Monthly Archives: October 2010

To start off I would like to say that all of the monologues were enjoyable, but the ones that sticked out for me were Kimberly’s D., Han, and Lucas. My choices had nothing to do with who I thought did the best on the speech, but who I related to the most.

Kimberly – Her family situation is very similar to mine. My parents are also immigrants and they also not fluent in English. Actually, they have many difficulties with the language barrier, thus more responsibilities are placed on me. Kimberly is clearly a model daughter and some one I wish I could be. This is where our differences lie. I also had the choice to go a college close by but I choose to go away.

Han – He is not very sociable so I was curious, and I wanted to know about him. Han’s tone of voice is hard to follow but his intelligent kept me all ears. I have classes with him so I understand the problems he discussed. Anyway, his passion for learning and devotion for school is to be admired; so even if he has problems proving his point, he brings up very interesting view points in class. Han successful challenge the teachers through texts. He’s not content with his argument, so work until he does but I think he should be proud.

Lucas – I think his confidence is admirable. He is definitely more eccentric when he speaks in public but that is what makes him interesting. He creates an impression that hard to forget and he is very honest; you really can’t hate a guy like that.

Overall, I think everyone shared a big part of themselves to the audience, from happy moments to a past he or she was not really to reveal. I think the class was a success because I learned who each and every one of these people were despite their nervousness.

I think that Lucas presented an interesting monologue. He kept eye contact throughout most of the speech and expressed enthusiasm. I also like the fact he threw in some jokes; kept me awake.

Who do I think I am? That is not really a tough question to answer because I think I have a good idea about myself. I can be generally out going when I want to be. In addition, the stupidest things have a tendency to come out of my mouth. Overall I can be described as lazy, vindictive, spiteful, and cheerful person. I was born in New York City, so English was my first language, although I am capable of speaking the Tai Shan dialect of Chinese at home. However my English is a lot better than my Chinese. My neighborhood is located in the northern part of the Brooklyn borough, where Queens and Brooklyn meet up. In fact I can see the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) from my house. It takes me about 2 minutes to walk to the BQE, so that shows how close I am to Queens and far away from the rest of Brooklyn despite actually living in the borough.

In my freshman year I hope to get good grades in college as well as make new friends at the same time. And most important of all, live the college experience. Getting good grades in college is important because good grades mean a good gpa, a good gpa means a better resume. I want to make new friends like most of the people that go to college. College is just another important chapter in my life that I must live through.

Baruch has been satisfying so far. It met my expectations dead on. The people I meet are interesting as well, however for a college that is so diverse, I find it odd that my high school had a more diverse crowd personality wise. So far, a lot of the people seem similar to each other. College will require more work than in high school and the stakes are higher, however the workload is still very manageable compared to the workload I had for my junior year of high school. Furthermore the classes don’t meet every day and only on 4 days of the week leaving in more free time for me to sleep and just relax in general. Money is another important aspect. I really miss the student metro cards and not having to pay for textbooks. In college, its quite the opposite, in addition college has an annual tuition that needs to be paid. I will need to work harder to get what I want out of college.

My first year in college should be able to make me more independent as well as more hardworking. I’ve been very emotionally unstable in high school due to the workload or lack of workload. I hope that the workload will keep me occupied so that I won’t become emotionally unstable, but at the same time not too much work that I become emotionally unstable. Overall I want to become more independent as well as richer because I work on Fridays. The combination of college and work should help me become more responsible as well as independent.

I think that Lucas Lauber did a good job on his presentation today.  He had a loud and clear voice and maintained eye contact with everyone.

Kimberly Delgado’s presentation was interesting.  She presented in a confident voice and with much enthusiasm.

I believe that Victor Huang’s presentation was good.  Victor did not look back at his paper to look for notes.  Throughout his presentation, he remained constant eye contact with us.  He didn’t have much pauses in between his thoughts.  His train of thought had a smooth flow to it and he didn’t seem nervous at all.

My name is Alexander Tran.  You can call me either Alexander or Alex; which ever one you prefer because I’m fine with both.  I am eighteen years old and my height is six feet one.  I am both Vietnamese and Chinese.  I speak English and Chinese (Cantonese).  Just in case if anyone thought I was Korean or Japanese.  Before moving to Queens at the age of four, I was born in Brooklyn.  I don’t mean to offend anyone living or coming from Brooklyn, but I personally like Queens better because I hardly spent any of my childhood in Brooklyn.  I am an only child; I live at home with both of my parents.  I graduated from Francis Lewis High School, which has approximately 4,700 students.  Therefore, I’m used to the crowdedness in Baruch.  Francis Lewis High School is much like Baruch; the population of Asian students from both schools is high.  My hobbies include playing and watching basketball and listening to music.  My favorite types of music include hip-hop, rap, and R&B.  Recently, I have two new hobbies and they are collecting sneakers and fitted caps.  I find it really hard to describe myself.  I just don’t know which words represent me, so its even more difficult for me to decide what I like best and least about myself.  From my family and friends, they have always told me that they like my ability of being helpful.  I guess that is true since I do feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I am able to help someone.  I guess I get that from my grandmother, who is one of the most important person in my life because she had taken care of me throughout my entire childhood.  I think I don’t need anyone to tell me what’s the least thing I like about myself because that would be my laziness.  Whenever I have to write essays or do any assigned readings, I would tell myself to finish all of it first before doing anything else.  I’m pretty sure you know what happens in the end.  It gets really annoying because I end up wasting a lot of time and rushing to finish everything at the last minute.  I can’t tell you guys how long it took me to finish this monologue.  If I really had to describe myself, I would say that I am a friendly and nice person.  It’s hard for me to make new friends because I am shy and not very outgoing, but once you get to know me you will find out that I’m the opposite.  I’m really not sure who or what I’m scared of.  I just follow my personal motto: learn to face your fears.  One of the most important thing going on in my life right now is my education.  I just want to complete college as soon as I can, so I can go on to the next part of my life.  College is definitely a huge change from high school for me.  I don’t know about you guys, but senior year in high school was the best.  However, all of that has changed and it is a big challenge for me.  Its really tough to complete so much work in so little time in one day.  I feel like my life is covered with piles of essays, readings, and exams and there is never time for me to hang out with my friends or play basketball.  Despite all the tedious work, there are some things I do like about college.  There is much more freedom meaning that there’s no teacher always on your back.  In high school, no cell phones or any sort of electronics were allowed and they would even be taken away if seen by any school official.  In college, they really don’t care.  The best thing I like about college so far is that I only have four days of classes, so I can enjoy my three day weekends once in a while.

1. My name is Alexander Tran.  I would describe myself as a tall and funny guy.  Once you get to know me, you will find out that I am a very easy guy to get along with.  I’m nice and helpful to everyone around me.

2. – I am concerned about all the reading I will have to do.  Personally, I am not a big fan of reading.  The only time I would actually read a book is when I am assigned to do it for school; I usually don’t read on my leisure time unless it is related to my interests or hobbies.

– I am aware that Baruch demands a multitude of presentations from the students.             This is going to be a problem for me because I am not a great public speaker.  My            communication skills are limited and my fear of public speaking still haunts me.  Every time I have to do a presentation, I would be very nervous and stutter when I speak.  It is also difficult for me to maintain constant eye contact at the audience (or listeners).

– My last concern as a freshman at Baruch is making new friends.  There are always different students sitting in the different classes I attend, except for the other students in the same block as me.  I believe that these blocks are very beneficial and helpful             because it makes it easier to get to know people.

3. I believe that my experience at Baruch College is much different from my high school experience.  In high school, I always got a ride to school from my dad.  Then I would go home on the bus with my friends which was only a five minute bus ride.  Going to Baruch College is much different.  I have to take a bus and two trains.  It gets annoying after a while because I don’t have much patience.  The gaps between classes are much longer allowing me more time to complete any assignment I didn’t do at home or just enjoy lunch.

4. I think that my first year at college will change my studying habits and work ethics.  It will make me realize that any type of work should be completed as soon as possible.  Dragging it further on will only make it worse with the work pile stacking up.  Baruch College is also training me to become more independent.  It is giving me the privilege of my own freedom and responsibility.