FRO12 BTA

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The past few months of my college career here at Baruch have been very busy. In the beginning, I was just trying to adjust. First, I had to get use to the commute. I also had to new make new friends. On top of all that, I had to learn how to handle my new workload. High school was a walk in the park compared to college. In high school, all you had to do was really show up. Actually, now that I think of it, high school focused more on participation and attendance. College, on the other hand, is all studying and taking tests. All my classes keep me busy every night. Every night, I have to stay up in order to study, write papers, or do homework. Out of all my classes, however, Calculus is the most difficult subject. I’m both glad and nervous that the semester is about to end. I’m a little nervous because I don’t know how difficult my classes are going to be next semester. I’m also very excited because it’ll be Christmas and we’ll all have a much needed break. Half a year down, only three and half more to go. BRING IT ON!!!!! 🙂

When deciding between either the museum trip or Baruch voices, I would have to say the Baruch Voices was a little better. Both were not that great, but Baruch Voices was a little better. The museum tour wasn’t the best experience because the tour felt rushed and the tour guide wasn’t the best guide. They did not know a lot of the information and many of the kids did not pay attention. The museum was nice though. It felt like a waste of 2 hours when you count the travel  and wait time. Baruch Voices was slightly better, but it isn’t something I would willingly go to again. The reason for this is because all of the monologues were so depressing. After the show a lot of my friends were like “Wow, Baruch kids are so depressing,” and I had to agree with them. All of the monologues were about their problems and I really expected something completely different. The only part I enjoyed  was the one where the Asian guy performed the monologue about bacon. But besides that, every other monologue was about how much their lives sucked and it was just depressing. The performers of Baruch Voices could have chosen much better monologues. THATS IT.

So its been 3 months since I started college at Baruch. The first thing I have to admit is that college life isn’t what I expected when compared to many of my other friends who went away for college. Also still being in the city is nothing new. But even with all of this, I still like Baruch a lot. The reason that college has been pretty good so far is mainly because of the people I have met. I’ve meet a lot of wonderful people through classes, clubs, and even freshman seminar. I expected to make a lot of friends through classes and especially freshman seminar, but I never thought I would join any clubs. I m glad to say that I have joined a club. In my club I was surprised how friendly everyone was even though most of the kids in the club are much older than my friends and I are. We enjoying going to the club meetings and we really enjoy the club becase of all the activities they participate in. In the picture above me and my friends are seen posing for a picture after a long day of paintball with fellow club mates. So as our semester ends I hope that my second semester is better than my first one. I hope that I will meet new people and maybe this Baruch thing will work out after all.

Brendan Looi

My first three months at Baruch have been quite worthwhile. I enjoyed myself as a college student though I really have established a procrastination core in me. The thing was, I started it wrong by not getting all the required books and by not being prepared to focus in general. There was probably something in me that still didn’t know how to prioritize things and manage time well. For the most part, I represented a mediocre student who didn’t care as much as he should have cared academically. I feel like I abused my freedom too much to the point that I do things not until the last minute. My schedule is fine but some of my professors are really worth all the hate in the world in a way that they are not really effective in conveying the materials. Enough of that, my first three months at Baruch were good in an angle in a way that I’m still surviving despite the negative issues and personal problems that I encountered. I exerted efforts to get involved in the community and I can almost see the results which I’m quite proud of. However, I couldn’t have made it this far if not for the lattés I get mostly every morning. Though I’m in my efforts to remove my latté addiction, it has really helped me stay up and attentive. Therefore, this picture that I took would greatly represent my first three months at Baruch. Starbucks pretty much made everything quite worthwhile.

My favorite enrichment workshop was Baruch Voices. I honestly expected it to be like chemistry class sort of boring, but it wasn’t. Listening to the monologues of other freshman was anything but. Some of the monologues were about mundane topics, but they were all heartfelt. The one about Keanu was especially moving. I personally didn’t know him, but he had good friendships with many people. They were all devastated and watching them devastated me as well. That’s why I liked this workshop. It reminded me that people aren’t just forgotten, even if they are the one in six billion.

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This photo from somewhere accurately shows how college feels like to me. I felt like I’m always doing my own thing and other people occassionally came to interrupt me. It’s a nice sort of feeling, though. I don’t feel obligated to have to work together with people and I feel like I’m living my own life (even though I’m still living with my parents).

College is busy, but it’s a nice sort of busy. I feel accomplished when I do well and completing a task fills me with a certain type of satisfaction. All in all, I can honestly say college life is good 🙂

Since I’m not a museum person, choosing between the Rubin Museum experience and attending Baruch Voices is pretty clear and easy. I liked Baruch Voices the first time I saw it because it’s something new. It’s something that’s not mainstream yet so I found it interesting and entertaining. Baruch Voices, for once, made me aware that spoken monologue art is alive and that it is a good outlet for self expressions. Like any other form of art, Baruch Voices could inspire, entertain, and basically talk about anything which I find very convenient for anyone concerned. I enjoyed Baruch Voices for the most part since I like public speaking and creative writing and thinking. I may not be well-equipped enough to excel in those areas but they are definitely in my field of interests. Furthermore, I thought that the speakers/performers did a great job in delivering their pieces with great promise and sincerity to what they were doing. I respect people who have enough courage and dedication to what they do especially on stage and the participants in Baruch Voices gained a bunch from me. If given a chance, I would love to deliver monologues myself because it’s a passion of mine to perform and because the stage for me is a kind of home where I could sing, dance, act, or speak my way to glee. Baruch Voices is just one of those things that I see myself getting involved with and getting appreciated for. I’m really not a museum person. -CJ

Of all the workshops, the Baruch Voices one was the one I preferred best. It takes a lot for people to get up on the stage and speak. The spotlight is on them. Their audience is unpredictable. Some are loud, obnoxious, and not willing to listen, and other audiences appear to be quite attentive and want to listen to the message coming across. It’s also really embarrassing if you mess up because of all the pressure. All eyes are watching you, and if it isn’t done perfectly, then we as the audience judge. I always liked acting myself. I love talking, and sometimes participate way too much in class. But for some reason, when it comes time to perform something, the knees start to shake. The hands tremble, and the words come out slurred. My head tends to want to be buried in the paper even though I try to force myself to make eye contact. I even took a couple of speech classes. I know how hard and nerve racking it can be. Then there are some people who don’t get nervous on stage, unlike me. The point is that I know the speakers prepare far in advance, and put a lot of time and effort into their performances. I give them this recognition by writing about how fantastic their workshop was.

Ever since starting college here at Baruch, I feel like this image represents me. Not only have I undergone a process of healthy dieting and losing weight, but I’ve been making better choices. I have been using my time effectively studying or getting as many things done as I can during the day. I also have a better attitude towards wanting to accomplish future goals. I planned out the courses that I will be taking the next semester as well as the classes I will be taking in the summer. Although everything is going fine right now, fruits and vegetables never stay ripe forever. While I still can, I should be looking into other extracurricular activities to immerse myself in. I also really want to intern somewhere for the second part of next summer. Therefore, I have to take action now before it’s too late. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the results that have been produced thus far.

My favorite enrichment workshop would have to be the first Baruch Voices. Convocation day seemed to drag on and the “getting to know each other” games got old fast but once entering Mason Hall for Baruch Voices I finally saw something I thought was worthwhile. The performances were quality and I thought they really portrayed the message the writers were trying to send. Some of the monologues were amusing and some sad. But I found that a lot of them were relatable to most people in the crowd. It showed that everyone at Baruch is faced with some of the same challenges. It also showed some of the hidden struggles the students were faced with and the experiences throughout their lives. It made me think that compassion and understanding is important and you don’t know what people have been through so you should think twice before judging them. Overall it was entertaining, eye-opening and worth my time. Being a fan of live performances, I would be interested in viewing a show like Baruch Voices again and I hope that Baruch continues this tradition for years to come.