My name is Tharmika Sinnathurai. I was born and raised in Flushing, Queens. I live with my cousin, my older brother who also attends Baruch College and my parents. My parents are from Sri Lanka and my native language is Tamil. It resembles South Indian culture and traditions. I am also Hindu and I am a highly active volunteer at my local temple. I went to Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, Queens. High school was definitely the best four years of my life, especially senior year. I had so many memories from senior year because I spent hours every day hanging out with my best friends. Also, occasions such as Senior Prom and Graduation made senior year epic. I am a volunteer at an organization called the Youth Group in my temple and I have coordinated several food drives, events and charity shows. Most of my best friends are also in the group as well. I have also been dancing, mostly Bollywood style, ever since I was six years old. My parents introduced me to it and ever since it has been my favorite hobby to do. I have danced at numerous dance competitions, weddings, receptions, parties, tournaments, charity events and much more. My other hobbies are playing tennis, basketball, running and hanging out with my best friends. I have known my best friends ever since I was a little kid. It consists of six girls and eight guys and we do almost everything together. They are also all dancers and we have been dancing together in all types of performances. I think of myself as a social, open-minded, caring, religious and determined person. I love having a diverse group of friends and just hanging out with them.

My top three concerns about freshman year at Baruch College is not procrastinating, making sure I get to school on time since the subways often get delayed, and getting my books on the day our teachers want us to have them by. I think my Baruch College experience is different from high school because I only have two or three classes a day which makes it easier from me to have time to do my readings and homework. Also, in college we get breaks so that I can finish some of the work I haven’t gotten to the night before. You are also much more independent in college whereas in high school the teachers and counselors tell you exactly what you need to do. I think the first year of my college will make me more of an independent and hard-working student. In high school, I would normally not do the readings I was assigned and still do well on tests. However, in college I have to do the readings so I have to spend more time in my day in during my homework for my classes. I also have to learn how to not procrastinate my work because I work part-time and I have dance practices on the weekends. Procrastinating will just damage my GPA in college so I have to learn how to start my work when the professor gives us the assignment and not do it all the night before it is due.

My name is Mohamad Osman and over the past few years I have begun to learn more about who I am. Born in Lebanon, and raised in New York since the age of one, I have not forgotten where my family comes from. It is for this reason my parents ensure me as many visits as possible to Lebanon. It is always the most difficult being the middle child of a family, especially with an older brother and younger sister. When I think back, as many times as I have complained, I have learned there is nothing more special than my family. They are the people that care and love me most, and I am proud to be with them. In my years of highschool, I have also developed a second family, with my best friends. Being with them has changed me for the better. Spending time with them is always time well spent. Along with my family at home, they are the people who push me to do my best, and be my best. To describe myself I must say that I am the type of person who is willing to do as much good for people as possible. I have dedicated my four years of high school tutoring younger children, two of which are my cousins. When anyone asks me for help, I am the go to guy, as I can never say no to a person in need. I feel as though with my friends I have built a trust that can never be broken because I am the person many people come to when they are in a “sticky” situation. I always do my best to comfort them, and give them the best advice that can truly benefit them. Being with my friends, I have the learned the true definition of fun, and I know at times spontaneous is the best. No matter what it is we do, we have a good time.
Becoming a freshman at Baruch has brought its share of concerns. In my senior year of highschool I developed a habit of procrastinating which I hoped would be lost in college. I was also concerned about meeting new people at Baruch. I was told by other students that making friends is not as simple in college as it was in our younger days. People go to college and then go about their day, which is why it is recommended to be a part of a group or club which I look forward to being. My third concern would be managing time. I have to be able to make time for my studies, time for myself, and time for my at home responsibilities. My college experience is different from highschool because of its seriousness. Being a part of a college institution is nothing to be joked around with. It requires hard work, and a lot of dedication because it is now an important part of my life. My first year of college will change me by allowing me to become an even more responsible, and mature person by exposing me to some of life’s challenges that weren’t imposed on me in my highschool years. I am looking forward to being a dedicated member of the Baruch College community.

I am Vivian Zhu.  I would say that I am pessimistic, impatient, paranoid, and not that talkative.  Actually, I don’t talk at all if i don’t know a person, but I talk a lot if I know a person pretty well.  A friend keeps telling people how much I talk and the weird things I say, but no one believes her so she starts raging.  It’s kind of funny.

Some concerns I have about my freshman year at Baruch College are meeting new people, my trip to Baruch, and finishing my assignments.  Why is saying “Hi” or saying anything so hard?  Whenever I made friends I never actually had to go up to a person and start a conversation it was always the other person starting it.  Senior year of high school I just met a couple of people and we sat at the same table in the library and whenever it was the end of 9th period I would just get up and walk out.  One of them told me how awkward it was because they just stared at me walk away and I would never say anything.  I was aware of it, but I didn’t know what to say.  Another thing that’s scary is walking to the bus stop at 6 in the morning.  I guess I’m just being paranoid because nothing ever happens in Great Neck.  There is a street light in front of my house, but it doesn’t light up.  I wish someone would replace the bulb.  It is getting darker every week and it’s still September.  It’s my first year of college and I’m afraid I was going to screw it up like in high school.  Originally I went to Brooklyn Tech and I did pretty badly my first year.  I never studied.  I was always cramming information the class before.  Same thing with my homework.  I shut down in the morning and afternoon and when it hit 12 o’ clock I start working.  I was always so dead throughout the day with only 2-4 hrs of sleep.  Right now I am behind in some reading assignments.  I blame myself for not being able to say no.  I didn’t want to work for this person over the summer and now that I went back to get my check, I couldn’t tell her that I just wanted to have a free Tuesday since I was working three days already for someone else.

Nothing much has changed.  The only difference between college and high school is the homework, schedule, and the number of days we have to go to school.  Most of the time teachers take ages just to finish a book, but in English class she assigned us to read two books by the second day of class.  At first I thought I was never going to finish because I read slow, but I actually got it done thanks to those long rides going to school.  When I transferred to Great Neck South HS we had the yellow bus pick us up every morning, but now I have to wake up two and a half hours before class starts.  The 7 train is a pain.  There were two problems on the same week already.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when it starts snowing.  Even though it sucks to have to wake up that early it is nice to leave school early.  In high school I usually check up on the time and 43 minutes a class felt like forever, but it goes by pretty fast now and its double the time.  It’s so awesome only having to go to school four days a week and sometimes it’s less because a certain day is scheduled as another day.

I don’t think college is going to change me that much.  I’m probably going to lose more hair or start growing white hair again and it was going away too.  Maybe I’ll be able to speak in front of people after taking the communications class.  Hopefully I will change some bad habits like cramming.

If one simply asks a person, “Who do you think you are?” of course there will never be one definite answer. My past experience ever since I was born has shaped me into the Kenny Tsang that I am now. However, going to Baruch College is a new experience, one that will bring forth a new me.

I am a Chinese-American 18 year old boy, who is currently attending Baruch College. I am a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. When people get to know me, I believe I am very outgoing, loud and funny. However, I feel the need to be quiet whenever I am around people that I am not familiar with. I love to laugh until I run out of breath. I always play my hardest, whether it is in basketball, mathematics or a staring contest. I think I am a good person reader, which makes me a caring person. With ease, I can tell if someone needs help or is sad and I give them aid. I am studious when it is necessary, but carefree otherwise. Overall, I think I am an awesome person.

My experience in Baruch College will be different than high school because of my schedule. In high school, I had an 8-2:45 schedule every day with the same classes, but in Baruch I have less classes and they are every other day. Therefore, I have a lot more time to give to myself after classes. My first year of college already changed me because I have been very studious and hard working even with the first few weeks of college. There might be a chance that I will transfer schools colleges, but even if I am not, I feel the need to work hard because of all the money spent for just one semester.

My main concerns about my freshman year at Baruch College is probably getting good grades, adjusting to college life and breaking the barrier between friends and strangers. These three concerns arise from my past experiences, such as procrastinating, walking into a classroom thinking everything will be okay, and growing up to be a quiet and shy person. In high school, I had always procrastinated, but everything came out fine. I am afraid that I will become too comfortable in Baruch and begin to procrastinate once again. In high school, the curriculum was very straight-forward, so all I had to do was read certain chapters of a textbook to understand the day’s lesson, or everything I needed to know for an exam. Entering a new environment alone is a new experience for me, and just the thought of that has changed my mentality. Let’s just hope I don’t get too comfortable and stray to my high school ways.

I am Christopher Sean Ryan Persaud. My whole family was born in Guyana, but with me being the youngest, I am the only one that has been born in the United States, so I am the only one at Thanksgiving that talks without an accent -_- . I have been living in Canarsie in Brooklyn since I was born. I still like to call myself an athlete, even though its been 3 years since I have actually played for an organized team. I have played on baseball, basketball and football teams finding that football is the one I am most drawn to but I play basketball the most. On my free time I like to hang out with friends, play ball at the park, go to the gym or do anything that just gets me out of the house.
My three concerns about my freshman year would be procrastination, parties and maintaining a job. In high school I would ALWAYS put off doing any hw assignment for the night before its due no matter what it was. I know in college that if I keep that habit I wont last very long so I hope I can change that. People always told me about how live and crazy college parties were and I thought when I got to college that was what I would be doing every weekend. Thank God I haven’t been doing that (yet) and I’m able to stay focused on my work, when I get around to it. I am trying to find a job right now but I’m not sure I should get one if I’m not able to do my job and stay on track with work for all of my classes.
I have attended Catholic schools my whole life so now that I am at Baruch it feels good not to have to wear a uniform and be able to keep my hat on all day. Also, my other schools were pretty small ( only 90 seniors in my graduating class last year) so everyone knew everyone, but at Baruch you’re lucky to see the same faces 2 days in a row. Even though I hate getting up at 5:30 AM to make it for 7:50 classes, I love being done at 10:30 before everyone else. Also, my high school was only 4 blocks away from my school, so I use to sleep late, go to the store and get something for breakfast and still make it on time ( although I did end up being late more times than not). At Baruch, I have to wake up to early catch the B6 wither headed to the 5 train on junction or the L train in Rockaway and then take that to 14th street and transfer to the 6 which takes me right to Baruch. It’s a big change from waking up at 7:40 to be in school at 8:10, to now waking up at 5:30 to be there at 7:50.
I hope that my first year at Baruch will help me adjust from my high school ways of barely getting-by and procrastinating every week, to doing my work on time and be on point with my assignments.

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Use the above link to post YOUR OWN assignment.

~Jordan =}

Who am I? Who is Jordan Gage McFarlane-Beau?! Introspection has never been my strong point yet somehow it keeps cropping up all over my college career thus far. For me, to define oneself is to really reflect on who I was and who I am now. It is still a challenge but what is college good for, if not to challenge the mind of its student populace? =}

I am a poet, a peer mentor, a son, a brother, a writer, an RA, an organizer, a friend, a dork, a pessimist, an optimist, an extrovert, an introvert, a funny guy, a reliable and responsible individual, a man who loves to laugh and watch cartoons, an avid reader and collector of comic books, a beloved grandson and nephew, a compassionate and caring person, someone whose mind is also racing, a thinker, a creative soul, a dude who loves to smile with his eyes each time he gets, a student who tries to be attentive and a role model, a devoted mama’s boy and protector of his younger siblings, someone who loves meeting new people, a dude who prefers to walk and enjoys jogging to clear his head, a reader of all sorts of genres, a music lover, a blogger, a lover of McDonald’s sweet tea, a person who is good at projecting his voice when he needs to, a typical Capricorn, someone who does not think he will get married yet still might want to be a father, a cynic, a realist, a neat freak, and a loyal companion if you do not stab me in the back. I know its a mouthful but its who I am folks!

When I was a Baruch College freshman, my top 3 concerns were that I would not have the “ideal college experience” as a commuter student, that I would not do well my 1st semester and lose my free-tuition scholarship, and that I would have trouble making some friends. I am from Westbury, Long Island so I had to use the LIRR and then find my way to Baruch’s campus 4 days a week for class while most of my classmates from high school were dorming and partying it up at larger colleges and universities. What I did is go to class and then go home so there were times I fell into a funk. In high school I was all over my academics while doing like a billion other things from being class president to working on the yearbook, but my grades were also high. College was going to be tougher because it was new to me but I ended up managing pretty well. My gpa was actually highest after my 1st semester was done so I must have done something right! I never made friends easily, ever! I thought I had made at least one good friend freshman year but it turns out that she was two-faced and talked about me behind my back which was cool with me until I found out about it. So I moved on and gradually people gravitated towards me and my attractive personality =}. I can now say that I am the happiest I have ever been at Baruch College.

Hello everyone, my name is Jordan McFarlane-Beau and I will be your Freshman Seminar Peer Mentor for the FALL 2010 semester. This is my second time teaching freshman seminar at Baruch College and this year I am extremely fortunate because I am co-teaching alongside, Joan Esperance, a Baruch faculty member AND getting to meet and know all of you!!

Start blogging and share your voice with the world! (more detailed instructions to come)

~Jordan