FRO 1000 – BFA

If I were to define the person that I think I am, I’d have to say shy. I’m not really much of a social butterfly when it comes to meeting new people, but among my friends I think that I’m definitely a loyal and truly caring person. I enjoy making people laugh and helping others in need so I guess I can be labeled as a “do-gooder”. I’m really big when it comes to gaming and usually find myself spending my time on Starcraft II or Heroes of Newerth being competitive among my friends that I think I’m lucky to have. I guess I could be labeled as a gamer too, but that’s beside the point. I’m hoping my time at Baruch College will help me further develop as a kind person.

One of my concerns with my freshman year at Baruch is finding out what group of people I belong with. I’m not really too familiar with my peers at the moment but it’s something that’s constantly at the back of my mind while I’m in class or doing work related to class. I guess I can consider work to be among my worries as well. The difficulty between the work that was required of me during my high school years and the work that I have to deal with now is pretty significant and the fact that you’re responsible for what’s to be done for class just adds on to my worries. The only other thing that really concerns me is punctuality with my classes. Waking up at 6am for a political science class that starts at 7:50am doesn’t really help me when I’m notorious at my old school for never showing up on time.

I really expect my experiences at college to be unique and ultimately change me in a better way. The fact that we aren’t being being spoon-fed the work and materials required for each course is obviously a pretty big change when making the switch from high school to college and as a result it’s probably going to make me become more responsible when dealing with these things. Another reason I believe Baruch is going to be unique is the fact that socializing with others is a pretty large part of college and involvement with the school with all the clubs you see on the 2nd floor of the vertical campus further proves that point. I think college is going to make me a more outgoing person and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for me.

I would consider myself to be caring, humorous, athletic, and adventurous. Sports have always been part of my life and I’ve been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. But although my love of soccer will always be with me, I feel as if it took too much of my time during high school which is why I have decided not to play for the Baruch team and just enjoy the college experience as well as concentrating on my grades. I’m looking forward to getting to know my new classmates as well as keeping in touch with my old friends.

One worry of mine was just getting used to living on the easy coast. Having just moved from Los Angeles; New York has been a completely different experience so far. I was expecting the adjustment to be a little more difficult but surprisingly, the transition to the NY lifestyle has been very smooth. Obviously, maintaining good grades is a very common concern but I am confident that if I make sure to put time in everything I do, I can and will succeed. My last concern was being far away from my family. My family and I are very close and in the beginning, I felt as though it would be hard being so far away from them. Fortunately, after only a few weeks, the homesickness is completely gone and I can fully enjoy everything New York has to offer. Especially with the advanced technology that we have at our disposal, keeping up with family and friends has never been easier.

I believe that the biggest difference between Baruch College and high school will probably be the amount of people that you interact with. Though my high school wasn’t that small, Baruch has much more people than does my high school. I think that this is beneficial because I will have a chance to interact with all kinds of people from different regions of the world.

I’m not sure how much my first year in college will change me, but one thing I am sure of is that I will definitely be more responsible and will be able to manage my time more efficiently. I’m also looking forward to getting a job and learning many of the important responsibilities that come with being a young adult. Baruch College will be a great experience.

If I had to guess, I think I would describe myself as a genuine guy who does his best to help others and at the same time does whatever he can to enjoy life. Some characteristics would inculde funny, athletic, and an overall nice guy. I enjoy anything adrenaline related. Pretty much anything that gets the blood flowing. I am also on the volleyball team at Baruch and sports have and always will be a part of my life.

Im looking foward to a great year at Baruch. Of course everyone has their concerns but I feel as though they will all take care of themselves. For example, one concern I had coming in was time management. It seemed in high school that I found myself doing a project at 3:00 am the day it was due. I want to avoid that at all costs this year and I feel like it might be challenging since I have much more freedom in college but so far I’ve done a decent job with it. Im beginning to find my routine and I’m beginning to figure out what I can and can’t do. Another concern I had was enjoying my classes. To be honest the only really enjoyable class I have is philosophy. It is an engaging topic. All the other classes are pretty plain cut, simple, dry, and I guess overall, boring. One last concern I had coming into Baruch was living up to my potential and meeting people. To be honest, it has been a lot easier of a transition than I thought it would be. I’m having fun in the city and the new people I’ve met are pretty cool.

College is definitely such a different atmosphere than high school. I mean in general, the most obvious thing that can be pointed out is that there are 13000 undergraduates here. There are so many kids. I like it though. You can have your close group of friends but at the same time be able to branch out to complete strangers. Also living on my own has been pretty fun. I feel as though I’m mature enough to make smart decisions and take advantage of the opportunity I have.

It will be interesting to see if this year will change me. To be completely honest, I don’t think it will. I think I’ll be pretty much leaving Baruch as the same person I came in. The only difference being that I will be more suited for the real world and build on that to build a better future that will hopefully come as a result from going to school at Baruch.

For starters, I’m an extremely easy person to approach, i’m lighthearted and ready to do anything. Life is all about fun so i choose to keep it that way by embracing all styles of music and anyone willing to attempt to get to know me. I won’t lie, if you mess with me i don’t waste anytime with negative occurences so you should probably expect me to just stop talking to you. That’s just a far warning but anyway. There are a few songs that pretty much run my life because of meaning and energy, i guess you could say my life is run off music because i practically live and breathe it. So that is me, a lighthearted music loving easily approachable individual just living life to the fullest.

Anyway the three concerns about my freshman year in Baruch are simple. Number one is failing a class. A simple concern but definetly one of them. I just worry that one class may be overwhelming. The second concern would have to be not being able to participate in something such as a club. The reason is because that is one of the main things I want to do while at Baruch. The third concern is not having the full college experience. The reason for that is because the college experience is so widely talked about as being one of the best things to experience so I’d like to experience it myself.

The college experience is going to cause me to wake up to the real world, open my eyes to opportunity and change the way i conduct myself. The freedom you get as a college student is definetly different than that of a high school student. The workload is definetly not that of a highschool student. The first year is definetly going to be a blast no matter the amount of work and it’s definetly going to start to shape a new part of myself that i’ll learn to love.

College is going to be a blast!

Hello college!

It makes me very proud to be able to say that. I have traded stocks and real estate, ran a store, and have been handling household expenses since I was 16 years old. I had no choice, it was just my mom and I making our way in the world, alone, without any aid or family. I have been witnessed some of the worst qualities of humanity, but I have also been blessed in many ways. One such blessing was the chance to work on a commercial video game project : LittleBigPlanet. Here’s a youtube clip a kind member of the community recorded from my interview that shipped on the Special Edition of LittleBigPlanet: Foofles LBP GOTY Interview

Foofles is a name that I’ve used for a decade. It’s as much a a part of me as the blood in my veins. But now I’ve accepted a new element in my life – Baruch College. Years ago, as I was taking my GED exam in Kingsborough College, I fell in love with the college atmosphere. Unfortunately, my mother convinced me not to go to college and pursue business with her. Years later I realized this was a horrible mistake.

My dreams were always crushed by lack of a college education. Including becoming a police officer. Our businesses fell to ruin due to horrible circumstances and I realized that it’s time to go to college. At first I was a little apathetic, but now I’m excited. I’ve met some amazing people here and it’s only been a couple of weeks! I’m 23 years old and picking up from where I should’ve been when I was 17. Best of luck to everyone else, feel free to ask me about anything.

Hi Everyone!!!!  As you all know, I am Joanna… First thing that I can tell you about me is that I get so annoyed when I am called Joanne.  You pronounce my name with the na sound at the end.  Therefore when people are trying to remember my name I usually tell them it rhymes with banana.  Anyways, I’m a 19 year old (turning 20 on November 30) Junior who’s majoring in Graphic Communication and I love it.  Besides that I’m a half Salvadorian and half Dominican girl with crazy curly hair that represents my life.  Fun fact… I changed my laugh because my old was so embarrassing.  (True Story:: Once my friends and I went out for dinner to celebrate the end of finals.  I began laughing and a friend who didn’t know my laugh, really thought I was dying.)  I am told by close friends that I am the sweetest person with the cutest personality they know.  If this is true, I don’t know but I can admit that I am determined to be positive and happy even if I’m not.  I try to have a smile on my face even if things are going wrong and if things go wrong, as they sometimes do (I feel like that line is part of a song) then I just deal with it.  I also tend to smile for no reason whatsoever.

My top 3 concerns for this semester is…

1. Time-Managing – I am teaching two FRO classes as a peer mentor, I’m working in the Office of Student Life, I have 5 classes (2 of which I have to dedicate hours outside of class time) from Monday to Saturday,  I am in a sorority and even though I became inactive I still try to be around when I have time,  I don’t want to kill my social life, and I have a family that asks me to go to family events like every weekend.  My concern is trying to NOT stress myself out.
2. My freshmen students – Not only you guys, but my past, present, and future freshmen seminar students.  I want each and everyone of my students to have a good semester…. I want them to get good grades and to pass freshmen seminar.  But I also want all my students to have fond memories of Baruch College.  I want everyone to find a niche here in school or a friend to hang out with, attend USG parties, get active in clubs, become leaders, gain more confidence, find your passion, and graduate with a good G.P.A…. and get an AWESOME job.  My concern, I guess, is that they don’t try to make the most of their first semester which in all honestly is beyond my control.
3. I guess my last concern for this semester is finding an internship for next semester or researching which country to study abroad for the summer.  Even though its only plans, every day is one day less and I feel like I’m running out of time.

I am beginning my third year here at Baruch College and I am definitely not the same girl who entered Mason Hall for Convocation in 2009.  I knew I was going to change but I didn’t expect how much.  When I began in Fall 2009, I was really naive.  Two years of Baruch College made me into a mature adult.  I went through a lot, pledging a sorority, becoming a student leader, getting As and Bs, failing classes, realizing that business was not for me, finding out that my passion was in the arts, and trying to find out who I am which honestly… I’m still trying to figure out.

Throughout high school, several people told me that I was a 30-year-old man inside an 18-year-old’s body. Teachers, employers–I’ve heard it from everyone. And logically, upon being told that, one would only feel so proud of themselves and of the people who could recognize that within them.

The shocking part is that I never felt that way. I always felt a bit too “overvalued” whenever I heard that. I always recognized that whenever it came to anything–school, work, sports–it was my family that came first. And then school, and then work, and then my friends, and then sports.

But towards the end of my senior year I started to realize that I had that whole order of events inverted. I started seeing myself place my job before school, and my friends before school, and school before my family.

This year, I want to change all of that. Many people use the term “clean slate” when they’re starting a new year back at school, and that’s exactly what I’m going to try and do.

1. Family
2. School
3. Friends

That’s the order I plan to take this year. I’m not getting a job first semester, and I’m not doing anything else but devoting two (2) hours of studying time each week per class. I’m not referring to the amount of time I do homework or write papers—I’m talking about studying. I might regret that in the future, but that’s my bare minimum.

Continue reading “Recouping priorities for the next four years”

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