LC 20

So, for this workshop I went to the Mishkin Art Galeery. I went with many people from LC20. We went right after school one day. Anyway, the whole thing took about half an hour. They gave us a tour of their photo collection and then we wandered around the place for a while. The exhibit wasn’t  that interesting, but being there as a group made life easier. Probably the best part was when we first walked in and the security guard tricked us all by telling us we had to pay $20 to enter and then he laughed at all of us.

-Daniel Edward

Wow its just about over. I feel like this passed by so fast. Its only november but its the end of my first semester here at baruch. I think its kinda crazy. I walked in here only a few months ago but i feel like i really belong and am already a part of the community here. The teachers are cool and easy to get along with and learn from while the other students are fun to hang out with and i learn a lot from them too. When they said it was a huge change from high school to college they were right, but it was a good change. College is definitely different but i enjoy it a lot. I can’t wait to see how my time here goes but if its anything like how its been then i think its gonna be great. Except maybe the workload. My procrastination got a little better and i handle the work a bit better than how i started but i think i can still get better. The people here are nice and the clubs are fun. Its a nice chance to learn from people who know the ropes and can teach us tricks. Its also nice to share an interest with so many other people. My biggest concern now is how well i did over the course of this semester. I really hope i did well in my classes and get some good grades. I know i tried and i guess ill see how i really did. I hope that even after this semester ends we LC 20 kids stick together. I met some great friends and i hope to spend more time with them and really get the most outta this college experience. Because ready or not college life will go on and get even more intense so i hope to rise to the challenge.

This was my last needed workshop. I really liked the panel discussion. I thought the author of the book was a lot funner then i thought he’d be and it was a very active event and i actually liked learning more about the book i read. I liked how in depth Charles went into the book about the parts he lefted out. THe chance for students to ask him questions was pretty cool, i just wished i had thought of a good question to ask him. I really liked just sitting with my LC and hearing their thoughts about what was going on while we listened. THe most intriguing though was getting expert opinions on the varied subjects they were talking about. I thought it was an honor to be able to hear such great minds elaborate and give such detailed thought about everything they talked about from cultural ideas to philosophical conundrums. It seemed like such a mature event, it was something that i didnt really look foward too and thought would be a bit plain and boring but i really enjoyed it. IT let me learn a little something about my self that i really didnt know.

One free write included the following questions: What makes you afraid? What makes you happy, and what’s important to you? Well I actually have no fears. I believe that there is no reason to be afraid of anything. Whatever happens… happens. So, there is no reason to be afraid of anything.  The next answer was the longest. I made a list of things I liked. I wrote the following: I like lots of things, facebook, laptop, TV, movies, junk food, music, laughter, jokes, friends, girls, youtube, google, Egypt, home family, life, cars, videogames, psp, internet, reading but only sometimes, knowing things, not doing chores, doodling, and my Itouch. The answers to the next question, whats important to me, are surprisingly different than the what makes you happy answers. I think it’s important to make others smile, succeed, have a stable family life, a religion, faith, do schoolwork, laugh, my home boy Jesus, have a good time, and learn new things.

Another free write asked about my most embarrassing moment, the moment I felt most empowered, and about my personal motto or theme. My most embarrassing moment happened when I was in Egypt two years ago. I’m the popular guy on the beach because I am the American. So, a lot of hot girls come and “talk” with me. My grandma came over one time and yelled at me in front of everyone. “You’re growing up to be a real flirt just like your grandpa was. Shame on you!”  The moment I felt most empowered was when I was a retreat leader at my High School. I always had my own group of 6 or 7 peers. I was in charge and they had to do everything I said. I felt important because they all listened to me. Finally, my theme or motto is, If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up until you do!

-Daniel Edward

So, it is hard to look back and realize that, well, after what felt like a month, the semester is coming to a close. It has been quite a ride! I enjoyed every minute of it! Almost every minute anyway.

When I first came in to Baruch, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to be the freshman that everyone could tell was a freshman. I was determined to make the best first impression ever. I wanted to be the kid everyone knew and wanted to be with. I don’t know whether I have accomplished that goal or not. However, I have grown to realize that in fact I didn’t need any  of this. When I started, I barely knew anyone in Baruch. I was absolutely friendless. I had to make new  friends. I knew this was going to be tough. Were people going to accept me? Were they going to want to be with me? All these questions bombarded me on the first day of school. However, thanks to LC 20 I can say that this semester was really the fist semester of college I always wanted. I made many new friends and met many cool people. I was able to, in three months, make friends that I would be able to call best friends. Without them I don’t know how the first semester would be. I am truly grateful to have been able to build such a good relationship with them.

The other neat thing about this semester is the learning community itself. We did many cool things together including going somewhere to eat, chilling in the game room, watching “Due Date”, and going to the New York Stock Exchange. However, this wasn’t the only thing I liked about the learning community. We constantly are there for each other, especially in school work. Whenever there is an assignment, we try to help each other and remind each other of it. The members of the learning community are the reason that I have been able to get through this first semester. Thank You guys so much. You have made this semester a great transition into college as I hope I have for you.

-Daniel Edward

My first semester at Baruch was interesting. I cannot say that it was completely different from what I was expecting from College but in a sense there were quite a few surprises along the way. In the beginning I did not like many of my classes and I was not sure how everything was going to turn out and December and the end of the semester seemed like a lifetime away. Now, it is all almost over and it feels kind of surprising to be living today’s days and knowing that you’ve been through so much. As the semester progressed I grew to like most of my teachers more and the fear of this being college and doing bad went away. I realized that there are chances to fix your mistakes if you messed up and I also found out that if you thought something was very hard then chances are that all of your classmates also thought so and then the professor will realize that and allow you to get back on track along with the rest of your classmates. I actually figured out for myself that the hardest thing about college is not the classes themselves and the teachers who are giving you your grades because in a sense it really is a lot like high school and there have always been and there will always be teachers who are harsher graders and who are mean and other teachers who grade very fairly and are nice. The hard part is actually staying on top of everything and keeping track of all that you have to know and do to make sure that you do not fall behind. You have to transfer your college now credits and ap credits and constantly be checking back and forth if it went through. You have to pick classes for next semester and chances are that many of them will already be filled and that is very stressful in a sense. In other words, even though you will not constantly be preoccupied with work, you will always have something to do in college and something to check and look for and worry about. You can never say I am completely free let me enjoy my weekend and not think about anything. In that sense, I think it would be much more beneficial to us if we didn’t literally have to pick all our classes ourselves. We should be given a lot of different blocks with a lot of different choices similar to the one we were given this semester and then we should pick the ones we like. Because registration for regular freshman is so late and because mine is even later then most other people in my block I feel rather worried about picking my next classes for next semester. In fact, I think this topic concerns me more then the tests and all that other stuff in all my current classes. In conclusion, my first semester was pretty good and I cannot really complain about anything because if you do your work and try your best your guaranteed to do fine, but at the end of the day I cannot say that I’m not glad that’s its almost over, because I really am really glad that one day soon I will be able to go to bed at a normal hour and not have to think about anything for once.

Coming into Baruch, I was very nervous. I didn’t know what  to expect. I took college courses in high school but that didn’t help me get that college feel. After a week, I felt more calm. At the moment, I’m loving Baruch College. There’s a variety of activities to get involved in, plenty of people to meet, workshops to attend, etc. I just had my interview for TEAM Baruch. I hope I get earn a spot in that group because I want to develop my leadership and social skills. I also applied for the Business Fraternity and I’m looking to get involved in Baruch’s student government. I am also considering to try out for the Men’s Volleyball team; I’m not sure yet.

Aside from clubs, teams and fraternities, my first priority is to pass all my classes, but not passing with a C or D in the course, but with a higher grade; a B or higher is satisfactory but I want to aim for an A in all, if not, most of my classes. This semester, I’m enjoying the classes that I’m enrolled in. I’m not very content with my English class because it tends to be boring at times and the professor is a very harsh grader. I give in 150% to all my essays, yet that is not enough for me to earn an A or A-. Up to this point I’m still trying to figure out what to do, but I won’t give up. I’ll continue until I get that A and then maintain a grade in that area.

I hope that next semester I will be in classes with fair teachers. I know that there is a lot of work ahead of me and I’m ready to take on any obstacles. I’m pretty excited! As far as my LC is concerned, I love my classmates. It’s a learning community that is full of intelligent, sympathetic and funny students. I’ve become accustomed to having classes with everyone in my block and I became closer friends with some of them. I am looking forward to my other seven semesters as an undergrad. student at Baruch and it would be nice to keep in touch with students from LC 20!

-Robert Baazashvili

My first semester here at Baruch College was… hmmm… how can i put this?  It was different. It was a challenge. It was intimidating… yet it was fun…

I really don’t know how to put how i feel about my first semester in words. It has been an experience that i have yet to fully understand. Even though I am going through this phase here at Baruch College, I don’t know how I actually feel about all of this. Its kind of like arguing between whether curry chicken is right or chicken curry is right.. I really don’t have a side to pick.

What I CAN tell you is that I really enjoyed meeting everyone in this learning community and it was a great experience making friends with all of them… At first I hated the fact that we were put into these blocks where we had all the same classes with one another… but as time passed, i felt that these blocks actually provided a basis… a kind of start that helped us network within the Baruch community quicker and more efficiently.

There has been many ups and downs in my first semester and juggling between school, work and the little bit of spare time I am given for my own use, I would have to say my first semester here at Baruch College is a success. Not because I necessarily because i have achieved much, but because I finally got comfortable with where I am. It took my two years to get used to my JHS, and one year to get used to high school. 

Thank you everyone for making my first semester what it is!

And I’m done with my last blog YAY.

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.