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Dear Professor Getzen,

I am concerned about my grade for Study Guide #1.  I can clearly see that my original grade of 8.0 was changed to 7.5. I think I deserved the B- and I want to inquire on why there was white out over it.

With the best regards,

Kriss Ramjattan

Good Evening Professor,

I write to you as I am concerned that an error may have occured relative to my grade. The grade I have received is a B-, however, according to the rubric and returned documents the grade I have earned should be an A.  I would like to discuss this in person rather than through e-mail. If possible, I would like to meet during your office hours at your earliest convenience. If an appointment cannot be made, then I will pursue this reevaluation via e-mail.

Regards,

Jeffrey Leung

Scenario: Your professor gave you a B-

Hello Professor,

I have a question with regards to my grade that I received in your class this semester. According to my own records I haven’t received a grade lower than an A- and have been actively participating in class discussion. Which leads me to think that an error has occurred in my grade.

I was wondering if we could set up a conference to settle this possible confusion. Please feel free to contact me I would really appreciate it. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Samantha Ma

 I’m full Japanese born in NY, raised in several countries; most people just assume I’m a Japanese American from the tropical land of Hawaii. As of my family, I have a mom who cooks amazing food and beats me in tennis, an obtuse dad that obeys what mom says no matter what, and a crazy loving sister that likes to control everything I say, own and act. Many of my friends tell me that I’m not the typical Japanese girl; they say I’m funny, joke around a lot, do crazy outrageous things as if there’s no tomorrow, a good listener, entertain people, and challenge myself. I am probably pretty self-conscious because the Japanese culture, which I was brought up in, was based one standard and most of the Japanese people followed it. So if you don’t look or behave similar to others, you are a total misfit. It was honestly very hard for me to fit in not only in Japan but wherever community I was in. Anyways, if the world was to end tomorrow, which is the question I like to think about all the time, I will go to a warm deserted island with someone I care about a lot. If not, I’ll fight against the sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. What I love to do is go to the beach near my house in Japan and watch the waves, sunrise, sunset and feel that you are living the moment.

 I really think my mood swings due to the weather. As I was born in October, I love the season of fall the most; crispy autumn breeze tingling your face and brushing your hair, wearing a light scarf with some earthy colored layers, not too humid and sticky hot like in the summer but not freezing cold, the leaves changing its colors to reddish yellow. Fall is the best season to eat warm apple pie with vanilla ice-cream mmmm….

What is it like to be dead? Will your soul still be there? What is the purpose of living your whole life if you’re gonna be dead anyways? Live a short life with drama or a long life with lots of memories? Whenever I think about what will happen in my later life, I just get creeped out and can’t think about anything anymore. But the more I think about what will happen after I die, the more things start not to make sense to me in the current life I am living in; why are we living? Why are we trying to compete with each other to have a better life than them? (but the sarcastic part to this is that I ask this kind of question to myself and hoping to major in finance at Baruch and eventually work wallstreet getting somewhat annoyed by the wall street hippies.) Why are we trying to be the best in everything when you’re gonna end up dead anyways? But the more I think, the more I get miserable not being able to find a solid reason that I can agree on so I just think like this; Live the life you love. Love the life you live.  Life is only once; do what ever you got to do. Don’t be scared, just do it. Makes loads of mistakes; whatever you do, at the end it’ll be your history.

People want what they don’t have. Keep on desiring. Because you won’t get it until you actually stand up and make an action.

How to write a letter to your professor when you missed your midterm;

Dear professor,

I am writing a letter to you regards as I could not take the midterm last week. I had to go to another state to attend a funeral for one of my relatives that day. Will there be any way for me to take the midterms this week or the following week?  I would like to talk to you in person if necessary.

Thank you for your time

Kind regards,

Mana

What I think about myself never seems to stick to one characteristic.  You can say I’m weird but I’m proud of that. Being “normal” feels so plain and boring in a sense that I would rather be spontaneous, loud, and carefree. This is completely different to how I was maybe 2 years ago. Back then, you would probably know me as the girl in the class that never says a word, or the girl that keeps to herself on the subway, but in general the tiny little Asian girl in the back. On the other hand, now I might still be the girl in the class that never says a word here and there, my voice is heard, I am super loud on the subway with laughing and talking. In general nowadays I’m the tiny little Asian girl that laughs a lot.

In a way I was always an upbeat hyperactive girl, but it used to be only to the people that I’ve known and grown comfortable with after a while. Over time, I have been able to be that with more and more people and even people I haven’t met before in my life as an icebreaker. I guess I have grown to be more open and though I may come off to people I first meet, as a bit strange I feel like I can be remembered as such instead of something worse. I’m very random; I have short attention spans on some occasions. I could be telling a story and if a cute dog or squirrel passes by or something behind the person I’m talking to happens my attention would go of immediately. I really like shiny things and heart shaped stuff too! As you can tell my attention span while writing this monologue is going off a little as well. What else is there to mention? i like to cook/bake, play sports, draw, explore, get lost, anything. I am definitely accident prone, a ball magnet, clumsy, etc. I seem to get hurt every single day; could be major or a little bump but at least once a day. Whenever there is a ball tossed around anywhere near me, even if I am in a group of people, that ball will find its way to hit me. I was hit by a football, volleyball, handball, soccer ball, and a snowball. Probably the only ball that has not yet hit me is a baseball, let’s hope not. I guess to conclude it all is that i’ a girl that just like to have fun, be random, be crazy, be silly but also know to be serious, be considerate of others but definitely to have fun!

Scenario: Your professor gave you a B- but your personal records reflect an A.

Email:

Hi Professor Smith,

I have a question about my grade in your class. Some of the grades that you have on Blackboard don’t match the grades that are written on my assignments. Can we set up a time to go over the assignments? I have a break from 12:00 – 2:00 Monday through Thursday.

Best,
Michael Li
Eng. 2150 MW

My desire to pursue the clarinet has many sources. It ranges from my love for the instrument’s round, dark tone, to an interest in music history. It’s drawn from the gratification I get after finally nailing an impossible scale and from the feeling of pressing those silver keys down in perfect combination and time. If not for certain constraints, I would play my clarinet everyday. One hour each for individual practice, orchestra rehearsal, and jazz band rehearsal. I would have a concert every month and my ensembles would perform at state-of-the-art venues such as Avery Fischer Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. If I possessed the talent, I would be both a respected ensemble musician and featured soloist. If I had the time, I would study music theory and history, until I could compose or arrange music with ease. And with both talent and time, I would pour over chord progressions and harmonies and recordings until I could improvise like John Coltrane, Benny Goodman and countless others.

However I am a student and the son of an immigrant, single mother and these roles severely limit my musical pursuits. My time is consumed by writing papers, not practicing etudes; my money is eaten up by textbooks, not sheet music; my responsibilities are to my family and not just to myself. Having relied on my mom for everything these past eighteen years, I need to pursue something that will lead to sustainable, financial independence. This is a condition that I have placed upon myself and unfortunately I’m nowhere near good enough for the clarinet to make me any real money. Pursuing music would also limit the development of my academic interests, on which I place a high value. I would never learn how to analyze Hemingway’s writing in a practice room or begin to understand derivates trading by playing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. For me, subjects such as literature and business have much broader scopes than the clarinet does. They relate to the entire human condition, whereas jazz and classical music are limited to a select group. And the education that I would be losing out on as a music student, far exceeds that of which I would gain.

This leaves me in the same place as I started: a college freshman planning to major in business. Every day I’ll read and think and write about systems of government, political theorists and economic principles – topics that have nothing to do with music. But jazz and classical music and the clarinet will still be with me. On my commute to school every day, I’ll have seventy minutes on the 6 train to put on my ipod and study Gillespie’s solos, Ella’s phrasing, and Goodman’s technique. Then on weekends I can pull out my instrument and attempt to imitate what I have been listening to on the train. And although I won’t have my clarinet with me when I go to class the next Monday, I will still know that I am a musician.

“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/And then is heard no more; it is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.” (Shakespeare, Macbeth)

What is the meaning of life? There is no answer. That is to say, there is no one answer. My answer to “what is the meaning of life?” is to find it; that every person on this Earth spends their lifetime finding the answer that had already been with them their entire life. Goals, ambitions, dreams, these do not define a meaning. To truly find the meaning is to achieve a mastery of nature and science, to understand the world in the way one envisions it. Nearing seven billion people, every individual is forged in the line of fire called life. Time is as continuous as it is infinite. Every waking second of every waking minute, decisions are made that influence the road of life. Arduous as it is, the journey is made nonetheless, and no complaints can be made. Ultimately, I stand at eternal crossroads, indecisive of my path. I weigh both options and never decide, choosing where the wind takes me. Although, it is plausible to say that that itself is a decision. Times change and decisions are made, but I never progress. I stand and watch as my influence guided others down their own paths until I could no longer see them on the horizon. I am the sagacious advisor who plans and coordinates, but never acts. I stand at the crossroads of life and shepherd those who walk with a wavering stride. I stand unable to part my sea of thoughts in order to proceed to salvation. Immersed in thinking forever, condemned, but safe. I have not found my meaning of life, and I doubt I ever will, but to know that I have helped others to their meaning will suffice.

Community service is a great thing to do. It doesn’t take much out of the volunteers but what they do to help or give means a lot to those who aren’t as capable for any reason. I’ve done a few volunteer events on my own and I also did some volunteering for a club back to highschool for key club. We would go to walks, like the annual aids walk in central park, and other walks such as Arthritis Foundation Walk and the Jingle Bell walk. Just walking with some friends and meeting some people was fun to do. Also while I was rushing for a fraternity, we had a philanthropy event, called “Meals on Heels,” where we would deliver food to the elderly whom were unable to go out to get their own food. I felt good about helping people and it was a good experience.