Author Archives: ryan.coakley

So basically this freshmen seminar blog post was not the first thing on my mind right now but it has to be done and believe me I am not thrilled about doing this when my first final is a short week away but here it goes anyway.

Baruch has been a learning experience for me. I learned many new things from subject classes that I never dreamed I would be taking in college.  The blocks that we picked over the summer have had their positives and negatives. One positive is that they have made meeting new friends way easier since you see a lot of the same faces in your classes. A negative would be how you are forced to take classes that you normally would not have chosen to study.  Has Baruch been a “home away from home,” no but I could see myself being in a worse situation so I do not take this education for granted. The most important thing I have learned would have to be what the everyday grind of commuting in and out of the city feels like. It is certainly very exhausting and takes a lot of time along with energy but hopefully it is something that I can get used to.

My first semester here at Baruch College has been a success in my eyes. My grades are where they should be and that’s the most important thing. I have met some great new friends that have really helped me get through my first semester.

I would not do anything differently. Live with no regrets.        

When I started here at Baruch I was not as independent as I am now. I now have more responsibilities and am doing things on my own. I have also grown into a more mature man thanks to Baruch.

Since this is my last assignment related to freshmen seminar I just wanted to thank everyone and wish you all good luck in the future.

Check my phone, its twelve thirty five. I look up nobody is smiling or laughing, just blank stares gazing into the abyss. I look around at the people reading their newspapers or kindles and think “I wish i had something like that to make this situation less awkward.” The woman that I’m looking at glances up, I quickly check my phone it is now twelve thirty six. I still have fifteen minutes left before I get off. I look up to check if she has returned her attention back to the book that she was lost in before I interrupted. Luckily she has, so I continue to scan the area to try and find some kind of entertainment.

 The car slows down and comes to a complete stop. A group of men enter the car right before the doors shut. Not thinking anything of it I look down to mind my own business. One man begins to make a beat using just his mouth. The others join in and soon all the men are singing. They slowly walk up the car begging for money. Almost everybody looks away to divert their attention to something else. I pull out my phone and look down at it just to avoid eye contact. I look at it for two minutes before the car again slows down to a complete stop. The men get off and everything is back to normal. Well, normal in an awkward sort of way. It is times like these that I wish I had gone away to school. I mean think about it, I could be back at my dorm right now doing something productive like sleeping. Instead I have to be wasting an hour and a half of my life every day just trying to get home. The train stops. The conductor speaks through the P.A. system to announce that somebody on the train needs medical attention and we will be delayed.  I check the time it is twelve forty.

Early in September my mom told me to buy a planner. I was all like nahh mom I’m just gonna memorize my assignments like I did in high school. Here I am working on a post that was due last week… I now own a planner. Should’ve listened to my mom from the start but I’m 18 years old and am always right, right? I like sports, and my music. No specific genre for me. I’ll listen to anything from Kanye West to Skrillex, basically anything that I think sounds good. Ever since I was 7 my life has revolved around hockey. On weekends I was at the rink killing myself trying to help my team win even if it meant taking a puck to the face. Holidays were usually spent far away on tournaments; money was spent on new equipment. It takes a lot of time and dedication to play hockey. It has also helped to shape me into the person that I am today. Tell me I can’t do something and I’ll try and prove you wrong. This is the competitive edge that I gained from playing hockey. I focused almost all of my energy on this sport especially during the last four years of my life and I think that is the reason I did not have the best grades in high school. Even though going pro would have been a dream come true, it is time to realize that was not the path for me. I had a fun childhood playing but school is now my number one priority. Wow I just got deep on you there, time to change the topic.
My biggest concern right now has to be time management. With such a heavy workload I need to be on top of things. Unfortunately I am a well-practiced procrastinator. My logic is usually “I’ll wait till later cause I need to eat and then rest my mind before I can concentrate” night comes and I say “well, after the (Met, Ranger, or Giant) game I should have enough time if I stay up till midnight and study on the bus” after the game I realize the only possible chance of me finishing all my work is to pull an all-nighter.
Commuting has been a big issue for me. When I talk to my friends who dorm at other schools they tell me how they can wake up 15 minutes before class and get there on time. Meanwhile I have to give myself at least an hour 45 just to be safe because you never know when there’s going to be traffic or what not. I just hate how much of my time is wasted sitting on a bus, standing on a train, or waiting for the ferry. All of this wasted time can go towards sleep which I don’t get enough of anymore.
My third concern would have to be networking. This may be more of a challenge to some then it is to others. For me personally, I’m not afraid to admit that I can be a little shy at first but once you get to know me you’ll see that I am a kind person and even funny at times.
Right now the biggest differences for me between high school and college are the commute which I talked about earlier, the work load, and the freedom that I now have. I have definitely already done more work this year then all of last year as a senior. And no matter how much time and effort I’m putting in, I still feel like I am falling behind. At least I am finally out of the catholic school system once again. I don’t think I could stand another year of wearing a uniform and following all of their pointless little rules. Overall Baruch has not been bad at all but it would be perfect if it had a hockey team.
I am hoping that my first year in college will help me figure out what I want to major in. This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time now and I am still not 100% on what I want to do. I find this process very scary because it’s really important to me that I choose a cool career that I enjoy… ohh yeah and makes a lot of money too. Aight time for me to do some math homework. -_-