Category Archives: Uncategorized

High school went by very fast. i went to mid wood high school, 10 minute walk from my house, can’t get more convenient then that,.the first day of high school was on september 4th 2007. I’m not a loser i just know that because it was my 14th birthday.

i walked into room 454, guitar class. i was only 30 minutes late. i thought i was on time, see someone told me that period 5 started at 10:45 and i didn’t care enough to check the day before. my teacher wasn’t happy about the lateness, but he’d have to get used to get used to it since i was either 20 minutes late or absent to his class every day. come on, why would they make my first class a guitar class ?? and then lunch? i ended up getting a 95 in that class.

that kinda set up how i would treat the next 4 years of high school.i was class of 2011 and that seemed like a long time away so i figured id eventually get serious about my classes. i never really did. i always just did enough to get decent grades. decent enough to get into Baruch apparently. junior year was probably the year i put in the most effort because for years people would always tell me that that is the  years colleges look at. so i got myself into the “gifted” classes at mid wood and got above a 90 average for the first time ever. i wish that junior year mentality would have stuck with me, but it didn’t. we all know how hard seniortitis hits you. most work i did senior year was dealing with the college office and applying to colleges.

now I’m here at baruch and just haven’t taken any of our classes seriously. i want to, but when i go home i either nap or watch tv of hours. thats really bad since we actually have to do the readings we get here just to know whats going on in class. i think I’m just going to barely have a c average at this point. hopefully i ll get serious soon, hopefully.

Allen Meyerovich

FRO 1000

11/15/11

The Dancing Ganapati is gold figure displayed in the Ruben Museum of Art.  The dazzling multi-colored metal design sought my interest because seeing an elephant god with many arms is kind of weird.  Ganapati, the deity is an All-seeing lord which is compassionate in Buddhist Culture.  The sculpture makes use of several alloys and turquoise inlays, it looks fancy and expensive.  I’m sure this is normal because all gods should be seen as rich since they are respected.  If the people who believed in Buddhism wanted the God to do something good for them, they better appreciate the God the right way, or else.  Ganapati was described as a “powerful wealth-bestowing deity”.  This means he was very popular to devoted Buddhists, because being rich is usually seen as better off than being poor.  Red was the Elephant-headed God’s main color and its twelve arms are ready to serve the people who worshipped it.  I chose Ganapati because this God stood out the most when I was walking around the Ruben Museum of Art.

Our LC and I went to the Rubin Museum as an out of class experience. There, we appreciated the artwork displayed to us.

One work that caught my attention was the Wheel of Dharma and Deer. It was a wheel with two deer on each side. It is said that this piece was displayed at the gates of all Buddhist temples and monasteries, so it became the most well-known icon of Buddhism as an institution. The piece belonged to the Alice S. Kandell Collection.

The entire piece was painted in a gold shade of color; the material was gilt copper alloy. However, it was not the color that attracted my attention the most, it was the wheel. It reminded me of a ferris wheel as well as the “wheel of fortune”—not the game show—the tarot card. Interpretations of the card include, but are not limited to: turning points, opportunities, fate, surprises, life cycles, etc.

Perhaps, it was fate that it caught my attention?

During our trip to the Rubin Museum as an LC, we were able to walk around and absorb the art. One particular piece that caught my attention was the Ganesha artifact. The fact that he has an elephant head intrigued me and made me want to find out more about the hindu God. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom, annd wealth.

Ganesha’s head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. What intrigued me the most was how Ganesha got his elephant head.

Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy’s head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name ‘Ganapati’. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture. There are multiple versions of how Ganesha got his elephant head which adds to the curiosity.

Allen Meyerovich

FRO 1000 LC 15

Are you tired? No problem, just get yourself a cup of coffee. If that doesn’t work, purchase a five hour energy drink. It gives you a great boost and you can stay awake for five hours!  I had five hours of sleep last night. Either college is time-consuming or my time management skills suck.

Why do I have to wake up 6a.m. every Monday to Thursday? It’s because I made a commitment to get to class on time. College is not an easy going hobby. It’s a rigorous four year job. I’m here to get an education and learn about life.  I come to college to have the opportunity to meet new people and have a good time. What’s your reason for being here? Are you looking for new friends?  Are you looking for clubs and activities you can participate in?  In order to fulfill any of these reasons, you have to be pro-active. One of the things that does not make sense to me, is when I see students leaving Baruch College and going straight home.  I understand that people have their own shit to do.  People have homework. People have family. People have religion. I respect that. All I’m saying is; take a break from work. Stop and look around a little bit. You’re in the city. Breathe in that nice fresh air. Enjoy the silence in the streets of Manhattan. Observe the friendly people passing by on the streets. Compared to the noise level at my house, Manhattan is a vision of tranquility. My home is a madhouse until maybe 11pm. My brother wants me to join him in a game of NBA 2K11. My sister wants to borrow some money from me. My mother decides that it’s my day to do dishes. My father wants me to go buy him some food. And all I want to do, is finish my homework and go clubbing in the city. Is that too much to ask for?

The city offers a life of excitement. There is a large amount of places where you can pick up food. There is a large amount of entertainment in the city.  But most importantly, there is a large amount of places where you can pick up girls. Think about that next time you wanna go home early, and don’t hesitate to contact the coolest guy you know, yours truly.

It took me a long time to agree with the saying that things happen for a reason. There is no sense in dwelling about the past because when one door closes another one opens.  Sometimes I think about what I leave behind every time I close a door. What if I closed the door on the best thing that could have happened to me? What if that test I didn’t ace prevented me from going to the college of my dreams? What if I took the chance and asked the girl who I have been dreaming about how she feels about me? Where would I be right now if I never came to the U.S? Questions like this plague me and sometimes I can’t get them out of my head. Listening to music is a great method of quelling the questions but they will resurface the next day. Everybody has something that they either regret doing or not doing. Regret is an entity that you can’t run away from and have to encounter eventually, or it will slowly eat you alive. It is a monster that, if you allow to, will turn every happy moment you have into remorse. Regretting makes you lose appreciation for what you have achieved and what you have. If I think about what could have been, I disregard everything I have right now and make it less valuable. Seeing incidents in which people are in unfavorable situations makes me realize how thankful I should be for what I do have. Sure, if I went to my dream college I would be happier, but would I have the support of my family and friends? The decisions that I make change my life and there is no point in them regretting because I can’t take it back. I slowly began to believe in fate, how events are destined to happen by forces out of my control. Life is not something that I can have control over to make sure that all situations have the best outcomes. I have learned to have a positive outlook on life and believe that in the long run, everything that I do will get me one step closer to the future that I envision.

Do you remember your first day of high school? I know I don’t. But I do remember the first day of college. In high school, there were at least a few familiar faces, but here? Not a single one.

“I’m definitely gonna screw SOMETHING up,” I would always say to myself before school started.

Indeed, they say that first impressions last a lifetime. And since I’ve got a spotless track record of messing them up, you might imagine I was a little nervous about the inevitable social interactions that would take place.

As it turned out, the fact that I was in a learning community helped.

A LOT.

Seeing the same ugly mugs every day in nearly every class made making friends easier than screwing up a first impression. Between classes we would happen to meet each other in the game room and play a little Foosball to pass the time. So far I’ve been on two six-block adventures to a Chinese restaurant with the gang where we talked about our old teachers, our current professors and SOME people who just don’t know how to whisper in the library.

And since the guys in the LC don’t mind me tagging along, it seems that the impression that I’ve made on them hasn’t been so bad after all.

Sometimes I wonder what I really want to do in life.

I see people hustling.

Volunteering, working, and spending every moment of their free time doing something productive. At times, I’d think, I want to be like that… But is it all worth it in the end? I wonder when his or her life comes to an end, what would it be that he or she will remember?

I see people being content.

Even if the world is about to end tomorrow, they would shrug and go on about what they were doing and they’re okay with that. At times, I think I’d want to be like that—so carefree and happy. But then I would ask myself, then what am I working so hard for right now?

I admit it.

I confess to being indecisive and swaying easily. It took a long time for me to establish some goals in my life and still, I’m unclear about what I want in the long run…

In high school, I just wanted to graduate and get out of there.

Now I want to graduate from college.

Yes, graduate. I’m a freshman and I’m already hoping to reach the finish line. Let’s skip all the majors discussion and what career I’m going to have for the rest of my life for now because that seems to be all that people want to push onto me.

“You should become a dentist. My dentist is crappy and unreliable; I’d love to have a trustworthy dentist.”

“You should become a pediatrician. Then we could take our children to go see you instead.”

No.

Don’t do this to me.

Don’t try to project your shattered dreams onto me.

Don’t try to make my decisions for me.

What happened to, “You’re eighteen now. Make your own decisions”?

Because that line seems to be used only when I’m sincerely asking for your input and you just don’t want to give me any.

Yet, when I finally decide that to hell with asking for your advice, you try to project your thoughts into my reality.

It sickens me to the core.

A)    Tell us who you think YOU are?

–       The best word that describes who I am is adventurous. I’m the one who is rarely at home, but always out and about walking around till my legs give up on me. There is nothing that brings more joy than exploring unknown places. I like going to these unknown explore and discover the best spots to eat, visit the tourist hotspots, and meet new people along the way. Over the years, I’ve been from the hot sunny beaches of Key West, Florida to the frozen tundra of Anchorage, Alaska. Visiting these places gives me a whole new appreciation and created a different perspective for different cultures and lifestyles from my own. Before I grow old and gray, my personal goal is to pass through all the states across the nation.

B)    Share your top 3 concerns about your freshmen year at Baruch College and explain why.

1) Time management- With all this freedom, am I going to use it in the wrong way? Now that I’m in college I need to become more organize. I need to make time for studying, sleeping, and hanging out with my friends. The key to a successful college experience is to be a master in time management.

2) Making Friends – Making new friends is always the hardest thing to do, especially going to a new      school where you really don’t know anyone.  At the same time it can be someone’s advantage. You are given a clean slate, where you can shape the next four years however you like it. With this clean slate, I want to break my usual timid behavior and become more social. Luckily, I’m part of Learning Community which it purposes is to help solve my current concern. Hopefully everything turns out well.

3) Major- Is accounting what I was born to do? All my life up till this point, my dream job has always to become an accountant.  Now that I’m in college, I’m becoming more aware of the different kinds of jobs there are. Do I want to still pursue my major or would I change it? Only time would tell.

C)    So far, what do you think will make your Baruch College Experience different from your high school experience?

–       With my second time to start all over, I want to make the effort and become more involved in Baruch. As I made up my way through the surprisingly working escalator, and through all the kids offering different club fliers during club hours. I was amazed with superfluous amounts of clubs there were (USG, Frats, Teams). For my best interest, I would join a couple of these clubs because it’s a great opportunity to do something I like with others who share the same the same interest.

D)     How do you think your first year of college will change you?

–       My first year of college will change me by making me more mature.  Going through a college is a personal transformation in becoming more like an adult. It’s not like high school where I had my parents, teachers, and guidance consular on my back pushing me to do this or that. Now, I’m on the big leagues where I cannot expect other people to watching out for me, I got to take it upon myself to do things on my own. This is one of the qualities of being an adult.

It is hard for me to respond to who I think I am because I am two people. I was born in June and I am a prime example of a Gemini. I tend to see myself as a “Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde” person because I have two completely opposite personalities. Some days I can be the nicest guy you will ever encounter, while other days I can be irratible and hostile towards others. I can be loud and vivavcious, but also quiet and stagnant. It all depends on which side of the bed I wake up on.

My first concern about Freshman year in Baruch is deciding my major. I am a person who loves Math and Science but due to financial issues I chose to go to Baruch. I know there is a school for the arts and sciences but compared to what other colleges have to offer it doesnt come close. In a competitive world only the elite are hired and I feel like if I choose a major along those lines I will not get far. I feel like choosing a major in business will be the best thing for me because then I will be able to reap all the benefits that Baruch has to offer and make sure that I have a successful future. But there are so many majors in business that I get lost in the mix.

My second concern about Freshman year in Baruch is maintaining a 4.0 GPA. In highschool I wasnt aware of the fact that all grades were cumulative and my first two years were rather lackluster. I was able to get it together and attain an average that I consider decent, but nowhere in the area that I want it to be. I dont want to go through the same experience in college, but instead maintain a 4.0 GPA. This is easier said than done but I believe that I can achieve this goal by giving it my all.

My third concern about Freshman year in Baruch is professors. So far I have experienced professors that can run their class like a dictatorship and expect everything to be done to their standards, or professors who can meet the student halfway and find some common ground. Both experiences are needed in the professional world because there are all types of bosses and it is up to the employee to do what they say. I just hope that all my teachers dont run their class like a dictatorship!

So far freedom has made my experience at Baruch College different from my highschool experience. In highschool I went did things in a circadian rhythm, meaning that everyday was the same boring schedule and the same approach of getting things done. In college it is nothing like that. I have the ability to choose what I can do, or what I should do, during the breaks in between classes, something that I never did in highschool. The schedule is not the same everyday, which gets rid of the mundane feeling that highschool imprints on its students.

I think that the first year of college will change me in multiple ways. Before college I was a rather lazy student who didnt put much effort into anything. Just ask any of my past teachers, I am sure they will be able to recount multiple stories. Everything comes naturally to me and I am able to understand and relate concepts instantly. I know that college will be nothing like that because the material will get more complicated and the concepts wont be so childish. I believe that college will make me more responsible and ready for what the professional world demands. It is just a matter of time before the little kid that I am deep inside matures into a leader.