an adult, and I’m so far enjoying it.

Well, I guess that’s enough about me, but before I end, I do want to leave you all with something that I believe is true:

–Everything happens for a reason—

I do believe that the people we meet and the experiences we encounter will help us in the future in one way or another. You all may not realize it now, but trust me, when all of you one day will be sitting on a chair and thinking about all the people you have met and all the experiences you have gone through, you may realize some of the things that happened were for a reason in one way or another.

Thank you.

I’m pretty tall for a Chinese guy, right? I think I am taller than the average Chinese person. But I still want to be taller. I’m a volleyball player; a short one! I can’t compete against everybody else with such a height disadvantage. Everybody is usually at least 6’3” and I’m stuck all the way down here at 5’11.5”. If I was taller, then my spikes would be stronger because I would be able to get on top of the ball more. But it’s okay. A height disadvantage isn’t going to stop me from playing volleyball. I still play it and I love the sport. Sometimes I really wish that I could jump higher to make up for the height disadvantage. I know one way to actually achieve a higher vertical jump is to work out but that’s a huge flaw about me. I’m too lazy to go work out. I know, I should go workout if I really want that higher vertical jump. It’s funny because my so-called “motto” is “just do it.” Yes, I know it is Nike’s motto, but I actually like this motto a lot. When there is something you want to achieve or a job that you have to do, do it. It’s ironic how that motto is my motto but yet I am not “doing” what I want to do in order to achieve what I want.  

But as of now that is not what I am truly afraid of. Did you guys check your grades for your sociology and pre-calculus exams? I did. I wasn’t too happy with my pre-calculus exam grade. I think most of us aren’t too happy with that. If you haven’t figured out yet, yes I am scared of receiving bad grades and failing classes. Some of you are probably thinking: “wow what an Asian.” Well, I’ll admit, it’s true. Another major fear that I have is being in another car accident. I’ve only been in one serious one where a guy ran a stop sign and hit our car. That was pretty bad. Even though it’s only been one, I’ve been very aware of my surroundings when I’m in a car ever since. It has been 7 years since the car accident and I’ve been gradually getting better at relieving my fear. I sometimes wish I wouldn’t worry so much about small things. But oh well, its life. I’ll get over it sooner or later. In fact, I rarely check my surroundings now when I’m in the car. I guess maybe I already have gotten over it. It sure was a huge fear though.

I identify myself as a humble person but sometimes this is not seen because I’m very shy. I live an extremely safe lifestyle, its sickening. I’m afraid of making mistakes and disappointing those around me. I judge myself harshly, I worry a lot and I fear that I’ll do something very bad and I won’t be able to forgive myself. I feel like this is one of the major things that prevents me from living the life I want to live. However, I am in the process of my own little life-fixing program, where I’m trying to accept that its alright to make mistakes, life goes on and life is too short to live the way I do. It’s in the process, I’ve seen a little progress since I’ve start but we’ll see how it goes.

My sister is very important to me because we have a very close relationship, we understand each other very well. But we’re COMPLETE opposites, I think that’s what adds to the strength of our relationship. We need each other to balance our personalities, most times I’m the one who does the balancing/checking because she can crazy at times.

I enjoy talking, texting or IMing with friends, but most times I play the role of the listener, which I’m not even good at because my mind wanders easily. Even during some classes I find myself wandering off. I hate being the listener but because I haven’t really been living my life I don’t really have that much to contribute to a conversation.

School is going fairly well right now, I still need some mind adaption to the pace and work load but in time I’ll get used to it. I’m also thinking about joining some clubs starting this week. But that’s another problem that I have to deal with: I say I’m going to do something but never do. Hopefully I do.

What I like best about myself? I like my personality. I am very loving and caring person. At the same time, I am very stubborn person which is my least favorite trait about myself. It always gets me in trouble. I identify myself as Georgian. Georgia is the country where i was born and raised by my grandmother.  My family is the most important part of my life. Family always comes first no matter what! I am afraid of loosing people I love. I am afraid of loosing my grandmother who is already aged. I can’t imagine life without her! every time I talk to her she makes me happy.
My education and my family are the most important parts of my life. Because of my education sometimes I have to sacrifices many things. One of them is being with my family. I had to leave Georgia, my all relatives, my friends and come here to have better opportunities and better future. I hope my sacrifices will be paid off.
I always feel guilty when I procrastinate and Don’t do homework on time. I can’t enjoy anything because back in my mind I always think about the home work I have to do and I have less and less time for getting it done. Once I do it I feel free and relieved. I felt empowered when I graduated High School with second highest GPA in school, even though I have been in America for only four years. My personal motto is to always try my best and “never say never.” No one knows what will happen next. I try to live in the moment but it’s pretty hard when you have so many responsibilities such as schoolwork, job and people who need your help and attention.
So far, I like Baruch College. I enjoy classes and I like the professors. My only complain would be that My classes start too early. I try so hard not to fall a sleep even though class is interesting. I hope I  get A’s in all classes and will be successful person in life.

I walked home in the rain yesterday. On my way home, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a puddle on the sidewalk. Even though I only had a second’s glance, I noticed something has changed about me. I looked motivated. I am a laid back guy. I used to do just enough to satisfy academic requirements. This was probably because I found school to be dull and easy. But everything is different now. I am a Baruch College student. The college atmosphere has changed me for the better. I see myself as a normal student with hidden potential. I dislike my pessimistic attitude towards my capabilities. This often holds me back from success. My biggest challenge is to become willing to push myself out of my comfort zone. I know what I am capable of, but I am always shy about it. I am hard working when I want to be. I am spontaneous when I need to be. I am brave when I have to be. I’ve decided to take a new approach. Now that I’m in college, I’ll push myself to become a better student. One day, I’ll be able to expose my inner self with the potential of being the next accountant. Why can I do this? Because I know I can!