This semester has gone, for the most part, just like I imagined it would have. In fact, I had surprisingly less work than I thought I would’ve had. Overall, I’m really enjoying my time at Baruch College. I’ve met some awesome people and once I get more accustomed to the school, I think my experience will only get better. If I could do it all over again, the one thing I would do is my math homework. Not doing the homework made it tougher for me to actually understand what I needed to know. Other than that, I would say time management is another thing I need to work on. I don’t think I have really changed much since I got here being that I’m really not in school that long and haven’t gotten involved in any clubs. I’m sure once I get to participate more, my experience and life will be much different.

I think the experience I had in Baruch met what I expected. The work was challenging as I expected. But the professors I had this semester weren’t as bad i expected: they kept me interested in that field, were reasonable, and most of the time kept me awake in class.

The first semester was really a challenge. I think it is because I was trying to get used to the school or just simply that the work was challenging.

If I could have done it over, I think I would join a club. I would try harder and definitely manage my time this time.

I think Katherine has stressed us enough on how we had to manage out times. And that’s one thing I’ve learned. I think it made me more responsible for my work and the importance of producing a good well-written assignment rather than a just-to get-it-done assignment.

I think my experience at Baruch met my expectations. Before I came here, all the alumni from Bronx Science that goes to Baruch told me that Baruch is just like Science all over again. I feel like thats true, but there are differences from BS. I feel I have more freedom and time to what I want compared to my high school experience. My first semester, overall, was fun. I enjoyed the time I spent in Baruch so far, especially Freshmen Seminar. If I were to do this a second time, I’ll definitely stop slacking, step it up, and get sh*t done! But then, I tell myself that at the end of every term/year, and it never happens. lol. I don’t think i changed much, or at least I don’t notice any changed about myself. If anything, I got lazier.

What i expected of baruch was exactly what i got. The work was what i expected it would be and my performance is kinda what i had expected as well. My first semester had ups and downs. Mostly downs, for one i broke my knee again. Thats the worst thing to happen to me all semester. The second time around i would work more efficiently and get my work done on time. Right now im rushing to do the papers and study for tests which i should have been doing a long time ago. Since my time at baruch my way of thinking has changed. I think of things differently now. Somethings that were important to me before don’t seem so important anymore and vice versa.

Baruch college has been well to me, i like the college a lot. People could be more social but we don’t have a campus. the first semester was fine, I’ve learned about the importance of time management and what not. I’ve also learned that you have to use ratemyprofessors.com or you will regret every class you take.if i could do it over again the 2nd time i would manage my work for college better. it was hard for me to transition from high school to college but i’ll manage. since baruch i have been using my new found freedom to slack off more which really sucks, going to have to keep that in check somehow :(

p.s. out of all the Katherines i know, Katherine D Azcona is the best. (hehe brownie points)

When I first started here at Baruch I was not really sure what to expect and I was pretty nervous.  After my first semester here, it turns out that I like being at this school.  My first semester was a good experience. Freshmen seminar actually helped make it better. To be honost I didn’t think it would, but I was proven wrong.  I hope to continue enjoying being here at Baruch College.  This first semester went faster than I thought it would.

To me, my Baruch experience had definitely lived past my expectations and that’s manly because of freshman seminar. Freshman seminar had helped me all the way to get through my first year in Baruch, such as explaining how to register for classes and what are the requirements and priorities for each degree. Thanks to freshman seminar it has greatly improved my communication skills, which means I am not as shy as I was before and not afraid to speak up in class. I think I have become more mature because I’m on my own now. No one is there to walk me through anymore and hover around me on my schoolwork and stuff.

The first semester was an important experience for me because it was the starting point for college for me. It’s the experience that will lead me through the rest of my college experience. I obviously wasn’t use to the college environment since it was my first year even though I took a college now class before in Queens College. I also wasn’t use to the teachers giving me all the freedom especially with homework, projects and tests. In high school, middle school and elementary school, teachers always hover around me of the work I do.

If I could redo my experience of this first semester, I would definitely try harder on my time management of all the work I have to do for my classes because right now I am stress from all the work I have to do; I keep pushing all the work further and further into the week because I have so much things to do at once.

Before I start on this blog, I want to give a “Thank You” to Kat for being such an informative and caring peer mentor/friend.Thank you for guiding us through our first semester here at Baruch College, answering our questions whether it be about registration, study abroad, and just whatever. You’re great for setting up such a cool and relaxing environment for this extra class to go by quickly. We were privileged to have you <3

i. The workload, especially the readings from History class, exceeded my expectation of my ideal college workload. I was so excited in senior year high school. :(

ii. First semester wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be. Tests here and there. Study. Party. It balanced my lifestyle.

iii…. Do what? I would have taken more APs in highschool.

iv. Changing is inevitable. But it takes a while for the changed to realize that he’s changed. I guess I have.

     My first semester at Baruch College lived up to my expectations. In the beginning, I had a hard time keeping up with all the reading, until I discovered the classes that it was not completely important to read the book in, such as in music. Once I slowed down on the unnecessary readings, I began to be able to keep up with the workload. I am self motivated, which allows me to do my papers as soon as I receive it and sometimes be able to finish the entire paper that same weekend, allowing me more time to read my textbooks.

     My first semester went well; communicating with my peers and making friends was easier than I had imagined it to be. However, it is hard to keep in contact with others due to the fact that we all make different schedules and take different classes making it likely to lose touch. Moreover, that is what makes it difficult to make friends in any semester because it is likely that you will be unable to get in any of their classes in the future. If I could do it all over again, I would do everything the same way except I would have tried to make friends a little earlier in the semester and maybe the friendship would have been more likely to continue into future semesters. Since I started at Baruch College, I have become more talkative to the other students. I am sure I changed in more ways than just that, but that is the only way that I have noticed up to now.

My first simester went very fast and I can’t believe it is over already!

…. and that’s all i have to say :(

The first semester is coming to an end in just two  weeks. Time flies by so fast. It still feels like i just started last week. I came into college expecting it to be more challenging than high school. And it is. Seems like there is never enough time, and always have something to do. Paper after paper, post after post, and pages of reading to do. Guess the next four years will be like this.

My experience at Baruch College has lived up to my expectations. In the beginning of the semester, the workload seemed easy and manageable. Now, with the semester coming close to an end, there is so much to do in so little time. I need to start reviewing for finals and get working on a research paper. I did expect college to be harder before I got here anyway. I think time flies quicker in college, because I still feel like I just started.  If I could do it all over again, I`d do more reading in the beginning to save a little bit for the end. I think I have changed since I started at Baruch by learning to deal with things and becoming more studious.

Often times expectations leads to disappointment. Even though I didn’t expect anything out of my first semester,  I was surprised to learn that so many people were willing to help. I expected to lone wolf through freshmen year by learning through mistakes, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Help is available, you just need to seek it. I enjoyed my first semester very much. I had a relaxed schedule with fine professors. Not to mention, that my best friend was in each of my classes and new friends as well, the latter was thanks to my peer mentor though. Even if I made a time machine, I would probably not change a thing because things are fine the way they turned out. As for how I changed? I am not quite sure I have. Before entering Baruch College I knew that I had to take initiative in order to get through my first semester; whether it be visiting offices or actually taking time out to read. Believe it or not I did neither of those things in high school.

I knew having a college life would be hard, but it didn’t hit me yet until now. In the beginning, I was like whatever about everything; I wasn’t serious about my education. Now, I have less than a month to cram in study guides for finals, final papers to give in and a math class that I still find hard to keep up with. Overall, I have to say that it’s been great. I was lucky enough to be put in the best community, with awesome classmates and a mentor who actually cares about us. I don’t have to wake up so early anymore like in high school and I only have school 4 days a week. And on top of that, I think I made it. I have probably 3 weeks left of school and my first semester of Baruch is nearly over. Normally, I don’t like the idea of changing my past to rewrite my future, but there is one thing I do want to white out: don’t take this type of education with a lazy conscious. I have to work my butt off now, because I’m definitely falling a bit behind in my classes. I definitely did change since the first day of class. I was meeting a whole new wave of people and felt a bit shy, but those people were the best in all the learning communities. I’m starting to get over my fear of raising my hand and speaking in class. Shyness is a major issue that I’ve been dealing with, but Baruch is definitely helping me overcome this problem. Thank you Baruch. Thank you LC13 classmates and thank you Katherine Azcona.

My experience at Baruch was a bittersweet experience. My college expectations were much higher but I guess I didn’t get adjusted to college just yet but hopefully I will soon. I enjoyed college because it gave me so much more freedom as a student. However, the whole idea and too much work stresses me out. There are actually more guidelines to follow. It’s not easy but in the end it will pay off. My first semester was tough, class until 435 was the worst, I lose my focus any time after 330. But overall, it served as a good test for me to see how good I am at time management and unfortunately, I’m the worst. I hope there are better semesters to come. If I could do it all differently, I would study harder, stay more focused and actually leave some time to do my work. And do better on math 2207, much much better. I don’t think I’ve changed very much as a person, but I’ve learned to set my priorities straight. I have to work hard because these four years will determine my future and my forever. Thanks Baruch for the beginning of this journey.

So since tomorrow is the last session of freshman seminar, I figured I would get this out of the way before I completely forget about it, so here goes…

I came into Baruch with zero expectations. I knew college wouldn’t be like what we had seen on t.v. growing up, so for me it was a “get in and get out” kind of attitude towards the whole thing. However, it really has been a great experience thus far. I have made some great friends, and already have some fond memories to look back upon and laugh over. If I had to do it a second time around I still think I would have chosen to go to Baruch and kept all the decisions I have made thus far in regards to school, just the same.  My first semester wasn’t too hard or stressful, it had it’s moments but overall I can’t really complain. However, the one thing I can say is that it passed by in the blink of an eye, and if the next 4 years go by just as fast I will be just a tad bit terrified… =\ I’m no where near ready to be out in the real world, so it’s time for time to slow down, if only that were possible. Since, starting Baruch I think I have become more open minded and less judgmental. The diversity of the school has done wonders for me, and is definitely a big plus towards the school as a whole. Overall, I am looking forward to enjoying some well deserved time off during winter break and coming right back to Baruch for the spring semester of my freshman year =]

     My name is Zachary Triano and I am a freshman at Baruch College in New York, NY and I am in a wheelchair. It states in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. I wanted to bring up a point to you today that I believe makes people in wheelchairs less equal in society than the others. This point, although it is taken for granted by many, is an important right/ability that should be shared by all; the ability to take a train. This ability is not shared by me or any other person in a wheelchair, as elected political officials in the New York State fail to address and fix these important sociological issues. They feel that because they have addressed the concerns of the majority of the population, that they should temporarily push away the wishes and concerns of those in wheelchairs; however, it is clearly stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act that

“The transportation provisions of title II cover public transportation services, such as city buses and public rail transit (e.g. subways, commuter rails, Amtrak). Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. They must comply with requirements for accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make good faith efforts to purchase or lease accessible used buses, remanufacture buses in an accessible manner, and, unless it would result in an undue burden, provide paratransit where they operate fixed-route bus or rail systems. Paratransit is a service where individuals who are unable to use the regular transit system independently (because of a physical or mental impairment) are picked up and dropped off at their destinations.”

     I understand the access-a-ride is the alternative to the train for people with disabilities, but it is not always easy to know the exact time of pick-up and drop-off and to know for sure that you want to go somewhere twenty-four hours ahead of time. I understand that it may not be possible to redo all of the train stations in all five boros, but a temporary and acceptable compromise would be to make a train station in every neighborhood or group of neighborhoods accessible, so there would be an accessible station within a reasonable distance. I live in Boro Park on 58^th and 12^th ave in Brooklyn, NY and there is no accessible station near my house. In order to get to an accessible station, I have to take one or two busses to the train, which could take up to an hour and a half to two hours. I am very tired of writing to many different politicians who read my letter, say that there is nothing they could do and ignore it. I want someone to be caring enough to read my letter, feel my concerns and fight as hard as you could to get this to happen; besides, it is my right to be able to take a train. I am not the only one who feels this way, as you could see by reading the attached petition, there are many who share my opinions living throughout different neighborhoods within the five boros.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                        Zachary Triano

 What do you think about this letter? Do you think it is convincing? Would it convince you to make the traincs handicapped accessible if you were in charge? If not, why not?

My experience at Baruch has exceeded my expectation.  I was expecting school to be boring because its just home, school, home. I was also expecting not to make any friends at the first year. I did not even join any clubs or participate in any event and I was still able to make some friends. I am really grateful for this. I enjoyed my time in Baruch. Aside from the classmates, I found the professors being really nice and easy going. All the professors I have talked to were very heart warming and they really care about their students. I loved the first semester and I think freshman seminar played a big role in this. This allowed me to feel connected to Baruch.  If I could do it all over again, I would have  picked a club of my interest and not because they were serving food. I have changed in many aspects. One was starting to enjoy all of my classes and second was broadening my horizons so I can find out what I really want to do with my life and career.

It’s difficult to find songs that represents who I am and what I stand for. These are just a few that I felt describe some aspect of my life. I’m sure there’s better.

I chose these because:
To me- everyday is a new day. Your past should not affect you present and you should not obsess so much with the future that you can’t even enjoy the present. Take life one day at a time. I don’t believe in the infamous idea of living each day as if it were your last. I think that when we live life like that we rush things. I believe in taking chances but with moderate rather than extreme risk involved. I see myself as an independent woman. I need very little in life to be content. And if I want anything I only depend on myself to go out there and get it. At the end of the day what matters to me the most is that I’m happy. Ultimately I believe in being yourself. We are who we are and we should love that! I’d rather be alone than trying to mold myself to be part of a clique. That’s just not me.

OneRepublic

Stop and Stare

Secrets

Destiny’s Child

Amazing Grace

Independent Woman

Ne-Yo

Miss Independent

She Got Her Own

Natasha Beddingfield

Unwritten

The Veronicas

Everything I’m Not

Bruno Mars

Liquor Store Blues

Just read & play the song while you’re at it.

Say

by OneRepulic

………………………

The Invitation

by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

So these last few weeks have been a bit tough for me and my family. Besides having midterms and quizzes and group projects and work and life going on I have a grandmother in NY and a grandfather in the Dominican Republic who are really ill. Every time I get a call from either one of my parents I immediately ask “What’s wrong?” without even saying “Hi”. I haven’t experienced any death in my family so this is hard because I’m not ready to see either of them go. I know that they’re old and that things like these are part of life, but it’s so easy to say just that and to keep moving on. It’s scary to come home and see the strongest woman I’ve ever known- crying because her father is ill and she can’t be next to him. So this just means that I need to be super strong. I need to be there for my mother and need be there for my dad and fraternal side of the family when visiting my grandmother who’s currently in the medical intensive care unit. I remember walking into my grandmother’s room last Thursday after receiving a text message from my mother who alerted me saying that my grandmother had gotten worse and that I should be at the hospital with my family.

“Straight ahead,” my uncle said when he pointed out the direction of my grandmother’s room. Had it not been for my aunts standing in the room I would have NEVER recognized my grandmother. She looked so frail and defenseless and seemed to be transformed into someone else. She has tubes stuck down her throat and a gazillion wires entering her neck and arms and head. That night I missed a quiz in a class, but I would have never forgave myself if something were to have happened and I chose school over my grandmother. There wasn’t much progress until Saturday when she finally woke up after all the meds they had administered. She was in and out of sleep but she recognized us all. By Sunday she was breathing on her own and didn’t need the help (and nuisance) of the tubes down her throat to breathe. She’s still in ICU. The doctor says that after her minor heart attack on Thursday she needs to be held under observation because they discovered that she has liquid in her lungs and that her kidneys are failing.

As for my grandfather in DR. My mother is planning to book a trip either tomorrow or the next. My grandfather suffered a stroke which sent him in and out of the hospital for the past 2 weeks. Today he died and was resuscitated. That’s definitely not a good sign. The doctors believe that his arteries may be clogged, but they need to run extensive tests to pin point exactly what’s wrong. My mother is a wreck and it’s killing me that I can’t do anything to make it better.

As stressful as work and school can get, lately they’re the only things that keep my mind off reality.

I feel the same about myself after the monologue. Nothing feels different. But I the way I see my classmates have slightly changed. I was able to learn something new about my classmates through the monologue presentations. Everyone in the class has developed into sort of a big family. After all freshmen seminar class is a place we can all talk to each other and just be ourselves.

I just saw on the news today that it was discovered that when you go onto facebooks apps such as farmville, mafia wars, some of the quizzes you take, etc, these third parties companies take in users’ Facebook identification numbers. The number then tied into a user’s profile and could identify the person by name, no matter how secure his or her privacy. The companies tracking you could then build a clear profile of your habits. If they used other Internet tracking technology to keep a record of the websites you visit and then married that to your name, this would be a clear violation of Facebook’s policies, which has consumer groups up in arms. The ads that appear on the sides on facebook are generated because the third party apps track what you do and know what you like.

Many others worry about the data being used to profile individuals for future business scenarios, pointing out that the information could be sold to people screening you for a potential job, insurance companies determining if you can get health care or even a bank wondering if you are a good risk for a loan.

1. Social networking sites are not charity organizations; they are advertising to you, they are collecting data, and while Facebook says this was a mistake, be aware that information breaches happen online.

2. If you have a Facebook account, it is well worth the time to lock down the privacy settings. It may seem complicated, but we have clear instructions on what the privacy settings mean HERE: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebooks-privacy-controls-work/story?id=10760108.

3. Some of the worst offenders in this particular breach were from applications within Facebook; the invitations where you have to accept terms of service from a third party. If privacy is paramount to you, we suggest declining the invitations unless you have time to research who they are and what they are doing with your information.

Full Article: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/facebook-privacy-scandal-facebooks-watergate/story?id=11912201&page=2

What do you all think of this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFep-zt7pmg

This is Winston, a Maine Coon breed. When I’m feeling down, I usually watch candid cat videos. It makes me feel warm inside and it makes me want to adopt a little friend. Unfortunately, my brother is allergic to cat fur so this is a dream that will have to be put on hold for now. If one day, some how, I am to become sterile I will be assured knowing that there will always be somebody there who needs to be fed and loved by me. What do you guys do when you are sad?

After the Monologue we presented at Thursday I felt I could’ve done better. I definitely got used to speaking in front of people. However I felt I could’ve improved on my eye contact with the audience, my volume and tone of how i speak. It was a good opportunity to know  about everyones point of views.

Im still unsure if I made a significant change through the freshmen seminar, but I think im getting there. Freshmen seminar helped to have a clear idea of how college life is and what people expect of us.

It says "Peace Park"

I honestly don’t feel very different after the my monologue. Even though i don’t feel different my views on other people in my freshman seminar class have changed. The monologues were spotty and unclear but that is what made it interesting. It kinda allowed me to fill in those spots for my classmates and allowed me picture what kind of person they are just by listening to their monologues.

Since the start of freshman seminar i feel like Ive grown friendlier with the people in my LC. Even though i have class with them everyday its only in freshman seminar that i get to joke around and really show who i am. That is mainly because our instructor Kat is way awesome and madd chillzzzz. So Kat here are free tickets to the gun show.

WAAAAAA POWWW

Everything I hear and see always ends up relating back to a song, hence the title.

After doing the monologue, I don’t really see myself differently. I see everyone else differently. At first, I thought I’d be all confident and I would run through it easily; however, I never have to really open up in front of people. Reading my monologue made me vulnerable. I had to be honest and sincere, but still felt the need to keep an “image” of idk what.

What I did like about the monologues excersize was that I got to find out a lot more about all the other kids in my LC. I realized a lot of us are really self concious, but I believe that as we grow closer as an actual community and not a group of cliques, we’ll feel comfortable enough around each other that we feel free to be ourselves fully.

I feel like so far I’ve developed so much from where I was before college started. Socially, it’s still kind of a challege. I feel like everyone is in their own cliques, and as much as they may say “you’re more than welcome to join us”, I still feel like my prescence is an imposition. I also feel like I’ve changed in maturity because most people I actually speak to in school are significantly older than me, but they still speak to me like I’m at their level. That makes me feel nice because I know I can carry myself amongst adults. Although I feel comfortable with the LC, I’m not sure if I really feel like I’ve made friends, but we have the rest of the semester to work on that.

Anywayssss….

The day after the monologue I felt something. It was this warm fuzzy feeling that I got. It was something I could not describe, almost as if I had somehow changed after the monologue. My views on life, school, and people seemed to be affected by the monologue. No actually I lied. I didn’t feel any different and the warm fuzzy feeling I got was after I went to the bar and chugged a mug of beer after the freshmen seminar :D

Freshmen seminar was fun, it was not at all strict. It didn’t feel like a classroom with a teacher, more like a big sister just hanging out with 20 friends. I don’t think I developed anything but if I had to give an answer it would most likely be the new people I met.

Hehehehehehe.

Following the monologues that we presented on tuesday, I see myself as someone who isn’t afraid to get in front of my peers, especially those in my LC. I feel like our LC is full of people who don’t judge one another and just like to associate with everyone as opposed to keeping to ourselves. Freshman Seminar has helped my creativity as well as my public speaking ability. Going through Freshman Seminar has made me want to become a peer mentor:

1) so i can torture freshman with free writing and monologues (totally kidding) and

2)so i can help freshman get used to college life while being able to meet the people they will be spending a semester with

At my favorite place (the beach), just having fun and doing my thang.

I feel that i was the same person before and after the monologue. I’m always able to blurt out stupid comments and things without hesitation, and my monologue was pretty much stupid. But I feel that after all the monologues, everyone in our LC got a better idea of who each other are, and help each others reach out.

Im not sure if I developed in freshman seminar. But freshman seminar help me connect with others. From all the activities and group work, I realized that other people have the same perspective on things, have common problems involving school, and stuff like that.

Here’s my self portrait. I got some wierd mouth action going on here.. no homo.

     I see myself as the same person I was than before I presented our monologues. I am not afraid of public speaking and actually have more confidence in it than one-to-one speaking because I have a script of things to say. The monologues gave me more confidence with one-to-one speaking with those in LC13 since now we all know more about each other. Freshman seminar is also giving me more confidence to talk to others one-on-one because of our mini-conversations at the end of every class.

After reading my monologue to my classmates I felt that I could have a bit room for change. For example, I mentioned that I cursed at those younger than me when I play online first person shooters, well, from now on I will tone it down. Instead of using harsher words, I will create fun new ways to demoralize youngsters. I also left out a few things that would demonize me, but deep down in my heart I acknowledge these qualities and that I must make amends.

In freshman seminar I developed a keen sense of where everything is in the library. Katherine spent a good 2 minutes showing us what I remember to be diagrams of the library. Besides that I learned that these seminars only work if the pack leader is willing and has the appropriate qualifications. Katherine is an alpha female, so I think she’s doing a good job.

"I have bigger fish to fry"

Before I presented the monologue I felt insecure and thought people would just laugh at me. When I heard that I was tied for first place I was shocked. The whole monologue thing got me thinking. I realize I have serious decisions to make that will determine my life. This isn’t high school which determine what college you go to. This is college which determines what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. Development takes a longer time than just 1 month. Yes I learned a lot about myself.   I look at myself and I see potential. I will not spend 4 years to become an accountant because I have the fear of not being successful as a publicist or an actor. I have to think positive and keep telling myself that the person in the mirror is going to accomplish a lot and be the best at what he does.

After the monologue i felt relief. I hate public speaking, especially when i have to talk about myself. Honestly, i don’t really feel any different though, and i don’t think i really know myself any better. Really i feel like i just completed another assignment. Freshmen seminar i think helped me feel a little more comfortable, but i think i am still the same quiet person that i was at the beginning of this semester.

Well after my monologue I feel like I know myself a little bit better I guess, but not that much. I never really knew how to put the words together of how I define myself. I never really think about this before because the topic is all about myself, and I should ace on that topic. But when I really think about it I don’t think I would have actually ace it. That’s sad :( though. After this monologue I realize that I need to really think about who I am and what I actually think of myself. I think I have definitely changed because of freshman seminar. Before I was super shy (if none of you noticed that). But because of our peer mentor, Katherine, she created a way that forced everyone to be in the spotlight for each class we had with her. Like for each week we had to get together with someone and get to know them by talking about some topic that was given to us. Then, we had to share it with the class. I think this actually build up my confidence to talk to anyone, and strengthened my communication skills. TY Katherine!!

This rainbow represents my rainbow shaped eyes, as everyone calls it, when I smile.

LEARNiNG COMMUNiTY 13

You all make me so proud!

Yesterday When you presented your

monologues I noticed that

even the quiet ones had a lot to say.

Maybe you haven’t realized it, but you  have all

opened up to one another and even to me.

I just want to thank you all so much for that.

You guys are:

awesome

terrific

super duper

amazing

fantastic :)

Why does our blog deserve to win?

CLiCK HERE to check out LC13’s AWESOMNESS!!

After writing my monologue, I don’t feel much different. I am the same person with the same personality. However, before I wrote my monologue, looking through the free writes I’ve completed in class, I felt different. I felt that I have grown since the beginning of my entering freshman seminar. From the first free write to the last, I noticed that I’ve put more and more effort into the next piece. I gave it a more serious attitude and with it more ideas flowed from my mind, through my pen, onto the paper. This progress in my free writes may explain my development in freshman seminar. Also, freshman seminar allowed me to become acquainted with most of the peers in learning community 13, each with their own unique contribution to the class. And for this, I want to thank Kat for allowing us to open up.

Post monologue, I didn’t feel any different. I was quite nervous though cause I was never good with public speaking in the first place. My heart would beat faster then its normal pace. I really just wanted to get it over with so my heart could stop speeding. I’ve developed a lot in and through freshman seminar. I can be shy at first but as I get more comfortable, I would start to speak up and not be afraid of what people think. I’ve become more talkative and through that, I can talk easier in my other classes as well. I’ve become more accepting of other people, not that I’ve not accepted people before but this class defiantly opened up everyone’s personalities. We can laugh, talk and smile without being embarrassed. The class gets personal sometimes especially by sharing our monologues. I found out more about people than I wanted to know. Many interesting things that gave me a laugh. Hopefully, many friendships will develop in this class.

Post monologue I honestly don’t feel much different. It was a fun experience, and we got a few laughs out of it. I feel that the monologues helped us learn a lot about one another. They helped teach us things about our fellow students that we probably would not have got to discover otherwise. I also realized I really haven’t gotten over my fear of speaking in front of a group of people (which sucks). I admit I was pretty nervous going up to present, but after it was all said and done I just felt a huge relief. The monologues gave us all a way to bond with one another. It helped me see a different side to myself and to my classmates.  Freshman seminar has helped strengthen my friendships with my classmates. It’s an enjoyable atmosphere and we always laugh a lot. We don’t judge one another and seem to all enjoy one another’s company. Overall, it has helped me befriend people I probably wouldn’t have talked to or gotten to know otherwise.

After the monologue, I feel relieved. Even though I left my copy of my monologue at home today, but I manged to print it again at school. Phew, thank god I email myself documents. I enjoyed listening to other people’s monologue. it really sums up each and everyone one of them. I certainly sis not enjoy the spotlight. I’m usually okay when I have something to present such as a power point , so people won’t focus on me but today wasn’t the case.  I really like freshman seminar. It gave me the opportunity to meet people and if it wasn’t for this class I would have went to the computer lab and did my own thing before I went to work. I believe everyone in the class started getting more comfortable with each other and we can see it.

I woke up this morning wishing I didn’t even get up in the first place, I felt like the worst thing on earth, you have no idea. I pulled enough energy to look in the mirror, boy did I look like a huge pile of poop. I had what I thought were breakouts all over but later the doctor told me different. I got myself to school and sat through philosophy, thanking God when it was finally over. History wasn’t as bad but I would rather have been home in my bed. In freshman seminar, I had a great laugh but when it was my turn , I felt nervous, but I finally got it over with. It was a fun class but I wished my day would be as much fun as the class. I went to CCNY to visit Bailie like I always do. I only got to see him for 40 minutes because he had class. Waiting for the shuttle bus sucked, took forever to come and I was in a hurry to get to a doctor’s appointment. When I finally got to the train, I missed the express. Too tired to even care. I arrived at the doctor’s office a while later and was told I had an allergic reaction. Oh what a day right ? Finally arriving back home with a bag full of medication , I wanted to nap but dinner was almost ready. I checked on my pair of shoes and it said delivered so I ran to the living room hoping it would be there. But it wasn’t . This day couldn’t have gotten any worse. USPS made a mistake with my shoes, I felt like the ugly old hag and I had a bag of medication to take. I really don’t feel like doing homework right now, I just want to dive myself into my bed and dream. I just hope tomorrow will be a better day, it always is.

Post-monologue, I view myself as nervous and fidgety. I’m normally the one who doesn’t participate in class because I really am shy on the inside and I have issues with stage frights. I can almost see my hands shaking while holding the paper in front of the class. However, that has all changed. I took a deep breath when it was my turn and I was surprised that my hands didn’t shake. In fact, some people found some parts of my monologue funny and that helped cut off almost all the tension in my body. I didn’t speed up and took time to correct myself when I pronounced a word wrong. Believe me, that’s not something I can do all the time. And that’s what leads to how I developed during freshman seminar. When freshman seminar began, I was downright shy and couldn’t keep eye contact with anyone. Katherine was different though. She was very bubbly and wanted everyone to get to know each other. We had ice breakers and made many jokes during class. I think her hard effort really paid off. I can pretty much talk to anyone in LC13 just fine now. I can now participate at least once during class. I didn’t even run away when it was my turn to read my monologue. It isn’t just me too. The whole class mingles really well and I honestly think we’re the best out there.

A bit odd. All smiles. Bright. Giggles. All the optimist. Sunny.

     From looking at the info tab of my Facebook page, someone would know my name that I live in New York, that I attend Baruch College with the class of 2014. Using that information, someone could deduce that I am around 18, since it is suggested that I just started college this year. I do not have any blog posts, so no information could be portrayed using that medium. By looking at my profile picture, a person would not be able to tell that I am in a wheelchair.

     However, if they delve through my pictures, they would be able to figure that out. By looking through my pictures, they would also come to the conclusion that I like to travel a lot because I have posted pictures from Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Chicago, IL. They would know that I am a good student because there is a folder containing pictures that suggests that I am a member of the national honor society. They would know that I am obsessed with knowledge because they will see images used for preparation for the simnet exam.

     This is an accurate representation of myself; however, they do not see the whole story. They cannot figure out where exactly I live, my exact birthday, they would not necessarily know out of all the people in my pictures, who my parents are or identify people in relation to myself.

     My name is Zachary Triano. I attend Baruch College. I have cerebral palsy and I am in a wheelchair. I plan on majoring in Accounting. I have been attending this school for a month and I have some issues that must be addressed in order for me to perform to the best of my abilities. At this point in my life, I am eager to be as independent as possible and the non-handicapped accessible bathrooms in Baruch prevent me from going to school on my own like all of the other students. This situation is proving counterproductive for me and is prohibiting me from being as independent as I could be. I pay tuition just like everyone else and I should be able to function in the way that everyone else does. I want to be as equal as everyone else; don’t get me wrong, I don’t want special treatment; I just want to be on an equal playing field with everyone else.

     The Disabilities Act has been passed in 1990, but although you have some disabled students in your university, assumingly you did not have enough requests to make the school more handicapped accessible. Just for you not making the bathrooms more accessible is putting us on the scale of a second-class citizen. You put the needs of the general population much higher in priority than those who cannot walk. I understand that more students who fall under the general population attend Baruch College; however, this doesn’t mean that you have the right to disregard the needs of the minority. I came here for a good education, but it shouldn’t be a “bonus” to be able to go to the bathroom independently, but rather, it should be obvious and automatically provided.

     I understand that the costs for such a project would be great; however, the results from enacting such a project would be much greater. It may assist disabled population within Baruch to go to college independently. I understand that I am no longer in the board of education, but it is obvious that you either need to make this environment more conducive to the disabled population, or provide paraprofessionals to care for those in such a situation. In not providing paraprofessionals, you obviously want to make the disabled population more independent, but how could they be independent in such an environment?

1. The stall in the bathroom is not big enough for my wheelchair. In order for me currently to use the bathroom, I have to use the urinal and hold on to the flusher pipe, which is not stable. When I try to wash my hands at the sink, it is too hard for me to turn the water on.
2. I cannot open the hallway doors, the classroom doors, as well as the bathroom doors that aren’t already open.

What do you all think of this letter? do you see any objections that can be made by the school toward this argument? Do you think it is effective? If you were in charge of Baruch College would this convince you to address my complaints? Why or why not? What could I work on to make my letter better?

The city is cutting money on access-a-ride, which many disabled and elderly people use on a daily basis. I understand that this costs a lot of money. However, the government seems to have enough money to change the street signs from capital letters to lowercase (some 17 million dollars). Furthermore, the Baruch VC building is not an old building; therefore, it should have been more handicapped accessible when it was built. I mean, it is the law that buildings must be handicapped accessible. I mean, for arguments sake, Baruch is handicapped accessible. I can get into the entrance, there are elevators to get me above the first floor; however, the bathrooms aren’t fully accessible, the doors do not open easily; they are too heavy, and the classroom doors are always shut with a pail holding it open. I have addressed this problem to the disabilities office, who knows about it and said that they would be working on it, doing one bathroom a year; but, that will take 15 years to do all the floors and I won’t even be in Baruch anymore by the time they finish. Also, the way that I have to enter the 23^rd street building is unacceptable; I have to go around to 22^nd street, go up a ramp on a deserted street, and enter where the garbage lies, the delivery men make their deliveries, but other than that, not a soul is present. They really should create a ramp coming down off the staircase on the 23^rd street building. I know none of you are in my situation, but don’t you think that this is unacceptable and that something should be done about this? I am writing a letter to submit to various offices within the school and perhaps the mayor’s office about this issue, which will be submitted to the blog on another post. New York really has a bad way of prioritizing! What do you all think about this?

In thinking about the philosophical idea of personal identity, I have always worried about the idea concerning what animate us? Although this may not make any sense, what makes us us? What makes you the one who animates your body and me mine? I understand that our brains allow us to think, but it goes further than that: why am I the one moving my body and you the one moving yours? I feel like our soul would be the turtle and our skin the shell; how else would you explain why I animate my body and you yours? What do you all think of this?

     I have an extremely traceable online identity. When I google myself, I am listed on the first entry. In google, when you type in “Zachary Triano”, I am the first entry listed and it is my facebook page. The second result refers to a friend I have added on facebook, but it lists that I have her listed as a friend. The third result is a post I made on my history blog. The forth result is a post on the FRO blog. The fifth and final google result that refers to me is a college now award that I received in high school. While searching I also discovered that google lists facebook groups that I have joined, on page two. One result that does not refer to me is a Zachary Triano who got arrested for reckless driving in North Hampton. Another result that does not refer to me, nor does it include me, is a listing of all the Zachary Triano’s in the US, of which it lists 6 people, and I am not one of them. When I look at pictures using Zachary Triano, one picture of me, posted on my mom’s facebook page appears.

     When I google myself using Baruch, multiple blog posts I have made for my classes appear in the entire first page of the google searches. After that first page, I am no longer seeing any more “Zachary Triano’s”, but the president Zachary Taylor, and multiple times I am seeing a Jay Triano as well as multiple listings for Baruch College.

     When I google myself using Murrow, which is my old high school, I find the same college now arawd I received, as well as a few groups I have joined on facebook, but everything else does not refer to me. There are no other Zachary Triano’s when using these terms. There is a Zachary T. Murrow and a Zachary Randolph. Just out of curiosity, I googled some friends of mine and some of them contained similar results that I did; however, some of my friends that I entered, did not come up at all, while others came up, but it wasn’t actually them.

     I am found on google more times when entered with Baruch, however, all of those entries are based on my blog posts. The results are more scattered around different spectrums when I enter my name, because I see a few blog posts, awards and facebook. I invite you all to try this fun experiment and let me know if you have such a traceable identity as I do. I think that it is a very scary thing that we can see other people on google so easily. What do you all think of this?

I am generous, reliable, and trustworthy. Well at least this is what I think of myself as and I try to be. I’m not really sure what kind of person I am but I know I want to be honest as possible. I think what you are is determined from what other people think of you and your actions. Yes, as you may have already noticed I’m a humble guy. I like hanging out with my friends, playing handball, playing videogames, listening to music, eat, sleep, etc. I feel like I lean towards being pessimistic than being optimistic.I think I’m mature than most people around my age, until I came across this class (Everyone in this LC13 class are really mature).

One thing that many of us are probably concerned about is our grades. For the obvious reasons, “who wants to fail a class?” Second is whether I’ll be able to obtain good study habits. This is important because I know as I spend my years in college I’ll come across more difficult classes which I would be forced to spend most of my time studying. My final concern is whether I would make new friends. I believe the way we do our work is different than how I am used to doing in High school. Instead of writing a blog post, I like to do my assignments on paper. Doing homework on the computer is really distracting because there are bunch of other stuff I can be doing on my computer. Other than that I think Baruch provides a developed learning community, which include tutoring classes, many different clubs, etc. These opportunities are absolutely something we did not have in high school, so it would definitely make my college years more productive and meaningful. I think my first year of college will change my work habits and hoping that it will make me a bit more responsible. Time management is one thing that I will be working on to improve this year.

I must’ve done something really stupid for someone to be asking ”who do you think you are?” I think that I’m a hermit that likes to be with himself. Focusing on just the things I like and bumming out, much like a bohemian. I love my hobbies and I will put effort into them. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for school work, which brings me to my anxieties. I’m afraid that I will not be able to shake off my old habits from high school, things like laziness, procrastination, and no motivation. Another concern that I have is not growing taller, I really feel that I haven’t physically matured as much as my mind did and that might prove to be a hurdle I must cross. The final concern I have is not making much of my first year at Baruch. High School flew by so quickly, I looked back and I held nothing. It was when the woman who cuts my hair told me that high school is supposed to be the best years of your life but she was busy working part time to make any memories. After hearing that I was depressed, and thought that there must be something I could do to make my time at Baruch more enjoyable. So in order to ease my anxieties I am not repeating what I did in high school. I will join a club and become vice president of it, or make my own. Hopefully I would also find something to motivate myself so I could excel in my academic areas. If there was a way to mold my passion into other areas of my life. If all goes well I think that I will come out of freshman year as a more responsible and outgoing person, not to mention taller.

Hi my name is Chung. I think I am an asian or I might lean towards the Twinkie or Banana side. Either way it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to me. In fact if you see me you should talk to me not because I would enjoy your company, but because you should be grace by my presence (LOL JK). I would very like to enjoy a cup of tea with whomever comes up to me and says, “whats up?”. My concern at Baruch college is the workload. I believe I can work through it but it’s going to be hard as I am a huge procrastinator. In fact I could be a professor of procrastination at Baruch. Go into class everyday and tell the students that we’ll do something tomorrow. Seems like a job I would love. Another concern I have about Baruch is the non existent campus life, it makes meeting new people harder than colleges with a campus life. My third concern about Baruch college is the learning community and its relevance to my life. I am pretty concerned if its a waste of time or a good experience. We won’t know until later I guess. The only things that has changed in college is the shorter time being in school and having a syllabus, oh, and a hole load of new people. I mean after all Baruch seems to be just a very well funded high school. I think the first year of college will bring me out of the high school mentality and drive me to work harder because you know, procrastination is a bad habit I have picked up in high school.

I’m Edmond Tai, and I just think I’m just another Asian living in NYC. One of my concerns as a freshman in Baruch is time management. I have much more free time in college compared to high school, and sometimes I’m just not sure what to do with my extra time. Another concern is my habits. I procrastinated and slept through classes in high school, and I’m not sure if I’ll change my habits in college.  Third concern is managing my money. Now that i’m in college, I have to buy books and other stuff for class, and my concern is whether I’ll be able to prioritize the things I buy because I know I’m one of those people that just buys whatever they want without hesitation. I think the new people I meet will be what makes my Baruch college experience different from high school. I think my first year in college will just help me develop some responsibility and ability to manage time and money.

My name is Kreshnik Duka, my friends call me Niku for short. I think I am a quiet, but friendly person. I am from Staten Island and I recently turned 18 years old. I like to watch sports and my favorite teams are the NY Knicks, NY Mets, and the NY Jets.  My favorite subject in school is Math and I think I am going to major in finance. My top three concerns about freshman year at Baruch are 1. my grades 2. meeting new people and 3. getting used to college life. I am still transitioning from high school to college and I am already starting to get used to studying harder. I also have to take school more seriously now since I am paying for it, otherwise I`d be wasting time and money. My first year in college will definitely make me more studious and less procrastinating. I hope to gain a lot of knowledge especially in the classes that I have never been introduced to before. I also think I will be more responsible after my first year in college.

I’m Ariana Solis. There’s an accent over the “i” in my last name, but no one ever says it that way. I’m 3/4 Costa Rican and 1/4 Jamaican. I’m 16. I was born and raised in the Boogie-Down Bronx. I went to private schools in Westchester my whole life until it was time for high school. I somehow managed to get into the High School of American Studies at Lehman College. It’s actually ranked as #19 in the country, #2 in the state, and #1 in the city. I’m super happy I got to go there because those 4 years really shaped me into the person I am now. Umm… what else can I say about myself? I really like Tigger. My favorite colors are orange and black (because of Tigger). Also, I have a passion for singing & playing piano & dancing. However, it’s rare for people to see me dance. I’m really shy about that. Speaking of being shy, I’m usually not shy at all. I was always the female class clown everywhere I went, and I proudly carried the title. I’ve tried to mature a little more though. I’m also very involved in my local church. I’m one of the youth choir directors and I also work as a youth group leader. Another thing – I have 2 jobs. I work at the Bronx Zoo (totally sucks) and I teach private piano lessons to young children.

My top 3 concerns about my freshman year at Baruch are…. 1. I don’t wanna completely lose my social life, but I feel like that’s slowly slipping away. Between my responsibilities at work, church, school, and home, I barely have time for me. Any little gap of space I have seems to disappear within moments of realizing it exists…. 2. I want to get good grades. I wasn’t the best student in high school. It wasn’t because I wasn’t smart enough, but just because I didn’t put in that much effort. My goal is to take enough Winter/Summer classes so I can graduate early…. 3. I would like to make more friends at school than what I have now, but it’s all good. It’s been less than a month. I’m not stressing it.

I think what differentiates Baruch from high school is that we’re free to make our own choices. There’s no teachers breathing down our backs. Our parents aren’t involved anymore. Our future is now competely up to us. I like it because I have 3 classes in one day, rather than the 6 I had in high school.

I think my first year at college is gonna train me to really be an independent adult. I have to learn better time management, budgeting, and health facts. I need to start taking care of myself in every aspect of my life – academically, spiritually, health-wise, financially, etc.

So yea, this was a pretty bla bla bla blog post. It’s late. I’m half asleep. I didn’t do my homework yet. I’m going to wake up early and do that. So goodnight Kat & the rest of LC13.

Who I may think I am, well I am an ambitious young individual who enjoys a challenge and most important overcome it. I honestly dont know who I am. Im a nice person once you get to know me, Im very outgoing, I normally get along pretty well with strangers. Hopefully in the upcoming 4 years I will figure it out. My top 3 concerns are

1. My GPA- I want to maintain a good GPA score in order to attend a prestigious Grad School or transfer out of Baruch.
2. Learn- I would like to learn new things, improve what I lack in, study abroad, take challenging courses.
3. Experience- I want the college experience. I want to meet new people, join a club or two, and most important I want to have fun.

College will be different than High School for many reasons. If you ditch class in college, no one cares you will just be dropped from the class and receive an F. You are no longer with people you know, you face the real world where you will meet new people and need to learn to get along with them. You are no longer in that little bubble. Now that I’m in college I don’t have mother or a friend driving me to school every day, I take the train (unfortunately).

My first year will definitely make or break me. I don’t find myself to be a quitter so hopefully I wont drop out. I hope I enjoy it and learn new things. I really want to get out of my shell and not only be a student that comes to school, takes some classes, and goes home . This year is definitely the beginning of a new chapter to a book called My Life.

Who am i? This is something I’m still trying to figure out myself. I guess this is something we’ll find out in life. There is no point in trying to predict who you will be in the future. Then you’ll just miss out on the present thinking who you are. Who you are now makes who you will be. I haven’t really gave this question any thought. Who do i think i am? I am just an ordinary student at Baruch trying to make his way though all the classes with a high GPA. When it comes to school, i have a lot of concerns. The first is to maintain a good GPA, second is to know what classes i am supposed to take. And third, is to HAVE FUN. Maintaining a good GPA is very important to me because with a good GPA it could open more opportunity for me in the future to find a job. Knowing what classes i am supposed to take is important too. I want to be sure that i am taking all my classes on time and that i am not taking classes i dont need. Having fun is also important along with all the school work. I will be spending my next four years in this school. I will do anything it takes to make the next four years enjoyable and fun.  Transitioning from high school to college was a very different experience for me. In high school everything was planned out and put right in front of you. But in college you are on your own. I guess in a sense this prepares us for the outside world that awaits us after graduation. i think my first year in college will make me more independent. Its only been a few week of college but already I have to stay on top of my work and know what i am doing. This year of college will make me alot more independent and mature.

When I think of who I am, the first thing that comes to mind is fun. I love to have a good time with friends, meet new people, and laugh. I’ve always been a class clown of sorts but never to the point of being disruptive. All my life I’ve been top of my class until halfway through high school, which was a real wake-up call. In high school, I learned that I have to actually put work in to get results and that work ethic is what I hope to bring to the table here at Baruch.

One of my concerns about my freshman year is that my work might not be good enough. In high school, I rarely needed to put forth my best effort to achieve good grades, and I worry that I may not get the grades I’m expected to get. Another concern of mine is that I’m going to hate the school because of the daily commute. School has never been more than a 15 minute drive for me and now I need to take a bus to school for over an hour 4 days a week (maybe more depending on my next schedule).  Lastly, I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep in touch with my friends in other schools as much as I’d like. My friends mean a lot to me and I don’t want something like college to ruin our friendship.

The amount of responsibility and the amount of work will make my college experience different from high school. In college, you run on a set schedule and have something due almost everyday in class. Failure to do these assignments will, more than likely, result in lowering of your grade. Thus, I will have to learn to balance school and fun on a much larger scale now.

I think this first year of college will be a humbling experience. I have always considered myself smart because of my grades but if I slip up in college, my parents will be dissapointed in me and nothing is worse than when your parents are dissapointed in you. I think having to always do my homework will help me to mature school-wise. However, I hope I am able to still have fun and enjoy school. I don’t want the highlight of my freshman year to be the times when i visited my friends at their schools.

I think i am pretty awesome person. I tend to joke around a lot but when the situation calls for it i can be very serious. My top three concerns about my freshman year at Baruch are studying, making new friends, and having fun. Its important to study because i need maintain a good GPA. Ive always been a decent  student and i don’t want to stop in college. Its also important to make new friends because every new person you meet is like another opportunity, whether its for a job, friendship or other things.  My last but certainlyt not least concern is having fun. I’m going to make sure that i have fun at Baruch as well as get good grades. After all whats the point of college if you arent having fun. Baruch College is gonna be different from high school in that i don’t have teachers constantly yelling at me about work. This is a good thing because i hate being rushed or told what to do. This is also a bad thing because now i need to manage my time wisely and not fail. My first year in Baruch will transform me into a college student. I think ill be thinking differently and more mature.

When asked to describe myself, I usually find myself without words to say. It is always hard to talk about yourself in such manner, for me at least. But after some time, I manage to come up with a few things that make me ME. I see myself as an average person who tries to make the most of his days when he is still young and able. I have a passion for cooking and music although I’m not great at cooking nor do I possess any extraordinary musical talents. I enjoy appreciating fashion and architectural designs. I value respect and loyalty above all else. And last but not least, friends and family mean the world to me.

My three concerns regarding my freshman year at Baruch College is my time management skills, adjusting to the college environment, and deciding my major. Because I am used to starting homework and projects at the last second I expect a troublesome college career. However, I hope that through more lessons and mistakes, I will correct my habits and be able to prioritize and complete my assignments on time. My transition from high school to college concerns me because my horizon has expanded. Now, I have more things to worry about, such as purchasing books for classes, becoming familiar with the three buildings of Baruch College, and perhaps finding a decent job that does not take up all of my time. My final concern of freshman year is coming to a conclusion on what major I want to focus on. Because of my indecisive nature, I cannot decide on a major. Something seems either too intimidating, or it has a low employment rate. Although freshman year is not the time to worry about deciding a major, I feel that by junior year, I would still have trouble on choosing which major is right for me.

My Baruch College experience would differ from high school in that now, I have acquired more freedom from my parents. However, with freedom, I would need to also have greater self-control in order to restrict myself from having too much fun and complete the relatively greater workload provided by the new environment. Also, this new environment allows me to socialize with a greater diversity of individuals, making new friends in the process. Baruch College offers a wide range of opportunities to be educated. The first year of my college career would definitely allow me to grow and expand into a mature adult.

The first most obvious concern I have about my freshmen year at Baruch is how I will do in my classes. I can honestly say as of now I don’t really know where I stand in any of my class. I would assume my grade is floating around somewhere in the middle, but I’m used to being at the top of my class, so this is taking some getting used to. I’m also concerned about my time management skills (which have always been bad). I worry that this horrible quality will only get worse and effect me negatively. The newly acquired freedom we have now as college students when it comes to our education is another thing that concerns me because I don’t know if I can handle it. I’m still not sure what classes I need to take or what classes I should take, etc. It’s all very confusing and right now just seems too overwhelming for me.

I think the new friends I have made at Baruch will be what makes my college experience different from high school. In high school I had a small clique of friends, everyone knew us. We were so close we didn’t really go out and befriend others because we knew we always had each other. Now, none of us are attending the same college and though we still remain close I look forward to forming new friendships with new people and new experiences.
I think my first year of college will change me positively. I think it will mature me and help me prioritize the things that are most important in my life. I also hope it will help me focus more and figure out what exactly I want to do with my life, because thats a really big problem I seem to have, and a huge worry also- what do I want to do with my life? I hope my first year at Baruch will just be the beginning of bigger and better things for me.

When I was a youngster, I never thought of myself as anything special, but I was indeed different. However, as I grew up, I began to realize that people were meant to be different. If we did live in a world with similar people, the world would be so boring. I think I’m a very caring person, I put people before myself. I go out of the way for people I love and no one can stop me. I’m very friendly, determined, fragile and stubborn. I love meeting new people although I’m very shy at first. I try my best in everything I do because I know good things come to people that try hard. However, I am very fragile, words do hurt. My stubbornness is one of my bad qualities because I have my strong opinions of different issues. I won’t budge.
My top three concerns are passing, homework and tests. I know it may seem so simple yet I’m so unsure. I don’t think I’ve adjusted enough just yet. Homework seems to take up a lot of your time, from reading 100 pages to doing 50 math problems. I haven’t taken any tests yet and I’m so nervous because I don’t know how different it is going to be compared high school. Finally passing, I hope all the hard work I put in pays off. I need to start strong and finish strong within these four years.
Baruch college defiantly has so much to offer. It’s going to be so different from high school because, its such a bigger school. There’s so many people to meet, things to do, places to eat. It’ll be more of a broader experience to me. It can be like a little kid going into a candy store, there’s countless options. Baruch will change me no doubt. It will change the way I perceive things, it will also change my time management and it will change my social life. I hope to meet people that will impact my life in the best way possible. Hopefully, they’ll be the friends that will last a lifetime. Baruch will change my time schedule, school always come first, then fun. I hope to see what I have accomplished in four year. Baruch, I hope we have this amazing journey together, taking it one day at a time.

I am a person who’s friendly and caring. I am a shy and open-minded. I smile a lot, and I laugh at the stupidest things. I love to hangout with my friends. I think of myself as a “fashionista”. I am a very picky eater. I’m kind of a pessimistic person. One of my top concerns about my freshman year at baruch is if I would be able to keep my grades up because the work load is a lot. I’m not use to this much reading for each class. Another concern about my freshman year is if I am able to balance my school life, work life, and social life because I really want to get a job at the end of this fall semester, and join clubs and sororities in the spring semester. But I’m not sure if I would be able to handle all of that. My other concern is picking the right major for me because I’m not sure what I want to do in life. I did have some dreams, but they would be impossible and risky to achieve, and my parents aren’t big supporters of it as well. Well, I think that my baruch experience will differ from my high school experience, in which baruch has a lot more varieties of clubs and teams to join than in my high school, which is francis lewis (that’s in fresh meadows, queens). There are so many different kinds of people in baruch that I’ll learn a lot about the kinds of people there are in the world. I think the first year at college will make me a more intelligent, sophisticated, and mature person. I think I will develop my analytical, communication, and critical thinking skills more. I will be able to experience more “cultural things,” such as going to art galleries and museums.

I think I am one of those people who never really knows what she is doing or where she is going, and just kind of wanders around hoping things will turn out okay. I know that might not be the best thing, but I never know what I really want. My top three concerns about freshman year would be my uncertainty of not being able to handle the work and not being able to get the grades I need, finding out that I might have chosen the wrong school for me, and not being able to really make any friends because I never really know what to say to people and don’t know how to start up a conversation. I think the biggest difference between college and highschool for me would be having much more freedom now.  I’m really not sure how my first year of college will change me, but I think it might help make me more focused.

I think I am a pretty straight forward girl. It can be a good thing at times when the other person don’t mind it, but I like that of myself because I dislike fake people. I was told that I was really gullible from many of my friends. I think it’s because I don’t expect others to kid around when I ask them a serious question. Which is a funny thing because I do that a lot because I am a really sarcastic person. That’s definitely one that that is really noticeable about me.  I also  absolutely love to try new food(even though I eat super slow).

My top three concerns are failing my classes, not being able to make friends, and time management. I seem to start procrastinating ever since I entered college because the classes are every other day and I always think I have more time to work on them, which is not true at all. I despise writing essays, so I might get a bad grade in writing. I mean I can’t ruin my GPA in my freshman year, that’s insane. I’m afraid of not being able to make friends in Baruch because its a commuter school and everybody has their own activities after class. I mean even I have a job after school, I barely have time to grab a lunch to eat. It’s hard to make close friends just by having class with them. Time management is very important and that’s why I have a planner. But sometimes those reading assignments overload and sometimes the train rides are not long enough for me to finish all of them at the same time.

First year in college  should be able to pave me road for the following years. It can prepare me of what’s expected later on. The first year can let me know that I should pay more attention to my classes and on my assignments.

I don’t consider myself truly extraordinary. I have absolutely no musical talent, sports skills or photogenic memory. Those things don’t matter because my friends know me as the girl who can’t stop smiling even when the world meets the apocalypse. I don’t judge and I definitely hate gossip. Now that I’ve moved out of my comfort zone known as Francis Lewis High School, I’m adjusting to my lifestyle here at Baruch. I had it pretty easy back in Franny Lew, but I have to pace myself this time. I am already overwhelmed by the amount of homework given. This is just the beginning and my stomach already feels queasy. I could do high school homework sleeping, but Baruch makes sure your butt stays glued on to your seat. I just hope I can make it though. To me, college is time. I had gotten used to my schedule ending at 12 o’clock everyday in high school, but in here, there are gaps and and longer class periods. I also have to wake up earlier, because getting to school takes longer and traffic is very common (both trains and buses). I’m not sure if I can manage my time right, because of the fluctuation in my schedule and that I have to battle my unwillingness to get out of bed still. With each semester comes a grade you deserve. I haven’t always done all my homework on time yet. I’ve been late probably twice already and I have a lack of participation skills. I’m concerned that my grade won’t turn out so great since I’m so used to seeing a GPA of 3.6 on my report card. I’m still trying to tell myself to boost my performance a bit, but it hasn’t exactly been a picnic yet. There is one thing I have to keep in mind though: this is not high school; this is the real thing. This is the place where you ultimately determine your future. There is no fooling around or losing focus. I have to concentrate and give it my all out there. My first year here will teach me a lot of things worth considering. Personality wise, nothing will change; I will always be Cindy Yin. I will learn to take responsibility, because that’s what’s important for basically everything. I will have already met an age when sitting around and playing video games does not concern me too much anymore. A year of grueling hard work will teach me to lay aside small concerns (like needing a new pair of jeans or worrying about my new hair color) and to deal with the papers that would lead me to a new career. I don’t know if I could say that this will be a new beginning for me, but I like the idea of earning $500,000,000,000,000 in my lifetime. Hello Baruch again.

     I see myself as a college student unlike any other, except for the fact that I can’t walk. I do not see that as a hindrance to me in any way whatsoever. My first major concern is being able to make friends because I feel awkward and don’t always know what to say to others, but I have been working hard to overcome that obstacle. Another concern I have is not being able to select a suitable schedule for myself in subsequent semesters. Although you are free to pick your own classes, you don’t always get the exact times that you want and may have professors that are not all that good. Another concern is the amount of work that you get as a college student. There is a lot more readings and assignments. I think I will be able to handle it all, but since it is so much, it may be a little difficult. Also, I would like to eventually join a club, but that would take away from some time that I could be using to finish some of my homework; however, I will try and join a club anyway, sometime later in the semester. At least for the first semester, it is a nice experience that I am in the same classes with all of the same students because it makes it easier to get to know each other. There is a lot more work that is assigned in college than in high school. I think my first year of college will help make me more confident at approaching and becoming friends with other students. It may also get me to become more open and join clubs, allowing me to socialize further.

This HOME page is where you’ll all add your posts. The second page is GiVE THEM SOMETHiNG TO TALK ABOUT – these are the required blog posts for your Freshmen Seminar course. The third page is  SPiLL YOUR HEART OUT <3 – these are optional (but highly encouraged) blog entries. A post should be no longer than 500 words. Have fun with these posts! The site will stay up so you can use to remember your first semester in COLLEGE!