Author Archives: kacie.horstman

Posts: 4 (archived below)
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My First Semester

Posted on November 28, 2011 by kacie.horstman

My first semester at Baruch has lived up to my expectations. Actually, it has been a lot easier than I had expected. My classes are similar to my high school classes and it was easy to make friends because we all had the same classes.

Because of these things, I think my first semester went really well. After I had adjusted to the commute and learned to balance my time, school was a breeze.

Although it went well, there are always things I could change. For example, I would have gotten a job. I would eventually have to learn to balance work and school and I think putting that off will make it harder to adjust. Second, I would have taken notes on my history professor’s lectures. Although she puts the powerpoints on blackboard, I think the lecture notes would have helped me more on the midterms.

Being at Baruch has made me more mature. I realized that I have to take care of myself and learn to balance my time and money on my own. I’ve become a lot more independent and things like living on my own no longer seem like such a big step. Being away from my friends and family have actually made us a lot closer. I think being in college has benefited me in many ways.

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My Biggest Fear

Posted on October 23, 2011 by kacie.horstman

In life, many people describe their biggest fears as being physical things, such as spiders or heights. As for me, my biggest fear leaves more of a mental effect.

The people I surround myself with—my family and close friends—mean a lot to me. I would not know what to do if I lost any of them. I hadn’t realized how much a loss would affect my life until I lost one of the people who meant the world to me, my great-grandmother, “Nanny.” It was one of those few moments in life where you remember every single detail of the day.  I had just returned from a freezing cold Asbury Park in late February 2007. My friend and I were sitting on my bed talking about quitting gymnastics when my sister came in my room with a panicked look on her face, saying that my mom was on the phone crying. We all ran down the stairs to find my mom in the kitchen doing just that and with one word, “Nanny,” my world came crashing down. She was the first person I had ever really known to pass away and the memory of that day and the week she and I spent together before it will stay with me always.

My fear was again realized only last year. Thankfully, it did not result in another loss of a loved one. I had just returned from SAT testing and was getting dress for soccer practice when I got a phone call from my mom. She started off with, “everything is okay,” which sent my mind reeling. Everyone knows that any phone call that begins with any variation of those three words is never a good sign. My mom continued, informing me that my grandmother was in the hospital, suffering from a heart attack. After all the panicking and visits to the hospital, she wound up being completely fine, but like the memory of my great-grandmother, the memory of the fear I felt throughout the duration of that day will also remain in my mind forever.

Because I have experienced this fear, I have learned to never take for granted the people who mean the most to me, because no one ever knows when they may leave us.

(^^ My grandmother and I in Central Park)

 

 

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Music

Posted on October 7, 2011 by kacie.horstman

I listen to music extremely often, whether it be on the way to school, driving in the car, or just hanging out at home. I listen to a wide variety of music, from oldies to rap. My parents and grandparents have a big influence on the music I listen to today, but as I got older, the music I heard on the radio was just as appealing as the music I grew up listening to. For example, just as many young girls in the 90′s, I went through the boy band phase. I loved N*SYNC, New Kids on the Block, and the Backstreet Boys, but also as everyone else did I grew out of that after a few years. Today, I love listening to almost everyone. A few of those artists are Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles,  Demi Lovato, All Time Low, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, A Day to Remember, Four Year Strong, Eminem, John Mayer, Rascal Flatts, Ray LaMontagne, Brandi Carlile, and Adele. My favorites change with my mood. As for the song I feel most connected to at the moment is Carrie Underwood’s Don’t Forget to Remember Me because it describes the step you take when moving out and going to college. Although I only live an hour away from home, I barely see my parents and my sister, who I am pretty close with, and I have had to deal with never seeing all of my close friends because they are all living in dorms too far away to visit often. This song seems to closely fit how I feel about being away from my family and friends, and I find myself listening to it often.

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Who I Think I Am.

Posted on September 30, 2011 by kacie.horstman

My name’s Kacie. I’m 18 years old and I currently live in Staten Island with my grandparents. I went to high school at Manalapan High School in Manalapan, NJ, where our biggest claim to fame is being where Mike the Situation went to high school (what a great reputation, huh?). Middle school was where I made most of my friends, but we became really close throughout high school. Most of my best friends are all at least an hour away and I miss them tons. Fortunately, moving to Staten Island had brought me physically closer to my cousins who are more like my best friends than cousins. I get to see them a lot more often than I would during the school year, which is great because I love spending time with my family. I also love photography. After sophomore year, I hope to transfer to Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA. I visited Boston a few years ago and fell in love with the city and can’t wait to go back. I also love traveling. I recently took a trip to San Francisco and Hawaii as a graduation present, and it was the best trip I’ve ever been on. Now, every few Fridays my grandparents and I take a short trip to a place we’ve never been before, which is my favorite tradition.

My first concern about my freshman year is managing my time. I tend to procrastinate a lot, so managing my time seemed to be a hard obstacle to overcome. So far I’ve been responsible with how and when I get my work done.

My second concern is the commute. Unlike my friends, who are living on campus and walk 5 minutes to get to class, I have to walk 5 minutes to a bus to begin my hour and a half to two hour commute. Coming from New Jersey and traveling less than 5 minutes to get to school, the long commute is a huge difference, but it gets easier as the school year progresses.

My third and final concern was the work load. I was expected a lot more work than I’ve gotten so far, which has made the transition into college a whole lot easier.

How Baruch differs from high school so far is most obviously the independence I have. Instead of having set times for lunch and being provided with everything I needed for school, I’m responsible for getting my own books, finding my way to school, and finding something to eat for lunch (that I can afford.) I also can’t rely on my parents for that much considering they’re about an hour away. Another difference is the work. The work load is a lot lighter, especially since I have fewer classes. Although there is less work, more responsibility is put on me to get the work done and turned in.

I think my first year at college will make me even more independent, which is important. I also think I’ll learn how to work efficiently to get things done on time. Finally, I think that I will mature a lot within the next four years.

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