Author Archives: soobin.choi

Before coming to Baruch, I only imagined how my college life was going to be. Now that I am here and spent almost a semester, I know that my imagination was nothing compared to what I have experienced. For some reason, I always thought that being in college means having long summer vacation. I thought that professors are going to be the same as the teachers I had in high school, with just different title. However, as the semester went on, I began to understand the differences between them. Professors do not encourage you to do homework like high school teachers do. Professors do not hand out worksheets like high school teachers do. In college, you are on your own. You can choose not to do any homework or readings and professors do not yell at you. However, you have to accept the consequences of getting bad grades.

My first semester at Baruch was good, although not excellent. Since I went to high school that had around 300 seniors, I knew everyone. I knew their faces and names. So when I decided to attend Baruch College, the most ethnically diverse campus, I was excited to meet lots of people. I was able to meet with people whom I have never met from all around the world. As I was getting to know them, I got to know their cultures as well. And I did meet and got to know nice people and friends. Something that I think I can improve on is time-management. From the beginning of the semester, I felt that time management was the most important thing to survive college, just like the title of this blog. I think that I could have used time more wisely. There were nights I could not sleep in order to finish reading assignments. Now that I think about it I could have managed time better by reading in small parts. I was always used to finish things at once. However, since reading assignments that are given are very difficult and a lot to read at once. I have learned a strategy of reading in small parts and underline something that I do not understand.

I was very shy and quiet when it came to socializing with people. But coming to Baruch, I think I had to be outgoing and active to communicate. So starting college, I started saying hello first to people I met. I think that smiling and saying hello are the very first step where you can get to know somebody.

I have two definitions of failing: one, a failure does not mean getting an F on an exam; it means being unsuccessful in my standards. Two, letting my parents, teachers, friends, and myself down is a failure. A failure can be as little as not being able to speak up in a class, when I promised myself to do so.

I am afraid of failing.

Not only am I afraid of failing, I extremely dislike the guilt or consequence that comes with it.  Failing and the guilt or consequence that comes with it have negative impact on me that I spend too much time focusing on one problem. For example, I once had to attend a program that needed a great deal of participation. While I wanted to go for educational purposes and experience, I decided not to go because I was afraid to speak up. This “failure” bothered me through a whole summer. I felt as if I backed out on something great. And I wished I attended. But what can be done? The program was already over and so was the summer.

Not being able to accomplish goals is one of my fears. It is because it would mean maybe I did not try hard enough to do well or I was not even on a certain level to try in the first place.

As time passes by I don’t think that failing is the end of my life. Although the immediate feeling after a failure is bad, I do think that as the time passes by, the failure will eventually help. I mean, experiencing failures will be helpful someday.

Oprah Winfrey once said, “Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” I understand the meaning behind it and rather than avoiding and being afraid of it, I will begin my life facing failures when I have to.

I think that who I am depends a lot on where I am and where I am from; since I was born and raised in South Korea, I am greatly influenced by its aspects. As I moved to New York, both places became the foundation of my characteristics and qualities.

I am a blithe and carefree girl; I gaze at every situation in a positive way. When a test grade is less than I had hoped, I do not feel badly. I look forward to another opportunity to improve myself. I try to never be devastated by past experiences. Instead, I become introspective, always trying to learn from and turn the circumstance into a positive event. I strongly agree with Tom Krause’s saying and I have spent my life believing in the concept, “There are no failures – just experiences and [my] reactions to them.”  Nobody likes mistakes. That is why when mistakes occur, I try to get past it as quickly as possible and look forward to the next challenge. The word that describes me the best is competitor. I am a daring individual because I am constantly challenging myself, embracing new learning and self-improvement strategies. Before, I was very self-conscious speaking in front of others. When I was given a chance to work for a lawyer, I did not hesitate to say yes. My desire to try and experience new occurrence overcame the fear.

As I make a transition from high school to college, there are number of concerns that worry me. Since college is so different from high school, it may be the reason why I have such concerns. One of the concerns that I have is a responsibility. Unlike high school, professors do not guide you into any directions; they do not sit with me and go over tests. From being on time for classes to completing assignments, it is all up to me. College is about having independence and letting me be my own guide. Because of freedom given to me, I have to manage time precisely. It may be the one that I most worry about since when I focus on something, I do not stop until I finally realize I have an assignment to finish. Lastly, socializing with people is another concern of mine. Since I was not born here, lack of understanding certain jokes or slangs can be frustrating.  

While in college, I plan to use my characteristics in order to not only improve me, but to help others and the community as well. I would like to get to know people who are different from me. I want to experience new people and their personalities. I am very excited to start a new journey as a college student. Even though there may be obstacles during the way, I am confident that I will be able to overcome the obstacles.