Author Archives: joseph.dabo

These past few days the word “creativity” has been on my mind a lot. I want to creative.No doubt the digital essay will give me the chance to be creative and so i am eagerly anticipating it and looking forward to it.However, one problem I encountered was that i find it extremely hard to grasp and connect to poems. I read many selectios from Audre Lorde and Gertrude Stein but still did not like any of them.Ithought of reading a poem about something I like. Prof Kaufman provided a link to poets.org and so i decided to checked it out. I was amazed at how it immensely helped me in my quest of creativity.I searched for a poem on a subject i like “the gym”.Fortunately I found a poem entitled “At the Gym” by modern American poet, Mark Doty. At a first glance at the poem, it looks like the Doty is talking about his general bobservations at the gym. However, a careful look at it shows that he is talking about people’s quest for perfect beauty. He writes:

Power over beauty,
power over power!
Though there’s something more

tender, beneath our vanity,
our will to become objects
of desire: we sweat the mark
of our presence onto the cloth.
here is a video of my favorite exercise at the gym

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Beginning College at Baruch was a great opportunity for me and did live up to my expectations. At first I was very proud of myself that I had made it into a very good school yet I still had some reservations. I was wondering if I could get good grades in a very competitive environment. Right now my grades are OK.They as splendid as I would like them to be but I am still proud of what I have achieved here.

      The only disappointment or negative I take with me this semester, is the fact that I had to drop calculus in my first semester. I hope I can ace it next semester. I have met many new people here who become dear friends to me it is something I appreciate very much. I guess I could have done better academically if Ihad taken my classes seriously from the start. I am determined to do that next semester. Baruch has really opened my eyes to the world. Icame into Baruch thinking at the end of four years, I will become an accountant but now I see that i have more options. I do not necessary have to go into business.

        After taking different classes, I have seen that i also have valuable skills in other areas that i can pursue.This is something I appreciate very much. I might transfer to a school closer to me and not entirely focused on business after next semester but that decision has been higly influenced by my time here at Baruch. This is a place i will never forget. Before  I  forget, the gym has been a very relaxing and stess releasing place for me. I loved going there everyday especially before giving my speeches to release my nervousness.

      I feel like Baruch has trasformed me into a new person, a better person, a more responsible and determined person. It has made me stronger that I could overcome any obstacles that may come my way that nothing can stop me from achieving my goals.

I am not the art kind of person and I rarely if ever visit any musuems. I only go to such places if it is mandatory. The last time I went to a musuem was like two to three years ago for a school project.Still going to the Rubin was a good experience. I got the opportunity to explore some asian religious art and thought me a lot about their religions. What struck me most was the diversity in the art. I thought it was going to be the same boring art on all floors but in fact each floor had a totally different and interesting theme. Initially I had planned on spending less than 20 munitesthere but I got so caught up in it that by the time I realized I had been at the place close to an hour. Also I was a little bit freak out by some buddhist shrine at the musuem. It was a bit scary. In all it was a good experience. Now i will think about appreciating art more.

Academic Enrichment

Concerning the panel discussion, i barely heard what Charles Li said because he was not speaking into the microphone and i was way in the back and so i heard very little of what was talked about at the discussion. I think what he was talking about was how his experience living in China and migrating to the United States had changed him. I believe the discussion seemed to center on identity and that no matter where we come from and what experiences and obstacles that may come our way, those experiences can help us to overcome them. No matter what we call our identity, if we are determined, we can still succeed.

Career Exploration

I learnt a lot from the STARR. It gave me an idea of what i think i am going to pursue in the future. i also saw how to effectively make resumes and how to efficiently prepare for job interviews. These are definitely skills that will come handy in the near  future. In the past i have applied for some job positions not using most of the suggestions that were given at the workshop. However after sitting through it i have seen that i need to work on many things the next time i apply for any job.One problem i had with the career exploration workshop was that it mainly focused on how to prepare for the job market in the future after college. it placed little emphasis  on what one can do now if he/ she is looking for employment.I think would have helped me a lot and most of the students since most of us are in the stage. Still it gives a great insight into the near future. i have certainly put down some points i intend to use later.

MONOLOGUE
So far my days at Baruch have been pretty good. I am still getting into the Baruch culture. I think I am still in the process of liking this school. I have made new friends and rekindled old friendships. I like the facilities here especially the gymnasium. But I seem to have a little problem that is I am not taking my classes seriously. I just don’t know why. It is probably because I do not really like most of the classes I feel like these classes were just thrown at me and I had no option or say in it. I kind of still have the high school mentality in me and I am trying very hard to get rid of it. It is very hard to have more than one commitment at a time and still be balanced in all of them. Balancing work and school is not an easy thing to do but I think maintaining a good schedule is the best thing for me to do. That is what I need to come up with. I need to also grow up. To survive in a competitive job market, I need to be more responsible and more matured. From now on I am going to take my classes seriously.

I do not think I am the right judge of myself. I would probably make a biased reflection of myself. However in my opinion I see myself as a good friend, a son who tries to honor his parents, a sibling, a brother, a student and a good neighbor. I am one who sets high hopes for myself though reaching them might not be easy, I always try my best to reach them. I try to be humble, tactful, cautious and honest. Others my view these qualities as weaknesses, I see them as my strengths. I like to learn from others and from my daily experiences. I am usually in the gym a lot building my muscles. It is one way I try to release stress. At others times you will find me either playing soccer or watching my favorite team Manchester United play.

Just like every other student I have many concerns about my life in college. My top concern is what I will do with my life in the future. In high school I was very good in my business classes and that was my biggest motivation in choosing this college. However, as things progressed, I reassessed my life and have seen that I have lost interest in it. I will probably have to transfer to another college but I do not know yet.

My next concern is making new friends. During my first year of high school, I made friends with people that got me in situations I shouldn’t have been in. Later it was really hard letting go of these friends. I do not want to make the same mistake twice. I will like to be friends with people who will be up building and have a positive influence on me.

Furthermore, another concern I have is to live up to the expectations of my parents who have high hopes for me. I do not want to disappoint them. In the same way, I would also like them to see that I am only human and that there will be times I will not do as they might have expected.

So far I do not think my experience here will be that different from high school. I come from a high school that basically guarantees most of the freedoms I have in college. The only difference I see is that in college, I will have to be more responsible and throw away my immature personalities.

I think my first year will make me more responsible, industrious and realistic and will prepare me for obstacles to be faced in the real world.