Author Archives: Lew Esses

My first semester here at Baruch definitely had its surprises. For one, I wasn’t sure what to expect at all. As it comes to an end though, I think I’m beginning to understand what’s expected of us: Baruch is not the same as high school, in the respect that, if you don’t work, you won’t succeed. I did more homework in the first week of college than in all of senior year, and that’s because I truly want to succeed here. I plan on getting to the top, looking down from the windows of my office towards the Wall Street protesters and wonder, how did I get here? Whether I make it there or not is dependent on the work I put in here at Baruch. Baruch is home to various cultures, religions and nationalities, which is very different from the private Jewish school I’d been in. I think I’ll be able to learn a lot from the different people, and take all this experience of cultures wherever I go. Next term I hope to limit my idle time by contracting my schedule better so I can use up the rest of my time productively.

I decided to speak about leadership, to satisfy the Freshman Seminar staff (not that any one of my free-writes had anything to do with leadership, sorry) So what is a leader? In my opinion, someone who will stand up for what’s right, even if he is completely alone. Which means that no, a leader is not based on who his followers are, because otherwise Lady Gaga would be our dictator by now. A leader does not have to be too great of a speaker either, which is something that may come off as a surprise to most. Some of the greatest leaders in the world, actually, are not great speakers; it’s what they have to say that is what people enjoy hearing, and if you come to listen to someone speak you won’t care if he’s not the greatest speaker out there. You want to hear him speak, or read what he has to say because you truly believe that he’s right. A good leader based on how well he speaks but whose views are completely wrong, yet manages to accumulate followers is nothing but a manipulator and a liar; there is nothing worse than scamming people into believing what they don’t believe in by telling them what they want to hear in the way their subconscious will accept it. There’s nothing more to it. So don’t decide who to follow based on his or her followers, or how well they express their views, because then you’ll just be a follower. A leader is someone who knows what’s right and follows what he truly believes in.

Who do I think I am? Well, for one, I’m Lew. If anyone would ask a friend of mine who I was, they’d most likely say “He’s Lew” because explaining someone’s personality or traits doesn’t give them the credit they deserve; you can explain someone all you want, but at the end of the day, they’re just Joe. Chris. Michelle… But anyways, I think I’m someone who believes he can, with the help of g-d, go far in life, as long as I use all my efforts for the right causes and stick up for what I truly believe in, and not just what others believe in. I’m one who values family more than anything, then friends, of course. Religion to me is not just “a religion”; it’s my life. But that’s personal. I’m either a republican or democrat, you can’t know that either (why not? I’m not sure, it’s just something they say not to share, I disagree but I’ll listen to what “they” say, for once.) To know who I really am, walk over and say hi, my name’s ___, and you are?
Concern #1: I will not stay here for longer than 4, check that, THREE years. It’s a great place, but a means to an end. If I stay longer, it means I couldn’t handle the pressure, and I’m someone that can place myself in pressure situations, just so I can prove that I can handle it, because that’s who I am. Concern #2? If I had more than that one concern, I’d have more than three concerns. So let’s leave it with that one (or is it two?) concern(s).
Baruch is different, no doubt about it. High School was great, and college will be too, but its a lot tougher here; for one, homework? That’s something I haven’t seen much of since elementary, but I’ll get used to it, in due time. Coming from a private high school, this is a different experience, with many different types of people I’m now getting used to seeing daily. It’s interesting.
My first year at college should change me into a more sophisticated individual, with an idea of what the “real world” is like, and how to work on a constant basis.