After a few months, I think I adjusted somewhat to Baruch and college life in general. At first, I would complain and procrastinate about the work that I had to do. I would do everything last minute and study the night before for upcoming exams. It took a while, but I think I finally developed some sort of time management skills, although I still have a long way to go before I fully adjust. College life is really different from high school, in the sense that you have to do everything on your own without anyone to remind you. I guess that’s part of growing up, whether we like it or not. The photo that I chose is one taken on 23 Street of the M23 Crosstown Bus. I enjoy photography very much, preferably transit photography. During my breaks and after school, I go out to different parts of the city and take photos. Some places that I went to so far this year are Downtown Brooklyn by Brooklyn Bridge Park, Chelsea Piers, the High Line, Central Park and many others. I hope that during my winter break, I have more time to relax and devote most of my efforts toward photography instead of stressing out about school.

I don’t normally like going to museums and for the most part, I still don’t. I usually like museums if they have hands-on activities or at least get to touch the displays. The Rubin Museum of Art was an interesting experience, although it wouldn’t be a place that I would normally go to, even if i had free time. When I walked in, I got this ominous feeling, and the lights were pretty dim, creating this eerie environment. I must admit, the artifacts presented were pretty fascinating to look at, since I never seen anything like it before. We went to some sort of a mediation room which I thought was cool. There was incense burning and also a very dark and eerie setting. After a while, we went exploring the museum on our own, but it was mostly artifacts on display all over the museum.

Subject: Johnny Li, COM1010 FTRB (T/TH 4:10 pm – 5:25 pm), Feedback for Outline

Hello Professor Tienan,

This is Johnny Li from your Tuesday/Thursday Communication Class. I was wondering if you could look over my outline for the upcoming speech and provide feedback if possible.

Thank you so much

Johnny Li

COM1010

T/TH 4:10-5:25

After four years of High School, I thought I was prepared for everything college would bring me. I was ready, I thought. Ready for the new responsibilities, new challenges, and new possibilities. Well, I am not really sure how ready I was for all the change. There was a lot of things that I have grown to hate about college in the past three months. I hated waking up every morning to take the train to class. I hated having such long breaks between my classes. I hated not being able to see my friends. But most of all, I hated how everything was all laid upon your own shoulders. Once you enter college, you are no longer “babied” by your professors or your parents. Instead you are on your own. You are now responsible for your own work, your choices, and your future. It was a lot to take on. I hated that classes were every other day and not every day. I kept losing track of everything. I kept misplacing assignments and I was very unorganized. Not only that but I had the WORST time management skills. I would always delay my assignments to the last possible minute. (I think I still have senioritist.)

But everything eventually changes. As the days progressed, I got better at college. I learned how to manage my time so that I can do what I needed to do first then be able to have time to do what I wanted. I became more organized and kept up with all of my classwork. I asked for help when I needed. I did my work ahead of time and studied when I could. Through these 3 months, college has changed me in more ways than I know. I have become more confident, more aware of my surroundings, and more driven. I have become changed.

I chose this picture of the butterfly because butterflies are the symbols of change. These past three months of college has bought many changes to my life and I know that it will continue to change me and mold me to the person I want to be in the future. Someone who is successful, happy, and content.

I had always loved going to museums. As a child, my uncle would take my cousins and I to different museums for the summer. We went to the Museum of Natural History, the MET, the MoMa, and even the Cloisters. We would also travel to other places like Washington, D.C. to go to the museums there. We went to the Space Museum and also into the important places around D.C. One thing that I really like about going to museums is being able to see the artifacts and then learning the stories behind them. Like where it came from, who made it, and why is it important. The Rubin Museum of Art was a completely different type of museum. I like the design of the building as well as the different artifacts they had on display. What really interested me though is the fact that this museum actually answered a question for me that I have been wondering for some time now. My boyfriend’s mom is really religious and she has these idols placed around the house. When I walked into the exhibit I was so surprised to see that these idols were the ones that were in their home! I loved seeing the intricate designs of each idol and reading about the differences of each artifact, like which goddess or god they were. They also had a mediation room in the museum which I found really relaxing. I wish I could have stayed there longer! I am definitely stressed out and overworked. If it were up to me, I would just stay there and meditate in its peacefulness. Out of all the other enrichment workshops we have attended, the Rubin Museum of Art was definitely one of my favorites. 😀

Subject: Maricar Vazquez, PHI 1700 ETRA (T/TH 2:30pm-3:45pm), Question about the Paper

Message:

Hello Professory Dalavagas,

This is Maricar Vazquez from your Tuesday/Thursday Philosophy Class. I have a quick question to ask you about the term paper you asked us to write. I wanted to know if you want there to be footnotes as well as the bibliography? Also, do you want the paper to be double spaced?

Thank you so much for your time! I hope to hear from you soon!

– Maricar Vazquez

PHI 1700

T/TH 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm

The meme is a little generic, I know, but what else can I say? My experience at Baruch so far has been basically like the meme. I went through at least two of the phases in the meme during my time at Baruch. In the beginning I was Social and slept sort of normally, which lead to me falling behind in my work. Lately I focused on catching up and getting better grades, which led me to being less social.
So i can now say that I learned about what it takes to be a college student, or at least scratched the surface. However I also realized that I have a long way to go. I met new people and experienced the freedom that comes with college, but this freedom was just as much good as it was bad. I had more time to do work for school and hang out with friends but at the same time i also had more time to procrastinate. I guess my point is that I’m still figuring out how to balance the things in the meme.

http://www.nextgenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/college-meme.png

This Freshman Seminar Class has participated in enrichment workshops that both had to do with art. The first one was a museum about photographic art and the second was one about sculpture art. I enjoyed the latter more than the former because I do not consider photographic at to be true art. Also, art isn’t that interesting to me, so I’m really choosing the lesser of two evils. Anyway, the second enrichment workshop was at the Rubin Museum of Art. This museum had many sculptures and artifacts, I believe they were of tibetan origin. My experience at the museum didn’t really resonate with me on any significant level, but i did enjoy looking at the different statues and reading their descriptions. For what it was worth the workshop was successful in exposing me to a form of art that was not altogether boring or unpleasant.

Planets and stars came to life on the otherwise dull white wooden surface. Anything blank around the house served as a canvas for expressing my creativity. One thing about me is that I need to let things out. I can’t bottle up emotions for too long. If I let them simmer inside me, one of two things may happen. One- I may let the emotions consume the rest of my thoughts, much like spilling paint all over them. This affects my initial viewpoints. Two- My thoughts escape me. I would much rather let everything take over than let it all go. My biggest fear in life is forgetting all the things that have shaped me into who I am today. Of course, I am not fully molded by any means. I think of it this way: when we are born, we are an empty white canvas. We have the necessary tools, in this case the paint and brushes. We spend our entire lives decorating and marking up the canvas, even changing countless details as we go on.

Trying to imagine my masterpiece right now, I can envision a few snippets. I see my struggle to fit in and interact with students as a newcomer inAmerica. I had to pick up the language, traditions and customs quickly. With this I also see a highlight, my ability to adapt to my surroundings rapidly. I see Ms. Mitchell, the aggressive middle school teacher, speaking in her heavy Jamaican accent, her voice entering my ears like a million boulders rolling down a hill. Unlike my previous easy breezy teachers, she woman was harsh, blunt and simply made me uncomfortable; however, I thank this woman for forcing me to grow up because she served as a reality check.

Always having been quite intuitive, I tend to have a sixth sense with everything I encounter. I see myself being as perceptive and insightful always, taking in my environment and letting it sink in, being open minded, considering many perspectives before making a judgment. My notes consist of sketches and diagrams; my room is filled with quotes and pictures that inspire me. I see a visual person whose mind works in an abstract way. A fear of mine is that I will fail to stand on my own feet. I see someone who covets for her independence. More than anything, I see a secular young woman who is more than ready to start her journey into the world outside of aNew York Citypublic high school and pursue the interests that she is passionate about. Ultimately I want to tie together business, marketing and psychology into a profession and call it my own.

In truth, it is when we die that we will have really finished the piece. Only then does the painting that we have remain permanent and complete. I know my originally blank white slate will have turned into a colorful frame with rich colors, meaningful icons and symbols. There will be mistakes and realizations and countless other happenings which will help color my canvas.

I had a pretty enjoyable experience at Rubin Museum of Art. I was shocked to hear that most of the collections were from the Rubin family. They must have been very rich, I thought. I enjoy seeing the collections of gods and goddesses from Himalaya and India. Even though I know how a Chinese Buddha looks like, the Himalayan Buddhas look quite different. They appeared to be less chubby. Hahaha, isn’t this funny. I was also fascinated by those three-head gods. They are so cool! They have many heads, hands, and legs! If you look closer, you see all the details of their faces. Oh, I also like the mediation room. It definitely smells good! It gives you a sense of calmness and peacefulness. I will consider go there if I’m stressed, annoyed, or troubled one day. Rubin Museum of Art is definitely a fascinating one and I enjoyed visiting.