Author Archives: tony.yeung

My first semester at Baruch College has been nothing but ups and downs. Initially entering college with the mindset of transferring as soon as possible, I’ve grown to settle into the environment with no working escalators. Despite what others say, being at a CUNY definitely has its difficulties and I’ve come to realize that good grades aren’t that easy to come by anymore. I dropped Calculus this semester which kind of set me back a little and surprised me for the most part. But because of this, I think I’ll be able to get my game together for next semester. The transition to college from an amazing high experience is hard, but it’s not impossible. For the most part, Baruch has given me a valuable perspective on what college is like. I would also like to point out that it’s so easy to meet new people throughout the college. Dorming at the Ludlow building has given me a lot of chances to talk to familiar faces that I see outside of school. I would even go as far as to say that it’s given me an edge above other commuting students. But above all, my first semester at Baruch was fulfilling and whether or not it was a success will be determined in the next two weeks of finals.

The Rubin Museum of Art was an enlightening experience, in that I now know what sort of museum I have very little interest in. I’m not sure what it was about the museum that turned me off initially, but I found myself uninterested at the very beginning of the visit. However, the one thing that I was intrigued by was the shrine room that they had on the second floor. That was the one part of the museum that I enjoyed because it felt surreal, as if I were surrounded by large speakers of monks murmuring rituals. I experienced something similar to this during a visit to China but I was never able to control the situation as well as I could here. I sat in the room for about 10 minutes looking for the loops in the audio track. It felt really different to be in that sort of environment even for 10 minutes. But, besides that, I found very little interest in the statues that were at the museum mainly because I wasn’t able to touch or relate to any of them. It was a good experience nonetheless.

This event was a different taste from the other academic workshops we had. The author of the book that we were assigned to read over the summer actually showed up amongst a few thousand of his readers. I thought, out of the 4 panelists, he was the most interesting. The one thing that I remembered him saying over and over again was how he wanted to be among his audience as opposed to facing them on the elevated stage. This shows the type of personality he has as well as how he values his relationship with his readers. He was a very interesting guy and looked like a old mentor that somebody would take on. Because of the things that he’s been through in his life, he comes across as wise. The one thing that I noticed when he spoke was that he was very intelligent. He spoke in a humble manner that addressed the audience with respect and well as demanding it from the audience. I learned a lot just by watching him speak and this workshop/event was a very productive one.

This workshop proved to be important to me. Although I’ve done some resume work and revisions for school organizations, it was important to me because is reminded me of what I was responsible for in a resume. One aspect that I found to be especially helpful in this workshop was the mention of personal pitches. I didn’t know how important this part of job searching was because it was always less stressed than resumes. This workshop basically reinforced what I already knew about resume building and added a few new ideas for me. Overall, it was extremely helpful and the STARR Career Development Center sounds like an important place that I should learn how to use.

My first semester at Baruch is already half over, yet I’m left with the feeling that my journey has just begun. Personally, it’s taken me a long time to get used to the environment that Baruch offers. Maybe it’s just me, but up to this point, I still long for that sense of community that I experienced in high school. Despite the difficulty in settling into my new surrounding, this first semester at Baruch, this first semester of college, this first semester of independence, has brought a few good things into my life.

Beginning with the friends that I’ve made and the friends that I still see on a day-to-day basis ever since the years of high school, I’d like to say that that is what keeps me going throughout the semester. Coming to Baruch isn’t so much more different than first stepping into my high school, Brooklyn Tech. During my first year of high school, I was determined more than anybody to transfer out, but I didn’t. I’m not sure if it was my indecisiveness that took over, or simply just the feeling that things would get better, but I stuck it out at Brooklyn Tech and I hold no regret of my decision. Hopefully that stays true to college as well. If not, then it’s time to slave over college applications and essays all over again. But I’m ready to see it through to the end.

Another aspect that I’m proud to hold under my arms is having a job. My first paycheck was framed and polished and vacuum-sealed, in my head. But jokes aside, having a job gives me that elated feeling that I’m supporting myself. Yeah, I didn’t frame or vacuum seal my first paycheck, but the happiness was all the same. Everyone’s looking for jobs nowadays and from what I hear; it’s a storm out there. I’m grateful to be a swim instructor that gets paid $13/hr.

During all the time that I’ve spent at Baruch so far, there was one thing that I came back to at the end of every night. What do I do? How do I make a schedule? How do I become CEO of the New York Knicks? How do I live up to the expectations that everyone has set for me? All questions that have no one answer and questions that I should probably stop asking myself before I sleep. Somebody once told me, live in the present now, after all, when else are you going to be able to? Short-term goals are my way of approaching situations now. One step at a time, I’ll shape my future.

My name is Tony Yeung and who I am still hasn’t been discovered. You can throw me under the basics of Baruch Student, Brother, Son, Friend, and a person that enjoys having a great time. But who I am is still in the making. I honestly go by the theory that who we are always changes and there is no one clear definition of who I am.

College has been far from what I expected. I’ve repeated this line to so many people so many times that it doesn’t even phase me to say it anymore. But realistically, I put it unfair scrutiny because senior year of high school was something else, so it’s only normal for me to be disappointed when college didn’t meet that level of intensity. I can’t believe four weeks of college has already passed, maybe this semester might go by faster than I thought. Coping with college hasn’t been too hard…yet. The workload, readings specifically, has been a challenge, but I managed to get by. I know college still has tons to offer and I’m going in with an open mind.

I also realized that getting a 4.0 is damn near impossible, but I’m going to try to get as close as possible 🙂