Who Are WE? We're PR3!

Josh. Simple, yet complicated. Coming up for an answer to this question is not an easy task. Ten minutes pass, fifteen minutes, already, half an hour in front of this laptop and I am still drawing a blank. My life is not a sad story, nor what you might consider an exciting one. I am eighteen years old and I’ve spent the first eight years of my life in Italy. My father is Sicilian and my mother is Venezuelan. And yes, I do speak sicilian and I do know some spanish too. But all this doesn’t really help in figuring me out. My mind is always all over the place. I don’t even know who I am. I know the things that make me happy but not many people do. That is because I don’t like to reveal my true self to everyone around me. I’ve always had trust issues. That is why I am very family oriented, they are the only ones I can truly trust. I feel that I am misunderstood. When people meet me for the first time they assume that I am outgoing and happy all of the time. And that is what I want people to think. Why should I bring down others when I’m having personal issues? My mentality is that one should always think positive, be optimistic all of the time. And that is how I try to seem on the outside. That’s how far I’m going to get into that, I feel uncomfortable talking about this, remember, I have trust issues… Anyhow, I don’t know what I’m writing about. So much time is passing and I needed to write something down. Basically I am curious to find out who I am also.

Moving on.. My concerns..my biggest one has to be becoming just another face in the crowd. I have too much ambition and too many dreams to get lost in the crowd. But in a school this large, the odds of me becoming invisible are creeping up to the odds of me possibly becoming someone important. Time management is another concern of mine. Its not that I procrastinate a lot, its that I find myself to be always busy. Now that’s no excuse but some people have to actually work to maintain what they have. That brings me to my third concern; I am really concerned that people will think that I have money because of the way I act and dress. As I said before, don’t judge a book by its cover. Money has always been a big issue of mine. It took my family ten years to get to where we are now, from being poor immigrants to middle class citizens. I work very hard for everything I have and I am very grateful for it all. I don’t want people to assume that I am made of money just because I have a some-what good sense of fashion. Everything I buy , I buy myself. Who paid for me car? Me. Who pays for insurance and my phone bill? I do. Hard work pays off. For someone who doesn’t have everything handed to them on a silver spoon, I am very content with my life and everything I have.

The transition from High School to College has not been too difficult. I had imagined something completely different. So far the only major difference I noticed was the amount of freedom we are given. Everything is up to us. How much we put into the college experience is how much we will get out of it.

College will only change me for the better. I think that I will become more mature because in College they don’t baby you, they treat you like adults. And when your treated like an adult you tend to become one.

You know, before I wrote this, I tried reading other peoples blogs and everyone sounded to interesting. I don’t want to just write things everyone wants to know because it will make me seem more interesting, I only speak the truth. I think about the things I could have wrote but decided not too. I wish there was a better way for me to put this, but there are too many things to explain about me that are difficult to write about. I don’t really know what else there is to say, other than I feel like my current state of mind got in my way of expressing myself more…

Josh Campanella –

Where should I start, there’s so much to tell…. I’m young but only in age not in experience, which is where most underestimate me. I’m a daughter, a sister, a best friend, and anything else I wish myself to be. I can be very impersonal at times, brooding, a classic narcissist, even a bit judgmental but I am what  I am, and I’m not changing. You’ll never get a grasp of who I am in a nutshell, its an impossibility. I’m inconsistent and always changing. Hmm, about college I think my top three concerns would be 1) the amount of kids there – might be easy to become invisible. 2) the amount of things to join – hard to decide what to do now. 3) Time management – I find myself losing track of time while I take my mid-day naps. But all in all, things should be different now that I’m in college, compared to my experience in High School. They have yet to present themselves but I’m sure I’ll come across them eventually.  Hopefully, whatever comes, college will change me for the better. I came in hopes of a new identity, a new beginning, a little niche all for myself…it should be completed by the school year’s end.

I’m Joby, and I’m pretty chill.

I turned 18 in January, I was a Catholic until several months ago, I’m very liberal, and my parents immigrated to NYC from India in the 80s-90s. I was born and raised in Queens all my life, and attended public schools from kindergarten to twelfth grade. I like to play the keys, (I teach kids piano on Saturdays) and I’m not athletic. I’m kinda proud of who I am and what my ideals are. I love movies and music, and I like to read up on social issues. Books are aiight, too. Politricks are wack.

I’m concerned about time management at Baruch. I was never good at that in high school (then again, I never really bothered to try), and I’m aware that my parents are spending money for me to go here. I’m also worried that I’ll disappoint everybody who have high, high, high, hopes for me. I feel like I need to exceed my family’s expectations. I’m finally concerned about the new social changes that come about during college years. I hope I don’t subconsciously succumb to peer pressure and eventually turn out like those self-proclaimed “mature” kids telling recent high school graduates that they need to grow up and leave behind childish things when entering college.

This experience is already different than my high school experience, in the sense that I’m entrusted with much more responsibility. No more teachers calling my house complaining that I never do homework…. I’ll have to keep track of that myself, now. I think that if i do change at Baruch, it will be for the better, and wanting to perfect yourself shouldn’t ever be considered a bad thing. I feel that I’ll procrastinate less and take initiative more.

werd, yo. this is due in 2 minutes.

Deuces! Peace&Love, everybody

How you telling me the sky is the limit when there’s footprints on the moon?

Hai, I’m Elvin.  To begin to define who I am, I wouldn’t even know where to start.  To scratch the surface, I suppose I’m a 17 year-old, Chinese-American, attending Baruch College.  The glass is always half-full for me, and I try to always maintain my joyous attitude.  I strive for success but I lack motivation.  I’m sleep-deprived almost all the time, it’s like I have permanent jet-lag, but I get by.  I like getting my name out and network as much as possible, it’s not so much attention I want, but recognition, reputation, and respect.  I’m proud of who I became through the struggle of identity I had throughout my life.  With the guidance of God, I’m so much closer to the person I imagine myself to be.  I trust others easily and I open up to others a lot.  I don’t like being labeled, it’s stupid and juvenile.  I’m a bit self-conscious about how I present myself to others but who isn’t, right?  Oh, and I have terrible commitment issues.

Baruch College is a new chapter in my life.  My major concerns for this chapter is responsibility, failure, and change.  College to me represents more responsibility, as a student, as an adult, and as an individual.  As a student, there’s no more calls or letters to my parents from my teachers stating that I’m borderline-failing their class.  I am responsible for my own grades, for handing papers in on time, for double-checking when I have an exam.  I need to step it up and prove myself that I can be responsible for my academics, employment, and taking care of myself.  Another concern I have is failure.  Failure to me is unacceptable but the lack of motivation contradicts this.  As much as I hate failure, and strive to be successful, I just don’t have motivation to push myself.  The support from my friends and family only goes so far and I need to pull my weight and shoot for the stars.  I refuse to fail and I won’t allow it to happen while I’m here at Baruch.  The last concern I have is change.  I want to change for the better.  I’m not a perfect person, actually I’m far from it.  But I work to make myself better day by day.

Obviously college is an entirely different experience than high school.  The 4000 student body of Bronx High School of Science is incomparable to the 17000 student body of Baruch College.  Because it was a smaller environment, people knew of and spoke to each other more often than how it is in Baruch College.  The classes in Baruch College is also different in that the class will move on whether you fully comprehend the lesson or not.  In high school, the class would go over lessons that caused confusion among the students.  I feel that in high school, we were pushed to go to class every day, do our work, and pay attention.  Contrarily, in college we choose to attend class, take effective notes, and study.

I think the first year at Baruch College will shape me into a more responsible, respectful young adult.  Hopefully I will learn to mange my time better, and complete my academic work in a timely fashion.  I think Baruch College will be a stepping stone to a successful future for me.  I hope the changes will be positive toward becoming a better individual.

I’m walking on air, living on a prayer.
I look up at the sky, and I feel like a millionaire.

If a stranger were to come up to me and ask, “Who are you?”, one option would be to simply reply with my name and that, unfortunately, is not enough for somebody to find out who I am, and therefore does not answer the original question though it gives the illusion that it does.  For somebody to get to know me, or anybody at all, it takes more than just a name; which brings me to my first concern at Baruch: the inability to make friends.  I had no idea college could be this different, perhaps it’s all psychological.  I cannot remember how I began life in high school or even made all the friends that I had, but it was easy then.  Now in college, it’s probably the new setting and unfamiliar atmosphere that has got the best of me; letting free the shyness and insecurities that did not show just three months ago.

From what I’m hearing, college is the place where you make friends for life, though this sounds both appealing and frightening.  I want to meet new people; unless you are an academic god or an isolated soul, friends are your only lifeline in college especially when your professors aren’t going to be holding your hand.  However, as much as I want to meet new people, opportunities are often restricted.  Socializing in class is known to be frowned upon and people already have their established cliques, making it awkward and discouraging to “invade” the group.  I know I’m making this seem more difficult than it is, but that’s who I am.  I’m not one of those outgoing, talkative types who always raise their hands in class, as much as I want to be.  I’m the quiet kid in the back, and trying to make myself known would be a feat as I’m just the average boy.

I sense that the stereotype “all Asians look alike” is beginning to hold some significance because I feel like I’m the same as every other Asian guy.  Everything about us became conformity, because it has become a trend to “do what’s popular.”  From fashion to sports and even hobbies, the similarities are surprising.  “The clothes we wear have become a uniform,” (quote courtesy of Tim Delaghetto), and I challenge you to try to name an Asian who doesn’t play handball or has taken up volleyball and dancing in the past year.  I no longer feel unique and I no longer try to stand out, because as hard as I try, the greater societal forces just knocks me back into this giant pool of Asians who all looks completely identical.  That’s who I think I am: just the average Asian boy.  The roles we all play as a son, student, friend, or boyfriend are shared, and even something that personal does not differentiate us from one another.

My other concerns, in short, is not being able to keep up with the work and not being able to adapt to my new environment.  As all of us freshmen are, we are used to our teachers chasing after us to complete our assignments, but now all the responsibilities are on me to meet deadlines.  Baruch is quite similar to my high school, with the large diversity and student population I feel right at home.  However, the large amount of free time coupled with the dreaded deadlines that becomes your duty to find out on you own will take some time for me to adjust to.  Even though it’s been about a month into college, I still feel awkward and lost when I’m out of school.  Baruch is already completely different from what I’ve known about school before, but I plan on joining some clubs to better my social network and live the college life because there’s no meaning in just going to school and not becoming active.

My first year will change me into a more disciplined individual, a harder working student.  I hope to cure my procrastination and carefree attitude towards education, and emerge with a mindset that would allow me to succeed in a society where my race and economic background has already put me at a disadvantage.

My name is Yong Liu but you can call me Tom. I was born in Wen Zhou China on July, 2 1992. I moved to America in 1999, when I was 7 with my dad and older brother. When I moved here, I lived with my aunt and cousins. I used to live and go to school in Chinatown until I moved to Elmhurst when I was 12, there is really a big difference between the two communities, I just graduated from Bayside High school and am now attending Baruch College and is planning to major in Accounting. I enjoy watching Baseball and Football games, my favorite teams are the Yankees and the Jets. Also I love listening to music; I enjoy all kind of music except country. My favorite music artists are Usher, Iyaz and Rihanna. I love the color blue and I don’t a favorite food, but I love food. During my free time I usually chat with friends’ online, browse the internet such as watching Youtube videos, and of course playing some games. My hero is my dad because he works his butt off for the family and never complains about anything. One of my main goals is to graduate college and let my dad retire early.

My Top 3 concerns are adjusting to College life, making friends, and Studying.  Adjusting to college life because its way different from high school, everything moves faster and a lot of the information like due dates for papers I need to find myself compare to high school where the teacher reminds you almost every day.  Making friends because in college it’s a lot harder than in high school because a lot of the class is in a big lecture hall and you don’t get to communicate with a lot of people around you during class time. Studying is another thing I am concern about because in high school, you didn’t really needed to study that much. So I need to learn how to manage my time efficiently to have enough time to sit down and study.

The differences between high school and college are the professor’s cares less about you, the workload is way more than high school, and the classes are a period longer. The professor’s don’t nag you to do your work like the teachers in high school and most of the professor’s won’t even know our names. In high school, we didn’t really have homework and even if we did it was very little but in college I spend 2-3 hours on 1 class alone. Also another difference is that the classes are way longer than in high school so you really have to adjust to it. I think the first year of college would make me more mature as a student and as a person because in College you really have to be independent and take care of yourself.

to borrow an idea from Dimitri Martin, i am matt scott, person. i am like everybody else, as long as they have two eyes, a nose, and an irrational fear of cherubs. something about them just creeps me out. i am an unwritten story, blank pages waiting to be filled by adventure and tales of heroism. Kurt Vonnegut once said: “Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything”. i agree with his statement, and i never want to grow up. i like to think that i am a person who never ceases to see the wonder in the world. that no matter how bitter and ugly everything gets, there’s beauty everywhere, and in everything. i also love to make people laugh, especially if they’re having a bad day. seeing someone’s frown turn into a smile really makes me think everything is worth it. i believe that laughter is the universal cure. i’ve also heard people claim that life is too short, and i can not disagree more. i think that people take life for granted, and that if they had less time here that they would make every second count. i try not to be serious about anything that counts, and although it sometimes gets hard for those close to me, it seems to make everything more manageable. in short i’m just another stupid human.

i have a multitude of concerns, each more ridiculous than the last. but lets stick with the top three i have concerning my freshman year.           #1: i know this might seem childish, but i’m afraid no one will like me for who i am. i grew up in a very small town where everybody knew everybody. i knew everyone in my school by name, and we all accepted each other. here, i see how big the world really is and how many people are in it. what if no one accepts me for me?             #2: my second biggest concern is that i’ll disappoint everybody. everyone seems to believe in me. my parents, my old teachers, even my aunts and uncles. all of them seem to have these huge expectations of me. what if i can’t fill those shoes?             #3: my third biggest concern is kind of a cliche. what if cherubs are real?

this one’s a good one. what makes baruch different from my high school. well for one, my high school had 400 people in it, including teachers. according to what i’ve heard there are lectures with more people than that. secondly this work is actually challenging. in high school i could’ve done the work in my sleep, now i actually have to use my brain in class. another huge difference is the commute. every day in high school i got on a bus and it took me to the next town over to school. now i have to wake up every morning and get in a metal tube for an hour or so, then walk a few blocks to class. every day is a new adventure.

i think my first year of college has already changed me. i already feel more mature and more like an adult. i feel like my first year of college will give me a glimpse of who i can be in the future, and what i’m really all about. in short, college is a time machine.

bak skyene er himmelen altid blå. (behind the clouds the sky is always blue)

Who am I? I know my name is Crystal Lee. That’s as far as it goes. Who do I think I am? I like to consider myself as a driven individual. I’m far from perfect, but I try. I know that I’m kind of weird, eccentric, and quirky. I’m quiet, shy, awkward and standoffish to people that don’t know me too well, but to others I’m just plain blunt. I know that I’m sometimes contradictory and always self conscious, but I always try to be nice and see the best in people. It’s hard for me dislike people and even harder for me to hold grudges. I may not be the smartest person anyone’s ever met, but I still believe that intelligence is important, and sometimes overlooked. I believe that creativity and expression are the best outlets in the world. Most importantly, I prefer to take everything one day at a time and enjoy the little things.

I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about Baruch. It’s just so different to me. My top three concerns are failure, failure, and my future. Well, there are other things that i’m worried about, like having to pull all nighters again, drifting apart from people, and just not enjoying the experience. And what if, in the end, I didn’t find any guidance as to what I was looking for in my future. That really freaks me out.

I was comfortable in Brooklyn Technical High School. I got to know some amazing people, and all of the secrets of the building. Like the northeast entrance of the cafeteria is never guarded, the elevators on the west side don’t work, and there’s secret rooms scattered everywhere. Teachers knew me by name, or at least face. Now in college, no one tells you when to eat, security guards don’t stop you if you’re not in class, math teachers don’t check homework, and everything is done at your own free will. College has more choices and more freedom that I’m not used to. I like that I have, at most, 4 classes a day this semester, as opposed to 7 or 8. There are so many new faces, but a lot of familiar ones. The elevators don’t stop at every floor, and I have a lot more time to myself. It’s a lot more independent. It’s just something that I’ll have to adjust to. I’ve adjusted to 5,000 students in high school, I’ll get used to the 17,000 somehow. I think i’ll be fine here, though. I kno that i’ll grow more independently, and I’ll mature. I know that i have a lot to learn, and not to sound like a loser, but i’m eager to learn. I know that Ill meet some awesome people. I thought I was missing out on the whole, going away college experience, but I realized the city can be pretty amazing. I know it like the back of my hand now. And I just have to take things one day at a time. You know, enjoy the little things.

“If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”

Kobe Bryant hits a game winner on Dwayne Wade (Miami C-Heat)

Who am I? According to Professor Sarah from my Sociology class, I’m one person made of various different roles. By day, I’m a student at Baruch College, with high expectations for myself. By night, I’m a lowly employee at the most terrible place ever, Forever 21. I mean sure, roles are the easiest ways to define oneself, but does that really show who you are? I’m Derek; I’m not the perfect guy but I’ve always considered myself an exceptional son, and an even better friend. I’m that guy who seems like an ass the first time you meet him, but after a conversation, you’ll be surprised. I’m that guy who’s always taking care of his friends who had just a little too much to drink. I’m that guy who you can rely on to keep your secrets and his promises. I’m the guy that puts his friends and family before himself. I’m not perfect, but for the people I care about, I damn well try my best to be.

Baruch is so different than from what I’m used to. I came from a small one-floor school of about 500 students, and a graduating class of 108 kids. I used to be somebody, but now that I’m here, I feel like I’m just another random face. I used to be on the top of my high school, but I’m nothing here. I hope this atmosphere of impersonality fades soon. And then there’s that job I need to have while going to school. Paying for school out of your own pockets is tough, and requires so much patience. I’m taking it day by day, but it’s been incredibly hard to balance school, studies, work, and then of course, fun. It’s definitely taking its toll. And finally, this is it, college. I’m almost an adult, but I don’t know if I’m ready for it. I’m not sure who I want to be, but I know I can’t waste my time here. Hopefully it’ll work itself out.

The transition from high school to college hasn’t been easy. The responsibility is all on us. Our teachers (or professors) aren’t going to reach out to us individually. We are expected to take the initiative. High school was carefree. I didn’t bring a book or a book bag for the last year and a half of high school. Now I have a 5 subject book, filled with notes I diligently take down during every class, and I’ve actually bought textbooks. I can’t half-ass college like I did with high school. I’m going to get what I put into college.

College has totally reformed me! I slacked off most of my entire high school career, but ever since college has started, I have not missed a single assignment. I’m starting to organize myself, and my time. By the end of this year, I hope to reach a higher level of maturity, and reform my attitude completely. There’s a reason that there’s a picture of Kobe Bryant up there, besides the fact that he’s freaking awesome. He  has that killer instinct, and that’s the attitude I want. He knows what he wants, and he can literally win a game by sheer will. That’s what I want to do with my life. I want that drive and determination that he has. I want to set my goals, and have nothing stop from achieving them. CLUTCH LIKE KOBE !!