LC 17

I’m really not a big fan of lychees, but I thought it was cool that its first syllable is the pronunciation (li-chee) of my last name. Besides, the last name ‘Li’ is way too common.

First off, I am not a morning person. And what am I doing? Taking morning classes. It doesn’t make sense, I know. I’ve been surviving on caffeine since junior high school. I have a tendency to stay up late, even when I’m not doing anything productive at all. It doesn’t seem to click in me to climb in bed until I’ve realized how much time I’ve wasted. On average weekdays, I get to bed around 3AM, and survive on only 2-3 hours of sleep. It’s been this way since… forever. I’m actually not sure how I’ve managed and how I’m still functioning.

I guess I can say that I’m pretty much nocturnal. I wouldn’t say I’m proud of it, but it has definitely shaped who I am. I love New York City mainly for one reason: it never sleeps! There’s always something to do, no matter what time it is, or how dark it is outside. Day or night, the city still shines. I guess that’s the main reason I decided to stay in the city for college. I really can’t imagine myself in the middle of nowhere, next to cows and trees.

I also love photography and graphic design. I carry my camera with me almost everywhere I go. Most of my pictures are either of friends or food, but I also explore photographing a little bit of everything. I think I have over 20,000 photos on my computer! I love pictures because of all the memories they bring back. Pictures are also widely used in the media, for almost anything you can think of. Media today has such a huge influence on our everyday lives, and I aspire to make my mark through my photography and designs.

What’s amazing is how pictures capture the beauty of our world that we often miss due to the busy nature of our lives.

So back to being here at Baruch…
One thing I’m most concerned with is getting to class on time. As most of you might have already noticed, I tend to walk in late a lot (and always with a coffee). I hate it the most when I could’ve been on time, and then the train makes me late. Another thing I dislike is all the readings we have for class, especially for history and politics. Frankly, I don’t see the significance of learning about the past when it has already happened. The biggest difference for me between high school and college is being handed more work and more freedom. Now I really have to start sharpening my time management skills.

I’m really not sure how college will change me yet, but whatever the change, it’ll be for the better!

I can’t stress enough how important it is to establish an identity.  It makes you unique, different from everyone that surrounds you.  It is essential one builds on their identity over time.  I will begin with all the information about my identity I can reveal to you at this time.

My name is John Yuksekol.  I was born and raised in Brooklyn by my Turkish father and Austrian mother, so as you can see i’m quite diverse.  I am eighteen years old and I find myself to be very sociable and generous.  I eat, sleep, and breathe baseball.  I was a spoiled child in my high school.  Since I was the varsity baseball captain for two years, I have had everything handed to me on a silver platter in high school.  I should not be stereotyped for a typical jock who underachieves academically (Although it may seem like it, I am not trying to come off as arrogant and egotistical).  I maintained a 96 transcript average throughout my 4 years in high school.  I am constantly working out at the gym.  The gym is where all my stress from my baseball team, my family, and my school is released.

My first concern is coming to Baruch unaccompanied by any of my friends.  Entering Baruch for the first time, I did not know anybody who attended this college.  At my high school, which was very overcrowded, I knew about 75% of the school’s population.  It was very hard at first walking around the school and recognizing no one that I was familiar with.  The learning communities have helped me meet new people and make me more comfortable in college.  My second concern are the professors.  In high school, all my teachers told me terrible things about the professors.  My teachers said that the professors just lecture fast and do not stop for you at all and they are hardly willing to help you if you fall behind.  This made me extremely nervous about how I would be able to adapt to the work environment.  So far, I have not experienced anything my teachers have warned me about and that has been a relief.  My third concern is the tests.  In high school, all the test were simple, common sense examinations.  I do not know what to expect from these college exams and that frightens me a bit.

One essential thing that I believe will be different from my high school experience besides what I stated in the second paragraph is that I am going to have to be more independent now.  In high school, I had all my friends and we would all work together in order to excel.  The main purpose of college is to help me pursue a career of my choice and in the end, it is going to benefit me more than anyone else.

I believe my first year at college will help me improve my communicational skills and it will open me up to different fields of studies that I can begin to inquire about to see if any of these studies will be the right career choice for me.  Finally, Baruch College will open me up to new views of the business world in which I have yet to inquire about.

I’m just so tired of summer! I can’t wait for the weather to cool down and stay down! I love the fall season. Fall brings vibrant colors and a different kind of beauty into the world that has to do with death. Don’t you just love the brown and the yellow of the above shot? When I saw this tree, I was mesmerized and thought it was so beautiful that I had to capture it.

Who do I think I am: I don’t usually ponder on heavy topics such as this.
I’m a girl who wants to find the right location to spend my life in. I don’t intend to continue living in New York or even in the US after I graduate. New York is a great place to live if you consider the vast diversity we’re surrounded by which dramatically enhances our cultural knowledge. Aside from that, I don’t feel entirely comfortable in this city. I feel as if there is another place that will be better suited for me, a place that will make me happy – aren’t we all chasing after happiness?
Canadians are known for their hospitality. I think it would be wonderful to live amongst nice people who go out of their way to help their neighbors. Also, New Zealand is one of the best countries to live in – according to an article I read a while ago. English is the main language in both of these countries, so, they’re on top of my list.

My top three concerns: We haven’t had any tests so far. I’m a little bit anxious about the tests we will get in a few weeks. I’m also worried about passing Calculus. I think if I get past my fear (yes, I’m afraid of Math), I’ll be able to do better. It’s ironic how I received a medal in Fifth grade for doing outstanding work in Math and now I’ve been struggling with Math for the last four years.
I can’t think of a third concern right now?

My experience at Baruch as compared to my experience in high school: I caught a cold this Monday. I had a pretty horrible day on Monday from going to the doctor’s office to get my immunization form signed, going to class, and then going to work while being sick. If I was still in high school, I’d take a day off on Tuesday. I can’t recall the last time I went to school when I was sick. As a matter of fact, I can’t recall the last time I went to school for four weeks straight without missing any classes. The fact that I’ve been able to get up every morning and go to all of my classes is an accomplishment. This is a huge difference between college and high school: because I pay for my education now, I have to be in every class.
I feel like people in college are more open-minded than they were prior to college. It’s great to see people being more tolerant, opinionated, and mature.

How do I think my first year at college will change me: I’m not expecting any changes. It’d be totally awesome if I could stop procrastinating and started doing all my work on time. However, to be honest, I don’t see that happening in the near future.

Hello, my name is Matthew Hyung Ki Kim but better known as Matt Kim. I was born and raised in Queens, New York where I lived my entire life. I am an American-Korean who grew up hearing that I am too dark for my race; probably because I spent a few summers in Hawaii and never came back the same color. My hobbies are “rolling” with people (a term used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), playing the ukulele, swimming and biking. When it comes to what gets me out of bed and keeps me going, it would be my family. They are the reason I am who I am and drives me to succeed. They have always been there for me and I love them dearly. However, from all of the members of my family, my brother would be my biggest inspiration. Wanting to be the best older brother figure for him, I set my self to live by good morals and be that guy he can look up to. From what people can probably see from my reactions to things, I am a fairly jocular person who just likes to live life laughing.

As of right now, my top concern would be my transition into the college lifestyle. Spending many hours reading, writing and reading (again) makes the newly discovered freedom of having fewer classes not that liberating. More or less being a luxury to be free to roam around while the idea of doing homework is lingering in the back of my mind. Another concern is trying to juggle around work, school and other activities (for example, Jiu Jitsu, church service, babysitting, and hanging with friends). The life that used to be my childhood is no longer existent because of all the new responsibilities towards future success. In addition, because of the many activities everyday, finding the time to get a goodnight sleep is becoming a big problem. Not getting enough sleep makes it difficult to stay awake in class making it another one of my concerns as a freshman trying to pass my classes in college.

Compared to my years attending Francis Lewis High School, it is a lot better here in Baruch in terms of the atmosphere and environment. It is less crowded than my high school which was populated with over five thousand students in a building made for four thousand. Also, having smaller class sizes makes the Baruch life much better than forty in a room learning from one teacher. But aside from the crowded school, I can’t help but miss the idea of having six hundred cadets in the JROTC program calling me “sir” every Wednesday when we wore uniform. From being one of the elites in high school to a freshman in college, the only place to go now is up.

This first year in college is going to help me shape my future. Finally discovering somewhat of a solid foundation for what my major is going to be, I am just waiting on getting through the year of core classes. Unlike the old Matt Kim, finding shortcuts to work is not going to be an option and this year is going to corroborate my efforts at becoming successful; leading me to pursue my passion in …

I have been pondering on this idea for a while, it might be weird it might not be, but I really want to know your opinion on it.
The idea of Utopia has been around for a while, an ideal place, society or sometimes even anarchy. I understand that every person has his own idea of Utopia. Some friends of mine and I have discussed this question and what my friends agreed on is that the only Utopia possible at the moment is a place where there are no human beings, therefore there is no conflict, no war.
Another idea is a state of limited anarchy, where people are allowed to follow their own ideals and make communities based on the common goals without any outside influence.
Yet another idea was to genetically equalize everyone so that there would be no major differences between everyone, so everyone will be smart and attractive. The alteration will also put a limit on people’s choices because people today have too many choices and more often than not end up making the wrong ones. (Ignorance is bliss)
So I was wondering what is your idea of Utopia.

My name is Pavel named after my grandfather by my father. I was born in Uzbekistan, I speak Russian and my ancestors were Korean (from both sides of the family). I have come to US when I was 13 and have acquired experiences which help me describe myself.
I have come to a conclusion that people are ever changing. They are different from day to day and therefore no one can really say I am…..and be that person the next day. Whenever I declared myself as something, I found an error in it the next day. The only I am that has been constant over the years is I am lazy…
I do have expectations though. I expect myself to finish college being the most immediate one. I know that it is hard without a college degree out there and so I want to be prepared. There are obstacles in the way: the way I am unable to manage time, the way I do everything last minute (even this assignment). It is very hard to keep myself from sleeping in class and actually paying attention. Of course the source of all these obstacles is my laziness. Hopefully I will conquer it and then even the “I am lazy” will change.
I do look forward to see how I will be changed in order to define new me  time after time.

“Who are you?” Such a common question, yet so difficult to answer. My name is Kimberly Louis and yes, I’m that girl with the non-Asian last name. Many people often get confused of what ethnicity I am but I’m actually Chinese. I am eighteen years old and I live in Brooklyn for my entire life. Some people may think I’m that quiet girl, but really if you get to know me, then maybe you’ll think differently. My family is the most important aspect of my life since they are the reasons why I am the person I’ve become.

I don’t come from the typical Asian family. My family is actually very Americanized since most of my family members grew up in the U.S. and one word to describe them is crazy. But I’m proud to say that I come from a family of artists. I’m really an artist at heart. So what am I doing in Baruch? It’s like they always say, “you can’t make any money in the arts; you’ll just become a poor and starving artist!” So I devised a plan of getting a stable job in the future and then I’ll go to art school. I decided to make drawing and painting as a hobby and maybe possibly a side-job. Drawing is very relaxing to me and sometimes I can express what I’m feeling through sketching. I feel like having this ability (I wouldn’t call it a talent) makes me unique and defines who I am. I am an aspiring artist who is willing to learn anything, everything this world has to offer.

The top three concerns about my freshman year are time management, passing classes, and the workload. It’s common for teenagers like me to procrastinate often and I want to try to get work done on time rather than rushing before the due date. I am also concerned of balancing time doing papers and also studying since I get distracted quite easily.

The college experience is completely different from high school. In high school, you can slack off and not study for anything and still pass. I’m pretty sure in college, you can’t fall behind too much or else it’ll be tough to catch up. Also, the class sizes are different where in Midwood High School, there would be thirty-five students in one class with one teacher. I have to say, my high school is overcrowded where the original capacity was 2200 and it actually has around 4000 students. In Baruch, they class sizes are smaller with around twenty people and you get to know everyone more personally. But I believe Baruch will give me a more enjoyable experience than high school.

I believe Baruch will change me for the better. It will help me become more responsible and make me into a better person. Hopefully in the future, I will become the person I want to become; the successful part-time artist.

Hey! Where do I begin? Well, my name is Stefania Miro, my birthday is October 16th and I’m 17 years old. I live in Yonkers, N.Y. and always have. People call me shy, which I am until you get to know me. I’m very friendly and I always want to help people. My family is loud and Italian and I love every minute of it. One of my hobbies is taking dance classes which I’ve been taking for the past 12 years. I also just love being around my friends and family and have a good time.

One of my top concerns about starting college was not being able to handle the workload. I’m nervous that I won’t be able to manage my time at all and not being able to get any of my work done. I was also worried that the professors would be extremely strict and mean but all of my professors are really laid back. I was also concerned that it would take me quite a while to get used to being a college student.

Baruch is the complete opposite of my high school. I went to Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale, N.Y. Maria Regina is a small all girls Catholic high school that consisted of only about 500 girls meanwhile Baruch consists of about 30 times that amount. Baruch is also much more diverse than my high school and I love that. In my high school everyone knew each other no matter what grade you were in and here at Baruch this is very different. In high school we were spoon fed by our teachers and you can tell that is not the case in college. I know I have a lot more responsibility here to keep up on my work. The workload is a lot more than what I had in high school but I feel that I will get used to it eventually.

I think my first year at Baruch will change me into a more outgoing person. All these activities dealing with public speaking will help me break out of my shell. I’m hoping I can become a more responsible and hardworking person here. I’m looking forward to spending the next 4 years here and seeing how I will change as a person.

Who do I think I am? That’s an interesting question. Well I’m Korean, 5’11”, I have dark eyes and black hair but those are things that everyone knows already, right? Though those are things I am, they’re not what I have become. I have a Korean-American traditions, I have a height advantage in sports, I have glasses for my dark eyes, and I have a fauxhawk for my black hair. It’s what I make of things in my life, that make me who I am today.

I started my life off having no name but “Tim’s little brother,” Tim being my older brother. He made a name for himself: a great guy, loved by everyone, friendly, personable, awesome. I was in a shadow of my brothers life not knowing who I was but with the circumstances I was given, I found out who I was. Entering highschool, after my brother had just graduated after being Student Government President, people knew me as “little Tim.” But that wasn’t who I was, I was much more than just a shadow of my brother. I felt as if I needed to fill the shoes he was in: a great guy, loved by everyone, friendly, personable, awesome. Without sounding too arrogant or egotistical, I did become that person. I became a person driven to do well primarily through a strong work ethic, I became a leader, I learned how to use my talents and skills and apply them to different aspects of my life. I learned who I was.  I was no longer “little Tim” but my own name. I became Student Government president, I became home-coming king, I became concert master, I became president of this club and that club, I was well-known throughout the schools not by only the students but teachers as well. I accomplished EVERYTHING my brother did, plus more. Though we had the “same experience” of being this “person,” the experiences were different and therefore made me my “I am…”

Three concerns that have come up during my freshman year are: the workload, the stress and the motivation. The workload is very stressful and I don’t know if I can be motivated enough to do it. That was pretty simple.

Baruch College is me being back to that kid who entered high school. Not exactly “little Tim,” but basically a new beginning, someone new. At Baruch, I have to have and develop that same community I developed back at my high school.

My first year at Baruch has already changed me. I’ve realized the importance of money, the fatigue from commuting, and the incredible amount of work that needs to be done. My outlook as changed not in a pessimistic way, but for the better. I understand that I NEED to continue this path and need to strive to SUCCEED. But it will change me by making me an even better character than I was back in high school. I AM Christopher Ahn.

Who am I? Not only is it important to know who I believe myself to be, but to know those small little things that make me different from everyone else. Without the knowledge of myself I would be lost in a world were you can be left behind if you are still figuring things out. Let’s start with the things that I know about myself already and I am positive there is more to learn about myself in the future. My name is Syeda Nessa. I am seventeen years old and I am a typical college student with just some few quirky characteristics. I am always a very helpful person. I have a hard time saying no to people when they need help. I guess you can say that I am generous with my time. I love learning new things and soak up bits and pieces of information like a sponge. I hate not knowing something and if I don’t know something I have to look it up. My favorite hobbies include cooking, reading, and eating chocolate. I am a chocoholic and can eat tons of chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I like my rest but after a while I get stir crazy if I am not doing something. I been always described as an even tempered person except for the times my temper flares, other then that I am a really friendly and can even get along with my enemy. I am a natural worrier and I am really concerned about my freshman year in college.

So far integrating into the college life has been difficult. I am troubled about the amount of work that is given by the professor. I am also anxious about my ability to be able to complete the work efficiently. I am not so sure if my intellectual skills are up to college level. I am afraid that I am going to fail my classes during my first semester at Baruch, if I don’t study day and night. Mostly I am concerned that I am not up to the standard of a college student. My uneasiness lies in the fact that my high school experience will not be enough to continue my education.

So far my experience at Baruch shows that high school and college are two completely different entities. I know that Baruch will be able to give me further knowledge and education in the field that I am interested in. I believe Baruch can give me the experience needed for me to be a worldlier and open minded person and that starts during the first year.

I am absolutely sure that my first year at Baruch will change me forever. I will know this year, whether I am college material or not. I will know if I am capable of handling working under pressure and stress. This year at Baruch will further enhance my knowledge of me and in finding out what career path is right for me. Baruch will transform me from a teenage student to a capable adult.