Author Archives: jiaqi.wang

Time runs fast. There are only two weeks left before my first semester at Baruch College end. Recall from what I wrote at my first blog post, I wrote about what I concern about for my freshman year. My experience at Baruch had made me accomplish a lot of what I expect.

One of my expectations is friendship. I have made a lot of friends through the first semester. I almost get to know everyone in my freshman seminar class. Now this semester is going to end. It will be few chances for us to have a same class together. I hope I could meet more people and make friend with them later on. Another thing was the improvement of my English. I felt that I have a little improve but I still need to work harder. I hope I could really improve it in later day at my college life. I most concern about my grade. I expect to pass all my classes. I can’t tell what my grade will be only if I get my report card. I still need to work harder for my final exams.

In my first semester at Baruch, I had put in much effort but I think it wasn’t enough. I can’t satisfy what I have done so far. The reading materials for class are hard. Sometime I didn’t finish my reading assignment. I just give up when I saw a lot of difficult words. Another thing was time management. I thought I could manage my time better if I am not that lazy. I always do my assignment at the day before it was due. If I have a chance to start it again, I would read all the reading that required for class. Reading could help me to understand the lecture. I also would not put everything at the last minute. But I can’t rewind time. I hope I can improve my weakness at my next semester at Baruch.

There are changes since I started at Baruch College. I become more responsible for my study. There are a lot of works I need to work independently. I need to superintend myself to do the right thing and manage my own time to study in order to get a better grade. There are a lot for me to get improve. I will continue to work on my weaknesses in order to make more positive changes.

I notice that most of the time I am a quiet, non-talkative, a very shy person. This part of my personality is something I don’t like about myself. I believe that my shyness may affect how I handle myself, my responsibilities and situations, and about growing up. I think I would like to be stronger and braver when dealing with life when it comes to my family and college life.

My parents and family have high expectations of me. Being in a new and strange country, my family relies on me very much. I find that I need to be stronger and braver, even if not for them, but for myself. I feel a lot of pressure about all of this. I always hoped that I had an older sister, someone who could take some of the pressure off from me. It has been a real struggle for me also. I guess that I don’t want to grow up yet. I always talk to myself that I must grow up now and I must be brave and strong. Maybe it would even be helpful if I were a little less shy, but personality and character are hard to change. When I was a kid, I always hoped that I could grow up faster so my mom wouldn’t continue to nag me. As I am finally growing up right now, I find that I am really afraid. I feel more helpless being independent, dealing with life’s hardships and responsibilities. I am envious of my younger sister. I always wanted to be her because she seems to be without as much sorrow and worry. Besides my family life, I am also finding some new challenge in college life.

As I attend college now, not only I find that I have to deal with many new challenges, but also time seems to be running faster. I find that college classes, reading material, lecture, and homework make me feel exhausted. Whenever I experience this pressure and have setbacks, I always think about reverting back to being a kid. I was afraid to grow up, and not facing my life as I should as an adult.

I realize that everyone needs to grow up. I must take responsibility with my family, my school, and life in general.  My goal is to try to think positive, and accept who I am, also try to change myself. I believe that tomorrow will be bright, and life can be better every day.

“Who do you think you are?” I think I am a follower of my dreams. If my life is without a dream, I may feel like my soul is taken away from me. College offers the opportunity for me to discover my dreams and also to help me to reach them.

My top three concerns about freshman year at Baruch are: my grades, finding new friends and improving my English. I am most concerned about my grades. I expect to pass all of my courses, and not get dismissed from the college. I also expect that my first year at Baruch will be very exciting. I look forward to gaining more confidence as my studies progress. Another thing I care about is friendship. Baruch is a new environment for me right now, so I hope to meet new friends so we can have fun, learn, and also support each other if we are feeling down.  I also want to improve my English. I have been in the United State for 4 years, but my English have not really been reflective of it. I hope to have great progress with my English during my first year.

There are a lot changes happening around me every day. I feel like I am maturing and growing more and more every day.  I also found that college involves more work and responsibility.  In high school the teachers were micro-managers, making sure we did our homework or took notes during the class. In college, I find the need to motivate and manage myself in order to complete my assignments. Unlike high school, it’s motivating to see that everyone at Baruch seems more serious about their studies, and are working very hard. At first I felt bored with so much free time. Each day I just sat around waiting for the time pass then go to the next class. Finally I began to take the time to go to the library with my classmate. We found that most everyone in the library were focused on their studies. This was motivating to us, so we sat down, took out our own books, and began to study. The library atmosphere forced us to be productive between classes.  It made the time seem to fly by, and we forgot about being bored.  One of the great aspects of Baruch that I found is that there are many resources that we are privileged to have access to.  The college not only has a great library, but also a computer lab and writing center and some other tools.  These resources are very helpful to my studies and college experience. There are also many activities offered at Baruch.  These activities can help me to develop my interests in other areas, offering me the opportunity to be a happier and more well rounded person.

I think my first year of college will change me because I will begin to improve my writing and communication skills. I will also meet new friends, and at the same time I will get onto the right path toward my dream.