Author: eldan.akerman

When I first started my first semester in college, I did not know what to expect. I did not know how hard it will be, how long it will take, etc. But now, that I am almost done with my first semester in college, I can really say that I enjoy college. The semester just flew by. I really feel like I was in college only a month. Also, the difficulty was not that bad. I thought college will be hell, in terms of work to do, but I had so much free time that I could handle all the work. The only hard thing in college is to know what the professor looks for in my work, and know how to get along with him. I learned that it is not very wise to get in the professor’s face and tell him he is wrong. Also, the resources that Baruch offers are amazing. There is a place that helps you find a job and write a resume, there is place that can guide you through college, and there is a place that helps with every homework assignment (no matter what the subject is). And the library is huge. You can actually get lost there. The resources that the library has are really helpful when it comes to preparing a research paper and study as a group. I really had fun in my first semester at Baruch.

For career exploration I went to the “Making the transition from student to professional” workshop. I thought this workshop is going to be boring and a waste of my time, especially after I realized I was the only freshman in the workshop (the rest were seniors and juniors). But actually, it was not that bad. in fact, it was useful and fun. The speaker tried to connect to the audience by jokes and funny pictures and was smooth throughout the workshop. Also, I found his story life very interesting. The workshop was not only fun but also helpful. The speaker gave many tips to success, starting from building a resume to the “thank you letter” after the interview. He also spoke about keeping positive attitude in work and avoid negative one. Throughout the workshop he emphasized the importance of networking in order to find a job.

I went to the Rubin Museum of Art for global community awareness/arts at Baruch. Before I went in, I thought that the museum will be like a tour, there would be a beginning and an end. But when I entered I had no idea where to go. Every exhibit has a room of its own in the museum. I wanted to go see the Buddhist exhibit that involves grain of sands, but I did not know where to go. I was lost in the museum. At last, I decided to go downstairs and see the exhibit there, without knowing which one is it. When I entered the exhibit I saw that the name of the exhibit was “A British on a Mountain Kingdom”. The exhibit was about ten to fifteen pictures of people who lived in mountains in Asia. The pictures were taken around 1910, so it was amazing to see how people lived in difficult environment and made the best of it

I attended the “Identities in motion” workshop the academic enrichment. The workshop was a panel of few people, who answered questions. The highlight of the workshop was that the author of “the bitter sea” was there. I looked forward to see him because I wanted to find out if he is like I imagined him. When I saw, he looked a little shorter than what I imagined him. The panel discussion was ok, but there was a problem hearing the people who spoke because there were no microphones. The thing I liked the most in that workshop was the questions-answers session. Students came to the stage and asked Charles Li questions about his life. This gave a deeper analysis of Charles Li as a person

My name is Eldan Akerman and college is going pretty well. My biggest challenges in college right now are English and Philosophy classes. English is very boring and I am actually falling asleep. Also, it is kind of hard because there are many essays and a research paper due in mid-November. But philosophy is worse because the class is boring and I do not understand what is going on in the class and in the homework. But I do enjoy business class, because the professor has a sense of humor and makes the material interesting.

What I like best in life is playing sports with my friends and hanging out with them. I feel free, with no worries, when I do those activities. I like playing basketball and volleyball. I like the least to stay home and do nothing. When it happen, and for long period of times, I feel that I am wasting part of my life. So that is why when I am home, I help my mom by cleaning the dishes and throwing out the thrash. Also, since I got my license I became the driver of the house.

A moment that I felt embarrassed was in ninth grade. I just arrived to the United States from Israel, and did not know much English. Actually, that whole year I felt embarrassed. If people wanted my notes, it did not make sense to them. Also, I could not speak clearly so people did not understand what I was saying. That whole year I was quite in all of my classes and did not communicate, because I felt embarrassed to talk. That played against me, because by being quite you cannot make new friends.