LC 24

A few months passed and the first semester is already coming to an end. I have got to say my first semester at Baruch College has been a new experience. It took some time to get used to the college life style but I have no doubt I have made a successful transition from high school.

I believe Baruch College has lived up to my expectations. There is a tremendous amount of competition at Baruch and it has proven to be a great challenge to keep up. Aside from the many classes Baruch College has to offer, there is a wide range of extracurricular activities to form better students. There are also a number of different departments and facilities that have been designed to help students on their studies and I greatly appreciate it.

Although at first I had seemed to be overwhelmed with work, I learned to manage my time and in that process discovered a little more about myself. I discovered I am more attentive in classes during the afternoon. I learned the best time to do doing homework is in the morning. I feel I have changed to adapt to the college atmosphere. I have done more work in my first semester at Baruch College than I have done in my whole senior year in high school. What I mean is I discovered a harder working side of me and I intend to exercise that side to be the best I can be.

My first semester of Baruch College has been great. I feel I have done well in my classes and I should receive a fairly good grade. I have met a handful of new people and I discovered a little more about myself. However, my first semester would have been even better if I had joined a club or team. That way I could begin building my resume and at the same time meet new people and learn new things.  Unfortunately my shy personality has got the best of me but I do look forward to joining some sort of extracurricular activity.

In the end my Baruch experience has been fascinating. I am satisfied with what Baruch College has to offer and happy with the progress in my classes. In addition I learned more about myself and I discovered a side of me that is eager to learn. Overall I believe, my first semester has truly been a stepping stone to building a greater future for myself.

While walking through the Rubin Museum, a strange sculpture caught my attention. It was a human like figure with multiple arms that was standing on a lion and what appears to be a centaur. Although there is many other sculptures similar to this one, I felt the lion in this piece was more interesting than any other that I had already seen. After reading the description beneath the sculpture, I discovered the human like figure was Durga, a fearsome goddess. The lion she was standing on (with her right foot) was Vahana, her faithful animal companion.

When I first saw this sculpture I had thought, Durga was standing triumphantly over her most recent prey. However, I learned that Vahana the lion was an accomplice during the slaying of Mahisha the buffalo demon. The description below explains this as Durga’s most famous narrative. It was the story of Durga’s encounter with Mahisha. However, it was not the fight that was significant about this narrative but Durga’s calm composure that reflected her all powerful most fearsome stance.

Overall I felt the Rubin Museum was an wonderful experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. Along with this fascinating piece of art that described the beliefs and culture of the 1400’s, there were many other interesting pieces. In one area of the museum, there was an display of the process on how to create fine metal sculptures. In the end, I believe the Rubin Museum is something everyone should visit.

I have recently looked at myself in the mirror and I noticed a few changes. I looked more confident than I normally did. This is maybe because I have improved my physical appearance. This could be the result of taking a self help course on public speaking. It could be that I have become a college student and it requires me to stand out from my peers. I am not sure.

I am a shy person and like others, I feared getting up to make a speech. In the past I often hide as long as I could to avoid speaking in front of my classmates. However, now with a boost of self esteem and confidence, I am able to deliver a speech when called upon. Each time I am required to give a speech I think of it as practice. Practice for me to work on my articulation, eye contact, hand gestures and possibly enthusiasm.

Overall, I no longer doubt my capabilities to give a speech in front of a group of people. Although I am not a great public speaker now, I believe I have the potential to become one. This could possibly be my biggest ongoing challenge next to leaving my comfort zone. In the end, I think now that I am an adult I need to start improving myself to better succeed in the future.

Who do I think I am? For the past few years I been asking myself this question and I have come up with various answers. I am an ambitious person. I am a person with the dream to succeed. I am a person who wants to stand out in a crowd. I am a person who wants to be recognized for something significant in the world. Now that I think of it, I am all these things. Although I may not seem like that person now, I am building myself to become that person. I am a person with dreams.

Over this past month, I have been trying to get use to the “Baruch Culture”. In my experience, I have grown concerns about my capabilities. For example, I sense a lot of competition in classrooms as every individual is aiming for an A. In addition, there are expectations that are implied without any notice. There is also a ton of reading for each class and it is easy to be overwhelmed with work. Basically I’m afraid I will not be able to keep up with the college level work. Despite my optimism of who I want to become, I feel it will take me a long while before I’m truly up to speed.

In my opinion, college’s greatest aspect is the amount of freedom given to each and every student enrolled. Anyone has the ability to choose their own schedule, classes and even professors. There are no guidance counselors or teachers making sure we are on track or making schedules for us. There are also many opportunities for people to get involved and build resumes. With a wide collection of club, teams groups, and internships it is easy to meet new people and to fulfill extracurricular. However unlike high school, college requires a lot of responsibilities as assignment deadlines are not frequently announced, textbooks and learning materials are bought individually and a person’s success or failure is all up to them.

In my first year of college, I will definitely learn to manage my time properly. I will grow to become the person I aim to be by learning various self improvement skills. Skills such as being able to speak publicly which will prove to be an advantage against competing classmates. I am sure by the end of my freshmen year I will be more involved with the Baruch community.