Category Archives: Monologues

I’m a son, a brother, a friend, and a Christian. Being the youngest in a family has it’s pros and cons. There are times where my parents would be more lenient because I’m younger and I “don’t know better” but on the other hand I always get my sister’s belongings as she gets new ones. When it comes to religion I have a strong view of Christianity. As a child I grew up in a church but I decided around my freshman year that I wanted to go to church for myself and not just go because of my parents and with that I left my church and found a new one. I believe that my friends and my environment had a strong influence on the person I am today. If I had to change one thing about myself it would be that I want to be more patient and be slow to anger.

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Where to start, where to start?  Everyone starts with their good attributes, so I guess it’s just about right to start with my defects.  I’m too skinny for my height, I don’t like working out, I cant eat too much or I become overweight, over the years I’ve spent way too much on sneakers, and I pay more attention to baseball stats than to professors during lectures… now that that’s out of the way… Hey guys what’s up? How many of you waited til last night to write your own monologue…? Yea me too.   I need to change that.  College has given me more free time than high school did, and I needa learn how to use it more wisely.  Apparently the obedient son, dependable teammate and responsible worker now needs to add responsible student to the list.  I have to; I gotta make momma and poppa proud.  Plus I gotta show my friends that just because they decided college wasn’t for them, I can’t take on the challenge either.  I’m not going to end up working 9-5 in construction like half of them are doing, or play Xbox 9-5 like the other half is. Nope, not me.

Ann said I had the personality for college anyway. And for a teacher who kicked me out of her class at least a dozen times during Freshman year in high school, I take that as a compliment. She must’ve hated the fact that I talked too much, or that I always had a smart remark to throw into a class discussion, but I guess she realized three years later that it would help make friends during college.  She could’ve warned me about time management, though.  The first couple of weeks had me juggling my homework and my baseball, and lets be honest, I leaned more towards the second. Its not that I don’t care about school, I do wanna have a 3+ GPA to brag about when I go back and visit my high school. It’s just that.. Baseball is love. Even after a couple of sprained wrist, jammed fingers, line drives to the body, and a dozen stitches after taking a bat to the face, there’s nothing I’d rather do than step onto a baseball field. But enough about my relationship with baseball, you guys would much rather hear what I’m scared of, I bet.

I actually have a short list of things, and zombies and planes are mainstays. After Dawn of the Dead, not only did I develop a liking for the movies and a fear of zombies, but I also got the great gift of recurring zombie dreams, oh the joy. I also don’t like planes. I don’t mind the landing, but airplane innovators have a lot to work on when it comes to the taking off. I’m also scared of being alone. If it’s at home, I don’t mind, I actually prefer having the house to myself. But at school, that’s a different ballgame. All of elementary and junior high I walked around without much conversation throughout the day, and after high school I honestly was scared that I would make no friends here. But luckily people were friendlier than I expected, and for now at least that fear has been put off. As for dislikes, I could care less about math. No offense to you math-lovers, but when am I going to need to know how to rationalize a fraction to pay for my groceries at the supermarket? Oh and don’t get me started on cats. They just look at you with their big creepy eyes, and press their body against your leg when they walk… I dislike cats.

But I think you all agree with me when I say studying is at the top of my dislikes. Its like professors enjoy saying “There’s going to be an exam next week.” Which brings me back to the point; I need to learn how to manage my time better. And I need to learn how to ignore my phone. I keep checking to see if Paul texted back but instead my boy Angel did, and he never takes longer than a minute to respond, which just leads to more conversation, and more distractions. But lets wrap this up. How to end this? I don’t even know if I followed the guidelines. But it’s all cool, I’m Edwin. What matters is not being nervous right? And I pass when it comes to that.

My main fear in life is failure. I’m trying hard to get over that one because it stops me from trying new things that I feel like I have no chance of succeeding at. I am also deathly afraid of vacuum cleaners. Just the sound of one running makes me nervous. I think it’s because one time when I was little my brother stuck the vacuum on my face and I was kind of traumatized. Also rapists, Yankee stadium, public speaking, and the third rail of subway tracks.

Things that make me happy are Mets wins, dancing with my little sister, when my dog jumps up to greet me when I get home, vegan cupcakes, Parks and Recreation, painting, Jose Reyes triples, the Manning family, and going to concerts.

What’s most important to me right now is being able to finally go to school and succeed. It’s taken me a really long time to get to this point so I just want to do everything I can to avoid screwing it up.

What I like least about myself is how quiet I am. I hate that I have so much trouble speaking up for myself. What I like most about myself is my determination.

I play the roles of sister, student, activist, artist, fan, intern, friend, ally, and survivor.

An empowering moment in my life was getting into college. For a long time in my life, everyone told me I would never be able to, that I wasn’t smart enough, that I didn’t deserve to go. Getting into school without any help from anyone made me feel like I had power over my own life and could choose what I wanted to be. Starting at Baruch felt like things were finally going to change, and new possibilities were finally going to open up for me. I’m proud of all that I’ve overcome and I feel strong knowing that I don’t need to rely on anyone but myself anymore.

My theme song is Pearl Jam’s Unthought Known because I feel like the lyrics really represents where I am in my life right now, and reminds me of where I’m going.

Feel the path of every day/ Which road you taking?/ Breathing hard, making hay/ Yeah, this is living

Look for love and evidence/ That you’re worth keeping/ Swallowed whole in negatives/ It’s so sad and sickening

Feel the air up above/ Oh, pool of blue sky/ Fill the air up with love/ All black with starlight

Feel the sky blanket you/ With gems and rhinestones!/ See the path cut by the moon/ For you to walk on

See the path cut by the moon/ For you to walk on/ See the waves on distant shores/Awaiting your arrival/ Dream the dreams of other men/ You’ll be no one’s rival/ Dream the dreams of others then you will be no one’s rival

A distant time/ A distant space/ That’s where we’re living/ A distant time/ A distant place/ So what ya giving?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” I guess I’m still looking for that treasure, since I have no my idea where my heart will take me. This quote to me represents that life is a journey, and in the end, we’ll be right where we belong. It also shows that everyone is a different person, since the term “treasure” could be defined as anything, from precious memories to money. I believe our decisions in life will lead us to what we will eventually get and deserve.

As cliche as it sounds, my family and best friends are the most important people to me. These are the people I grew up with; my best friends are all from elementary school. I know that they always have the best interest for me at heart, whether I agree or not. They make my life worth living for. No matter how much they drive me crazy, they’re always going to be my favorite people.

What I like about myself is that I’m dedicated when I want to achieve something that I want. But this only applies when I really, really want something. I will do whatever it takes to get it. I will not try if it’s something that doesn’t feel right to me. Whatever I want at the moment is most likely the most important thing to me during that time span, even if it isn’t exactly the “right thing”, if that makes sense. For example, I was very determined to get one of my high school teachers to let me take my final during another class period because I would be out during mine. And for what reason? To go see the Backstreet Boys on the Today Show. Usually this isn’t allowed, but I knew I was a good student, so I got it my way with some convincing.

I think what I enjoyed the most about college life at Baruch right now is meeting new people. This is the first time in my life that I’m not surrounded by a group of old friends, or at least people I know of. I’m in a completely different environment, and I’m slowly starting to get use to it. However, when someone asks me, “How’s college?”, I still don’t have a definite answer for them, it’s always an “it’s okay” reply. I hope it will eventually change to a more positive answer.

Sometimes I wonder which side of me is the real me. I guess I’m like mercury. My personality would change often depending on the environment or the people. But then, I guess, other people are like that, too. What’s really weird is, I feel that everyone gets a specific type of “Irene”. Most people at first would get the quiet and shy Irene but that would soon develop into a more defined Irene. Confusing? Weird? I don’t know…I’m just different towards different people. I could be dominating, funny, submissive, loud, grumpy, outgoing, whatever.

Anyhow, at least my identity isn’t that complex. I feel so repetitive, but it’s who I am. The basic summary of my background is: I was born in New York, raised in Egypt, and moved back to New York with only my brother when I was 12. Whenever, I mention Egypt, people think “WOW!” and go like “Is it a desert?” What used to irritate me is when people say I’m Egyptian but I take it as a joke now, so it’s okay. I’m Chinese and I’m born in New York. I don’t think that makes me Egyptian even though I lived there for about eight years. Some people say it does. I’ll just leave that up to you.

I don’t really like change especially starting over when it comes to school. It makes me uncomfortable. I just moved to New York and had to get used to the new system, living with people that I’ve never met before, and just living without the help of my parents. That’s when I became a really good daughter because I started to appreciate them more. Anyways, just when I made some friends, I had to start over again for high school. At least that lasted longer. Now, I have to start over again in Baruch. I can’t really say much about my experience so far here besides the fact that there’s a lot of work! I hope that I would become less lazy and stop procrastinating. Maybe that’ll help with having more time to spend with my friends and just socialize or even just relax.

I’m scared of many things. I blame it on my mom. For sure, I’m scared of bugs because of her. Every time she sees a cockroach or whatever she screams and jumps on the couch or anywhere off the ground. She would yell for my dad to come and kill it. I was conditioned to be scared of bugs but I also think they’re just so nasty with their crawling legs and antennae or whatever. EW. Another thing I’m scared of is needles. Don’t worry, I got my shots. I kind of have to or else I could kiss a good future goodbye for not going to college.

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)

“Don’t dwell on the past, learn from it”. I love this saying for several reasons. For starters, it’s something I can relate to often (as many others can, I imagine). I’m someone who makes mistakes after mistakes, and looking back I tend to always feel regret. Lots of people have asked me “if you could go back in time, would you?” Before they even finish asking the question my immediate answer would be YES. Although I have also done lots of things that I should be proud of the mistakes I made tend to be overwhelming. However, I am not here to complain about the past but rather to acknowledge the fact that I think I am learning the second part of that quote, “learn from it”. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely do-able.

Let’s start from the beginning, my name is Judy, born and raised on Long Island. My family is from Southern China; I can speak Chinese and English. Although the former isn’t always grammatically correct. I am a daughter, granddaughter, older sister, friend, and student. I think I like the role of granddaughter the best; spending time with my grandparents is probably my all time favorite pastime, call me lame, but it’s true.

My biggest fear involves two things; pigeons and rats. I can’t really explain it, but they are just so bleh.

So here I am…at Baruch College. I’ve been asked several times “oh how’s Baruch?!” and I really don’t know how to reply. I feel like its high school plus a ton more time management roles and all nighters.

Lot’s of things make me happy. Like I’m weird like that, because I can be sitting in the subway and if I see someone get up for an old person, that makes me happy. I guess it’s because its rare to see good deeds being done. Or maybe it’s because I’m just really weird. I also love photography, cooking, and playing tennis. Since you probably all think I’m extremely weird at this point, I might as well mention that I love playing tennis with the handball court walls. Yeah… I know what you’re thinking, but that’s just how I roll

At the fragile age of eighteen, I have so much being thrown at me right now that was completely unexpected.  Except for college of course because the hard work there was definitely expected.  I feel excited but nervous, scared but ready, and anxious but happy.  As a loving daughter and sister, eager and ambitious student, and soon to be wife, I am taking on the challenges of life and turning them into positive motivators that will help me strive for better things.

At times, I do admit that I make decisions more based on emotion rather than ration and I respond more intuitively than intellectually.  I patiently wait for problems to sort themselves out instead of taking the initiative to sort them out myself.  Its in my nature and its been that way for a long time.  Its not necessarily a good thing, however its not a bad thing either.

I have an easy going and submissive nature so most of the time I just go with the flow.  I don’t mean it in the sense that I don’t have any control over myself, it just means that I wont go out of my way to argue something I want because to me its easier to compromise.  I tend to give more than I ask.

I always felt the need to please everyone around me; my parents, teachers, friends, and loved ones.  I don’t know why but I always subconsciously seek approval from others.  Maybe it has to do with my slightly needy persona.  I prefer to follow more than I would prefer to lead because when I’m in a position of power/authority I just crack.  I shut down completely and have no rational sense of what to do.

I am weirdly fascinated by the ridiculous and enjoy solitude to stay in my own little dream bubble fantasizing about all the good things I want in my life. If I make a mistake in the past I like to keep it in the past, I hate thinking about those kinds of things and try my hardest to bury them far away. I dislike being criticized, things that are obvious, know-it-alls, and pedantry.

I love anything that has to do with mythology, astrology, or art.  Those things keep me at a calm and surreal state of mind.

I’m excited about whats to come and I look forward to starting my own family very soon.  If someone asked me a year ago what age I want to get married, I would probably say at age 24 or 25 but I guess when you live your life and circumstances become not what you expect, things surely do change.  But I am glad that my opinion has changed.

I’m glad to be in college now but there was a time when I thought I would never go. I spent 4 years after high school traveling and working odd jobs. For a long time, I was used to the lifestyle of doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Waking up in the afternoon and staying up all night. I’m still adjusting to the 9 to 5 lifestyle but I’m proud of myself that I came back to college because a lot of people say they will and never do it.

For me, the most important people in my life are my mom and my girlfriend. They are the people I trust completely with every aspect of my life. It’s interesting to me that the most important people in my life are women because a few years ago I was fighting with my mom, closer to my dad and thought of myself as more likely to continue hooking up with random girls than be in a long term, monogamous relationship.

But my mom has really stepped up and really been there for me in tough times. She has been there for me through my dad’s death and a whole lot of family drama that resulted from that. She continues to support me in everything that I do and is someone I can always talk to her about my issues, even if I do annoy her occasionally. We still but heads from time to time, but I know how much she cares about me. My girlfriend is there for me consistently as well and has shown me that I can have emotional intimacy with another person where I give myself completely to them. I think that’s an important experience for anybody.

There are qualities I have that I really like and others that I wish were different. I like how if I really want something, I will always work and struggle to get it. In that sense I always ‘get what I want.’ But at the same time, I get frustrated easily with things I don’t have passion for. An assignment that’s tedious and pisses me off can make me annoyed and angry too easily. I can want to give up easily and throw my hands up, meanwhile cursing loudly. I am still working on learning to not get so irritated easily and learn to stay the course and figure things out. I think this outlook will help me in College and in life.

My name is Nia Bolling and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I have grown to love the borough. I do not regret living in Brooklyn because it helped mold me into the person that I am today and it taught me many life lessons that I could never be erased. I ultimately decided to stay in New York City for college because I realized that I am a city girl and would go absolutely crazy if I left the city to go to the

suburbs for school. Many people complain that New York is too noisy, dirty, and not a good city to live in, but I totally disagree. I love that the city of New York is full of life and there is always something to do. Like they all say, “The city never sleeps.” The fast-paced life of NYC fits well with my spontaneous character I guess. Anyways, enough about NYC and more about me!

I am an intelligent, beautiful, and strong minded young lady who is not afraid of a challenge and trying new things. I may seem quiet at first but as you get to know me, I am the total opposite. The hobbies that I absolutely love are singing, shopping, and movie-watching. I’ve been singing my whole life and have grown to love all genres of music such as pop, rap, rhythm and blues, indie-rock, classical, and many more. Shopping, I’m sure is every females favorite hobby. I particularly like to shop because I love putting my styling abilities to the test and styling myself and others helps me practice this craft. Watching movies are always refreshing to me because they allow me to indulge in fantasy and imagination. It is also a temporary way to escape life in general.

Some things that are an integral part of my life are family, friends, music, and pepperoni pizza. Family is something that I cherish and love dearly. “Blood is thicker than water”, means that no matter what happens your family will always be your family, no matter how many disagreements you have. Friendships may be broken, but families cannot. Friendships are also something that I cherish very much. The older you get, the less time you spend with mom and dad and the more time you spend with friends. That is why it is important to develop healthy friendships with others, especially during your teen years. I have made a lot of friends during high school and so far in college and have had many great memories with them. Some memories included being kicked out of buffalo wild wings for paying a $22 bill to an impolite waiter in all coins, singing at Carnegie Hall with my choir friends, screaming Broadway songs and dances at the top of my lungs in public, dressing up as Velma for cartoon day my senior year, taking numerous pictures in Central Park, my epic senior trip and prom night and many many many more. I hope these great memories continue with my college friends a.k.a. Block 48 !!!! whooaaaa =)

I can speak on music for days but I’m too lazy to get into such detail. Some genres of music that I like are rap, r&b, rock, indie, pop, gospel, jazz, classical; basically everything except for heavy metal (gives me headaches). I listen to music almost 24 hours a day, whether through my headphones or simply in my head. Im going to end there because I don’t want to get to deep with the topic.

Last but not least….PEPPERONI PIZZA a.k.a. the best snack known to man! For the record, animal crackers come in second place.

So yes, I could clearly write more about myself but I figured this is a decent amount for now. =)

Hope you enjoyed. 3-2-1 blast off !

p.s. the first picture is of my friends and I eating breakfast at 8am at a diner after partying all night/morning long on our prom night ! =P and the 2nd is of my friends and I at Benihana’s celebrating a birthday!