Category Archives: Mandatory Post #1

I’ll start by introducing myself. hi my name is Ezra Avidan and i’m 19 years old born and raised in Brooklyn New York. I am first generation american. my mom is from Lebanon and my dad is from Israel. All my life i attended private school in brooklyn called Magen David Yeshivah. Who am i really? I never really thought of that question. I guess i can say i’m a very trust worthy guy and outgoing. With in my group of friends i was usually known to be the mutual friend never fighting or arguing just having fun. 3 of my friend actually attend Baruch now and they helped me get around the campus. At first i was a little scared to come in too college from what i heard of it. A couple of concerns i was think of being a freshman here is that i wouldn’t fit in and would be up date on the work because i’m not such a bright student. Midterms and finals kills me because i’m a person that crams for the exams and its hard for me to study because i don’t know how to focus and i’m a big fan of procrastinating.

The difference between high school and college ranges from every aspect. the test’s from high school are much easier and shorter and easier to study for. In college test’s are much bigger and more complicated and they make you think more. When i was in high school i would ditch class so much and nothing would happen at the same time i would be an A student in it, but in college if i would ditch no one would care you have to be responsible. If you miss the work you miss the that how its done here. I feel more independent. When i went to school in Brooklyn the commute was really short of about 10 min bus ride. Going to college is a whole new world of commuting with taking the subway which makes me feel more independent.

I think my first year so far in college has already changed me in many ways. One way it made me open my mind up to new things from new ideas to new people. I made lots of friends in my class and made a connection with them. Feeling more independent now as if i’m on my own and have big responsibilities. So i hope i stay up to date with my work and so far Baruch college has been great and i hope to enjoy more for whats coming in the next semesters.

Im Yussif Aziz, in my mid twenties and a freshman student. I find it soo hard to associate or make friends but if i do, i become the best friend you would ever have. i like everything about myself especially my seriousness in whatever i do or participate in.   it’s hard to believe that Im in college. I remember so vividly my high school experience, especially my anxiety during senior year about applying to colleges. If I had been asked one year ago where I wanted to go to college, I never would have been able to imagine being a student at Baruch College. Looking back now, I realize that Baruch represents everything that I had been searching for in a college: a small school environment, a location in the centre of Manhattan, a business school devoted to academics, and a true “technology” feel. After receiving one of the highest congratulations from my parents and friends, I knew that it would be very difficult for me to disappoint them , but fortunately, I had already fallen in love with the campus. Nevertheless, I wondered how i was going to cope with the english, and I worried about how well I would handle my transition to a college environment.

I knew that all first-year college students must go through this transition experience, but I also knew that it still probably wasn’t going to be easy. Fortunately, Baruch does an exceptional job of facilitating the difficult transition. Although my closest friends are not necessarily those people that I met in my Orientation group, we all seem to have an unspoken bond from having gone through the same initial transition together. My experience in my Orientation group was so positive that I would really like to apply to become an OL [Orientation Leader] for the first-years in the upcoming year.

I think that all in all, I have transitioned very well to Baruch College. I have no way of predicting what experiences the next semester will hold, but I am confident that I made the right decision in choosing to come to this school. Although classes will not always be easy, and I will frequently be stressed, I am looking forward to every minute of the next three years.

In general, my transition into Baruch College has been extraordinarily positive and has surpassed even my best expectations, which has confirmed that, despite some of the current negativity and problems, this is the school where I can make a difference and that will help to change me for the better.

Hello, my name is Anton Maslov. To all of you I’m just a fellow Baruch student, but to myself I’m an athlete. I’m a very competitive person in everything I do, especially sports. I like to play most sports. Soccer and volleyball are my favorite. I played both in my high school and in outdoor league. Now that at Baruch, I play soccer during my club hours and plan to try-out for the volleyball team in November. I also play volleyball outside of school two times a week.

I like to play sports with people who are better than me, because I would rather blame myself if my team loses, than blame my team mates. I don’t like to play with people who are worse than me because I tend to get angry and boss them around.

I guess my main concern right now is my education. I want to make sure I stay on track with my studies. I don’t want my work and sport to jeopardize my education.

My second concern is whether I want to transfer next year. I’m planning to, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to get the right grades for a very good school. I’m looking forward to the opportunities it can provide me.

So far my college experience has been very different form my high school experience. I was getting much more work in high school, but in college I have a lot of free time so I can go to work and play sports. there is much less homework and most of it is reading.

I think my first year will make me more independent. I have work and school now, and many more responsibilities. I’m becoming an adult.

My teachers in highschool costantly warned me that I “need to prepare for college!” Three years after graduating I have finally arrived to get my degree. To be honest I didn’t think it was going to be so fun. I imagined going into giant lecture halls with monotone voiced professors, poorly lit by flickering flourescent bulbs. Of course I would have at least five hours of homework every night on subjects that were unapplicaple to anything I actually wanted to do in my life. My perception was very innacurate. I just wasn’t quite ready to fully commit.

So far all of my professors have been excellent. Not only have they been very enthusiastic and interesting, the lessons are filled with discussions on every day life topics like balancing work and school and maintaining a successful marriage. I never knew college would be so practical. A majority of what you learn is effective communication. Being able to clearly state your opinion to a classroom, being quick to respond to emails and making sure to ask your professor about anything you are unsure about. I have also found that it is important to participate. There is power in numbers, and a great teacher knows that students can learn from each other. When everyone’s minds are operating together, topics can be understood much clearer. I try to break the ice by being one of the first to share my opinion. I want my classmates to feel comfortable sharing there opinions.

One of the major setbacks I thought I was going to encounter was not having time to do music. But, the contrary has happened. Since school has started, I have become more organized and have spent more time on writing and producing new songs. Also, it has been a lot of fun discussing college life with my wife and family. They all have tremendously supported me in all my scholastic endeavors. Often, they share their ideas for possible essay topics for english and my wife loves to help me with math. She thinks of algebraic equations as entertainment. The responsibilities I have in college have definitely helped me be a better person so far. It’s good to be in a classroom interacting so personally with such a diverse group of people. I love the diversity represented in all my classes. I am meeting new friends everyday from Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. So far none from Antarctica. I don’t think anyone lasts long there anyway.

Who do i think i am? Actually, I don’t know who I am specifically. Sometimes, I am a very emotional person, but sometimes I suddenly become an objective person. Also, I don’t get hurt in my mind or get depressed with a serious reason but with a slight reason or words from others. I am definitely not a very outgoing person. It is very difficult to say hello and act friendly to new people for me. However, I talk a lot and get hyper after I get close to them. Also I am a kind of lazy person. I always make plans for my works such as homeworks but never follow them. I know that it is one of my worst characteristics and I should fix it.

My main concern about my freshman year at Baruch College is my academic grades. I have to do lots of homeworks and assignments everyday. They give mo so much pressures and burdens. I always work hard and even’t don’t have enough time to sleep but still many times I can’t complete them especially reading assignments since I am a very slow reader and my English skill is very weak. Also Im so worried about the upcoming tests since I really can’t even expect what professors will ask on the tests. I really want to do well on the tests because all people around me reccomended that I should get good grade in the first year for next 3 years. Also, as I mentioned before, I am not an outgoing person so I am not a good presentator. I get nervous so easily and my lack of English speach and accent always bring me down. I really want to develop my speaking and presentation skill. My second concern is time management.  As I mentioned before, I am a very lazy person and always rush at the very last moment of due day of assignments. I sincerly want to fix it and manage my time wisely because I always have lots of works to do. My last concern is English. As an immigrant who has lived in US for 2 years, Im not a perfect English speaker. I really want to develop my English skill and hope I will make it before I graduate from the college.

College and high school is so different. First of all, proffessors don’t care about us as much as highschool teachers do. They don’t care about our lateness, texting or sleeping in the class. They just give their lectures and we have to follow them by ourselves. I think there are more pressures and burdens in college since we have to care about ourselves and take responsibility.

I think my first year at College will make me a more responsible and studious person. Nowdays I feel so stressful and depressing due to the amazing amount of works I have. I hope I learn a skill to manage my time and finish my works at the time untill the end of the first year.

Mae Ni

I have passed almost 19 years in my lives, and that’s just short. Sometimes, I thought through the past of my 19 years of living and let me think who I am. I dentify myself as an ordinary person but have own special characteristic. Since I am not the topest and dazzling one in the groups, I just being a common person to live my ways. However, each person is different frome one another. My characteristic are optismic and friendly, but sometimes to be impatient.

Entering Baruch College is interesting to me. Though I used to be nerous, I still have many expects and concerns here. The main concern in my freshman year is to know much about how the college life is and what responsibilities I should take for myself. All what I knew about collge hear from people, but that’s not my experience. I’m going to spend four years here, so I need to realize about these things. Second, I concern about my study. I believe that most people in college expect to get good grades and learn more things, and so do I. The last concern is to get into the new environment. Things start newly with the opening of freshman year. I want to meet more new friends and professors, and also want to have different experiences of communication.

I know that College expericence are not the same as high school experience. In college, students are more independent. No one will remind you that you should work hard, except for your own minds. If you don’t learn to care about youself, there are no reasons for others to concern of you. It is just my thought.

Many challenges will take place in college. I believe that Baruch College will change me to be more independent and diligent. Also, I will learn from experiences through different situations, and train my skills and abilitie to have better perparation for getting into society.

I have been in New York for more than two years. I was scared when I first time went to high school here. I guess I was not used to the new environment. But now, I am very comfortable to live and study in New York City. I think I am a lively and optimistic person.

I like to make friends. So one of my concerns is making new friends in Baruch as a freshman. In my block, all people are nice and funny. We almost have same classes every day, and we start to know each other by the time we calling each others’ name correctly. We are friends already. I believe I will have more friends in Baruch.The main concern about my freshman year at Baruch College is to improve my English. In these two years, my English is better and better. But it is not good enough. I still have problems when I talk and write in English. Fortunately, I have friends who can help me with my English. I hope I can speak fluent English just like the way I speak my mother language. Another concern about my freshman year would be my academic grades. I guess this will be everyone’s concern, because students are happy when they have good grades. I want to be happy, so I will work hard to make good grades.

I found out that college is so different from high school. No one will be chasing you for homework, there is no make-up test and you are on your own. Your grades depend on your efforts. You do not have to be super intelligent, but you have to be super diligent.

I have a speech communication class. I represented last week. I was so nervous that I made many errors. However there was no one laugh at me, they listened to me patiently and commented friendly on what I said in the end. I am cheerful because I have this class which can make me more confident when I stand in front of people, also it can improve my English.

I will be changed a lot, because the college life will be not easy to deal with. I will be more stronger, more confident and more educated.

Hanyan Yu

I view myself as an ordinary girl, who grows up happily under the protection and support from her family. Although I’m so average but I think there are still something about me that can make me special and I wish I could find these things someday.

I have a lot of concerns for my newly started fresh college life. One of my concerns is about build up relationships with my classmates. In high school, I’ve always been quiet and I barely communicate with my classmates about my thoughts. As a result, I don’t have a lot of friends in high school, and I often feel alone. I hate this feeling so I decide to learn how to be friends with people around me in college. Another concern is about my language. I know language problem should not be an excuse for me anymore since I’ve come to this country for such a long time now, but still sometimes I just can’t express myself with my English skill. Last but not least, I have to read a lot for each of my classes, which I found to be very hard to me. Sometimes I read but I can’t comprehend what I have read, so now, reading has become the top of my concern.

I found out that my classmates in college are way nicer than the classmates I have in high school. They are more polite and friendly and I feel relaxed around them. In high school, some of my classmates were mean and they don’t like to talk to me since I have a Chinese accent when I speak English, but not in college. Therefore, I feel easier to express my feelings here in college.

The first year of my college life will absolutely change me. The people I meet, I deal with are different, they are more mature, and have more thoughts. I think, their way of thinking may change me a lot during this year.