Blog #3
I cant’ believe my first semester of college at Baruch is coming to a close. I remember the first day I walked into the vertical campus for orientation, then convocation, and then for my first day of classes. Overwhelmed and intimidated I was unsure how I would last a whole semester at Baruch College. Looking back on this first semester, I came to many conclusions and realizations about Baruch. I expected college to be laid back, partying, free time and only being overwhelmed with work during midterms and finals. Unfortunately, none of those expectations were fulfilled at Baruch. I had not much free time because of the stressful, continuous heavy workload and because Baruch is a commuter school there aren’t many events or parties among the student body. I expected professors who didn’t care about attendance but were very strict about following the syllabus and due dates. Instead, most of my professors had strict attendance policies and quite leanient about late assignments and accomodating students. I was hoping that it would be very simple to meet people and make friends in a college environment but that was not so at Baruch. Being a commuter school it is very difficult to have close relationships with people because many students go to class and head home when they are done. I was expecting many events at school that bring students together but instead I find myself being one of the many students that I mentioned that goes to class and immediately after goes home. I think my first semester at Baruch went somewhat well. I got to meet some new people through my block schedule where I traveled with mainly the same people to every class. I also met people on my baseball team at Baruch when we played a short fall season. I believe that I am doing well in my classes which is most important to me. At first, I was hoping to just pass with C+ but now I am striving to excel in my classes with A and B grades. If I could have a second shot at my first semester and do it al over again I would try to reduce the stress I put on myself. I think at many times I waited until the last minute to do things because I thought that it wouldn’t take me long to do assignments but in fact they were more complicated than I had thought. If I managed my time better and balanced my academics with my social life, I could have reduced stress. Procrastination was the cause of late nights which led to sluggish starts in the morning and then it became hard to concentrate in class. As you can see, procrastination has a domino effect that can cause any students downfall. I believe that Baruch has changed me in just one semester. With many group projects, I have learned to work and complete tasks with people that I dont know whichh brings me outside of my comfort zone. I have become more independent as I have to stay on top of my workload everyday and balance my life.
-Daniel DeRiso-