FRO 12 Motherblog

Honestly, I had never even contemplated coming to Baruch College. I had decided that I didn’t want to attend a college in the city because I wanted the ideal college experience which was to live on-campus.  I had applied to only three city schools but the rest were located in upstate New York. Visiting these colleges for their freshman orientation, I realized two things. One was that I couldn’t possibly leave the city and live in upstate NY which was too quiet and boring. Secondly, the environment of the other colleges I was deciding on attending didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel as though I would be able to live on campus or attend classes there for four years. So, a couple of days before May 1^st, the deadline, I decided that I’d give Baruch College a chance and see what exactly it was about. When I attended the orientation and took a tour of the college, I knew without a doubt that this was the college for me. It is now December and I feel exactly the same way I did when I had left Baruch after the orientation, happy with my decision. I enjoy coming here each and every day although it takes me a while to actually get out of bed to get here. The environment and the people are welcoming and although Baruch is located in the city and is pretty huge, I still feel a sense of togetherness among the individuals here. But, then again, maybe that’s just me.

Academically, I believe I am doing well. The only complaint I have is geared towards Calculus but who doesn’t normally have an issue with Calc? I enjoy math and I consider it to be my favorite subject but sometimes it’s completely frustrating. Communications is the other course that I feel bittersweet about. I’ve never liked public-speaking but at the same time, I’m glad that it is a required course because it has helped me to improve and hone my public-speaking skills. I’ve also realized that I enjoy anthropology and I have actually been applying what I learn in class to my life and the way I view other cultures/ individuals. All in all, I look forward to spending the next three years at Baruch!

Hmmm…. I think it’s awesome! Everything but the readings, quizzes and Exams. Actually the workload is not that bad, it’s what we suppose to do and expected to do once we decided to go to college. What’s awesome is the Gym, the people and the time. In High School, I have to go to school Monday to Friday. Not only that but I have to stay in school for about 7 hours every single day and once I get home I have to do homework that is due the next day.  However, in college, the homework is due every other day. Not only that but because class starts late, I get to wake up late. The best part is that, if I wake up early I can go to the Baruch Gym to do some exercise. There is 2-3 classes every day instead of 6 classes.  Awesome!

I know what I’m experiencing now, in this pass three month, is not going to last long. The workload will increase in amount and difficulty, but that’s the future. I expected it to come and is ready for it. You have to go through the works in order to get your degree, isn’t it? Since complaining wrong make a difference, I rather use the time to finish the work and do other fun things, like sleeping, Gym, and hang out with friends.

I’m very excited right now because we only have three more weeks left before this semester ends.  After the Finals, which I will try my best to do well in, it’s a fresh start again. Can’t wait!

P.S: I’m unable to upload a photo because i don’t have anymore storage quota.

..omg~I really dont have time to do this..

so I just post something right now and maybe edit later

and since everyone else can not post photos on the blog..then I just decide not to try it at all..

..= = what a nice weather today~see u guys tomorrow..

I think that the freshman orientation class , at the start, was annoying , because it made me wake up early on a Tuesday , which I could’ve just woken up lateLike I do Thursday. But now I realize it really did help. Te little things we talk about in class did make me a little more knowledgable on how to get around in Baruch. And Isis enjoy the thing we talked about in class especially thedays where thoughts our thoughts on certain subjects.

How time flies! It’s been three months at Baruch. The campus is pretty small and crowed, which is different from what I thought. The college I thought is huge with campus, playground, and droms. Unfortunately, there is no playground. And the only dorm Baruch offers is cooperated within LIM college in Upper East Side, which is a good neighborhood. The dorm is so awesome, and every residents there are so nice. But sometimes, it’s very noisy even at night, because many students party there. They listen to the music and play the games. They are always energetic at night, which is different from my living habit. I am used to getting up early on time and going to bed before 1 Am in the morning. I prefer to the healthy sleeping habits, and I don’t want to change it. So I decide to move out of the dorm to live with my parents in Queens.

There are much reading for each class in school, I mean a lot, a lot. English is not my first language, and there’re some difficulties reading some sentences, and I have to use a dictionary to look up the words that I dont know. I love reading, but I dont like reading in English. Well, I have to. Thats how the college is like. Too much reading, and it never ends, unless u drop out of college. In high school, I am a science boy, I good at very science subject. Now, I’m in a business school, dealing with so much readings, which is frustrated. However, I dont shrink from it, I welcome it. Final is coming, I feel a lot of staff to review, I mean a lot. I have part time jobs, so I have to balance my study and work well.

In general, the experience at Baruch is good, and enjoyed the challenges. Also, I might transfer to other university if I do very well in Baruch. It is the first semester, and it will be soon to know how I do academically.

(Btw, I would like to post some photes, but it says “you have filled your storage quota (30 MB).” )

I have been in Baruch college for about three months, which is really fast. I like this school especially the library, where I can study more and learn more. Baruch gives me a whole new experience that greatly differs from high school. I learn to manage my time and make my plans. As the final exams are coming, I do feel pressured and nervous. However, this kind of lifestyle also pushes me to go forward and to work hard. I also learned few new friends, who I’m gonna share the great time with in the future while achieving the goals.

The bottom is a picture of Baruch library. I really enjoy staying in the library.

My favorite workshop was Baruch Voices because it was nice hearing what other people are going through as we are all in the same place right now. I enjoyed the different takes people had on college, what they were looking forward to, and how they feel about it all. The actors did a great job too and I feel like they really drew the audience in with the way they recited the monologues.

I know this may sound like I’m lying, but my favorite workshop this year was when we met with the academic advisors to learn more about registering for next semster’s classes. I liked this most because I was able to think about my future and foresee my future in this school and it made me happy to see that I can actually finish school earlier that I had ever expected. I know this wasn’t part of the assignment but as much as some of you are a pain in my ass… Noah… I will miss you all and I.Hope you will still have the decency to wave to me when we cross paths in the future. Good luck to you all <3

United States of America. New York, New York. 55 Lexington avenue. How did the Ukrainian girl get here? Let’s start from the very beginning…

Lively and crowded but at the same time peaceful and cozy, beautiful ancient town in the Western part of Ukraine, known as “Little Wien”, but originally called Lviv is the place where on the August 7^th of 1994 a woman called Natalia gave birth to a baby girl. That was the moment when my life story began. The funny thing is that is started from the fight among my parents about the name, which they wanted to bless me with. Thanks God my father won after long hours of arguing and bringing in arguments. Otherwise, I would be given a very abandoned Ukrainian name that has not been in use for years or even decades as my first one. Even though I received a beautiful Greek name Yulia I still had to wear a brand of having that ancient name as my second one thanks to my mummy, who insisted on me having it…

I remember my childhood as being very vital. Those years were really hard for Ukrainian citizens due to the collapse of Soviet Union a few years before my very first birthday. That resulted in difficulties in finding an apartment so all my family lived together in one place. That were 6 people and a dog.

Sometimes I had a good luck to slip into my aunt’s room while she was at school as long as I wasn’t welcome there. The room seemed to be so out of this world. There were a lot colorful paintings on the wall, beautiful and fancy clothes and shoes in the wardrobe, different stickers and interesting comics and a cave with the blue budgie I liked to play with. The room itself was full of colors, weird hand made objects and an easel with watercolors, that would make every child take the brush and completely spoil the painting with drawings from the baby’s sick imagination. My aunt is an artist. Now you know the reason why wasn’t I, a four year old child, welcome in her room.

When I came to school to write my enrolling exams the headmistress said that it’s no way I will go to the first grade because I know too much. I started school directly from the second grade. I didn’t like school.  First, all my friends (who went to state schools) finished their classes at 1pm everyday, I did at 6pm though. I went to a special private school with their own curriculum, which was stronger than in any other school. Second, all my classmates came from very rich families and they had everything they wanted and even more, while my family wasn’t doing that well. The children were just spoiled.

Besides all that tings I hated about the school there were three more thing that made me feel uncomfortable in the school’s society. I was a new student while everyone else already studied at this school from the first grade.  Furthermore, that was the time when only ten years passed after Soviet Union collapsed so most of the people, especially in the Western part of Ukraine due it’s was very nationalistic at the time, didn’t like anyone, who had something to do with Russian Federation. Unfortunately, I had. I was. Am and always will be half Russian. When my classmates found out this small detail the real hatred began. They just erased me from the list of human beings and started treating me like an object that was being mocked, teased and laughed at.

Our educational system is so that people in your class are with you till the prom night of your senior year.  They never change if they do not decide to change school. So my middle school was pretty much the same disaster with the same people involved as the previous one. The only “but” was that thing started getting well.  The biased attitude towards Russians started fading away so I had one problem less. My relationship with the classmates started getting better. And it was perfect up until my prom.

September 2011. Graduation year started. It was the most horrible and hard year ever in my life. I didn’t know whether I will be enrolled in the American university so I needed to get prepared to Ukrainian one too. Fortunately I got in and came to the US. I did a University preparation year for foreigners in Westchester and after that got enrolled to Baruch. So here I am now in United States of America, New York, New York, 55 Lexington avenue writing this monolgue.

P.S. My life was not as horrible as it seems to be. I travel a lot (i’ve been to at least 30 countries), do photography as my hobby, read a lot of books about psych and philosophy, speak 6 languages and have a lot of friends now. I love my life and I’m not that solitary little girl anymore.