FRO12 BRB

My favorite enrichment workshop was the Baruch Voices one. Personally, I really enjoy poetry and creative writing so it was nice to listen to works of literature written by my peers. I liked how each of the pieces were diverse and so different from one another because even though we were all freshmen at the same college, every person was going through something different. One of the pieces that stood out to me was the one by David Aptekar, spoken by the Asian guy. The piece was about him trying to quit smoking. I loved the way he described how he felt and his dependence on cigarettes. I also liked how he connected smoking to his school life. Even though I was not able to relate to some of the parts of his piece, I knew what it was like to constantly delay a major goal you had in mind. For instance he would say “I’ll quit…after this pack” and I would always do that with my work and reading I would have to do; say I would finish it right after this television episode, or right after I do this or that. Although there was a vast variety of “Baruch Voices” that were shared, there was an aspect in the majority of the pieces that I was able to connect with. It may not have been the exact same example but the main idea behind it was relatable; which was nice to know that I was not alone in these struggles.

This picture of has represented my experience at Baruch thus far. In the photo, Nick and Alexa is featured going down the stairs of the train station. This picture is of Nick’s first time on the MTA transit line. Although Shivani is not in the picture, my breaks with Nick, Alexa, and Shivani sums up my first semester at Baruch. This represents our explorations for new experiences. That day, we decided to go to Soho to shop, eat, and just have a good time. Not only was I able to spend my breaks with great company, but I was able to explore different parts of the city that I never knew could be so much fun! Although all of us live within the proximity of the NYC metro area, we realized that there were many cultural differences between the different boroughs (& Long Island). I am glad that Alexa and I were able to meet other friends who had similar interests as us, but they were different enough to keep our friendship interesting. Without meeting Shivani and Nick, breaks would not be as enthusiastic or funny! There is never a dull moment, and I am glad that we decided to remain in touch even after this semester.

My favorite enrichment workshop out of the ones we attended was probably Baruch Voices. We were able to listen to monologues written by our fellow freshmen and it was just interesting to hear what everyone wrote about. It was nice to hear people share their experiences during their first semester at college and be able to relate to what they were saying. It was also entertaining to listen to the monologues that were written about random topics. The way the readers read the monologue also played a huge role in making them enjoyable. I particularly found the monologue about bacon very funny and I’m sure everyone did as well. It was very creative and the ending was very unexpected. Overall, we learned a lot about our peers and fellow freshmen that we may be sharing classes with next term and also got to listen to how they felt about their first semester at college, along with their thoughts on many random topics. I enjoyed most of Baruch Voices because I think most of us were able to relate to everything everyone wrote about freshmen year. I think that is why I enjoyed Baruch Voices the most out of all the enrichment workshops we’ve been to!

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The picture that i found to describe my first three months at baruch is a picture of the New York city skyline. I feel that this represents my experience thus far because not only am I in college, but it is a college that is located in the center of one of, if not the greatest city in the world. I feel that the location of the school makes a big difference allowing for one to interact with different people, and specifically for me the city gives me something to aspire towards. So far my first three months have honestly been alright. I mean the block schedule system was I guess a good idea for comfort      but seeing the same people kind of made the whole semester seem like highschool. In addition, all my classes have been ok, with the exception of math. My grades are actually really good in all of them except for that class so my main concern right now is passing the final. In order to challenge myself a little bit more, I registered for six rather than five classes next semester. I also registered for a 3000 level class that would be counted towards my major and minor, so I will be killing two birds with one stone.

I chose this picture because I believe it best describes my first three months here at Baruch. It incorporates studying and friends, both of which helped me get through my first semester. I believed when people told me that college would be a lot of work but I didn’t think it would be this tough. Unfortunately, the ten hours I spent in the school library the past two days writing a twelve page paper has helped proved the fact that there will be a ton of sleepless nights in college. However, without the help of my friends, I don’t think my first year at Baruch would have been a good experience. I don’t think I would have been able to make it through alone! I was able to find a group of friends that actually made me look forward to coming to school everyday and I’m truly thankful for that. We’ve gotten close over the past few months from spending free time in between blocks, after school and through the internet and I was able to learn so much from them. I’m also glad to say that we ended up being in the same block and lastly, if you guys are reading this, I’m grateful for the six of you!

So far we have been to many different enrichment workshops. Each have been interesting in their own way however, my favorite enrichment workshop was the Rubin museum. At first I was a little annoyed that we had to go during our only  break of the day and that it was a bit of a walk, however it turned out to be a great experience. The Rubin museum was small and consisted of art from mostly asian cultures, which was really interesting . I specifically liked the tibetan prayer room it was really detailed and as  noted there not many people would have the opportunity to see that. Also, having a museum so close helps to reiterate the fact that we are in New York City and do have a lot of resources at our disposable. A museum that I never heard of was a few blocks from the school, and it was filled with things I would like to see again. The tour was also cool, because it was student run thus it was short, interactive, and got straight to the point, and  it is also helpful that the museum is allowing Baruch students to attend the museum at another time for free.

My pictures exceed the maximum size and won’t upload :(. I wanted to upload two pictures: one of Tracy, Alexa, Nick and I and one of a cartoon college student. I chose the picture of my friends and I because without them this college experience would not be half as fun. I know that sounds quite corny but I really am so thankful that we ended up in the same block. We have so many ‘adventures’ during our breaks and are constantly laughing and having a good time. We planned our schedules for next semester together and are always here to help each other out. The second picture was of a cartoon who was looking at a computer screen with a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked pretty tired, worn out, exhausted, miserable … It represents pretty much most of us when we are writing a 12 page paper for English. Although the paper wasn’t that difficult, it was extremely long and time consuming. This semester I learned that “senioritis” is over and no longer an excuse. I know it is important for me to get my assignments done without procrastination.

We’ve had several enrichment workshops in our FRO experience. My favorite one was Baruch Voices. Although it could get boring, it was interesting to hear about everyone’s college and personal experiences. I liked how different the monologues were, some were funny, others emotional and then there were the really boring ones.. My favorite actor was the Asian actor he was hilarious and made every monologue entertaining. The downside to the voices workshop was that I really didn’t like the female actors and I feel like they made me dislike the monologues they were reading. I’d have preferred if the writers themselves read their monologues the way they were intended. Some of them were relatable because they talked about the school experience. One of the monologues was about how Baruch is like high school and that is exactly how I feel. It was nice to hear the writing of peers and also cool to hear the monologue of one of our classmates being acted out. Overall Voices was an interesting experience compared to the other workshops, but not one I would like to repeat.

-Alexa Radevich

This picture best represents my experience at Baruch so far because I spend majority of  my time with these losers. Not to sound cheesy but I have no idea what I would do on my breaks without them. I didn’t expect to make good friends in college so quickly. We have had a lot of experiences together and I even spent by birthday with them. Although Tracy and I have known each other since high school, it’s good that we aren’t loners and made other friends. It’s also nice that we are all in the same block and have the same classes so we can all relate to experiences like having the worst math teacher in history or bonding with Mr.Restrepo. It’s good to have friends in your classes to keep you on track. I think we are lucky to all have been put in the same block.

(I wasnt able to attach the picture but it was of Nick, Shivani, Tracy and I)

My favorite enrichment workshop was Baruch voices. I found it to be interesting and I enjoyed listening to the actors. I think the actors were great because it is evident that they were once freshman as well. Thus, it was fairly easy to relate to them and the monologues. It was cool to hear a familiar monologue from our class. In addition, one of the monologues regarding death was somewhat touching. Some of them were funny, particularly because of the way the actors portrayed them. Baruch voices made me think about the first or second week at Baruch when us freshman watched the actors from NYU. They introduced us to college and essentially life in New York City. I thought about how I did not really know many people at Baruch during that time. Furthermore, I reflected upon the fact that this semester is basically over. It flew by so quickly. I’m glad I made friends and worked on my time management skills. All in all, all the enrichment workshops were fun but the voices was my favorite as it showed me that  I’m not alone in my journey at Baruch.