FRO12 BTA

Yeah, boiling water is what pretty much represents my experience at Baruch so far. I do not really mean steaming hot water as shown in the picture above, but it was as close as I could get to in general, boiled water. The reason for such a comparison is that I feel like I am absorbing way too much information and somehow pressuring myself in expectation of the future. What I am trying to say is that there is a ceaseless amount of activity at Baruch, there are clubs, workshops and advisory programs. There is so much that I have to know so I can take advantage of it, though I really can not manage my time correctly to take advantage of it. So far in order to keep the things I need to do at a minimum my time is used to study and do assignments from classes, in which the most came from Calculus, though I had now dropped. I do not believe I am ever going to run out of things to do related to college, especially since most of it is studying or research. Based on what I understand so far and learned at Baruch, I think things are going to get a whole lot more busy in the future. I definitely plan on interning as a sophomore and I do want to somehow take more advantage of the resources at Baruch so I would take more time to go to the different workshops they give for free. Add all that to finishing assignments to studying and making up for my dropped calculus, there is a lot to do. I feel like for every second I should do something to make it productive. Overall, I am just really tense about everything I need to do to prepare for the future and need to do in the future. But I do not look at the comparison of boiling water as just entirely stress, there are positive things that relate to boiling water as well. The people I meet at Baruch are friendly and they all seem more than willing to help, from classmates to staff to professors. I think of them as the steam of bustling activity in boiling water. So yeah, my experience so far at Baruch is like a pot of boiling water.

The picture is not mine, I had taken it from this url http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/SlaveofAllison/media/BoilingWater.jpg.html?filters[term]=boiling%20water&filters[primary]=images&filters[secondary]=videos&sort=1&o=14

I think that my favorite enrichment workshop was when we went to the Rubin Museum of Art. I think that I was able to resonate with this museum because the art was really kinda similar to what my dad and grandfather have shown me, who both love to paint. They used to bring me to museums all the time and we would walk around. Of course as a kid that was the most boring trip in the world but as I grew older and older, these things actually piqued my interest. I may not be an expert but when I walk around a museum I’m really amazed by the subtle and intricate details. I think to myself that this art is extremely amazing because everything was done by hand and traditional art is something that has never changed since ancient times. Everything is done by hand for best results. No photoshopping can achieve the feeling and emotions that an artist can pour into a work of art, especially those that sit in museums, because they are prime examples of this.
Besides just my ancestors hobby, art was really a source of income for my father when he came to the United States from China. My dad would do portraits of people in Central Park which was actually quite profitable when he came. I think that my dad enjoyed doing that and sometimes I feel bad that he just doesn’t have the time for it anymore. I think that when I draw, it makes him happy because it’s like I’m carrying on a legacy that has been passed down from his father to him and he feels like he’s doing the same thing in this case. I enjoy creating and viewing art just as much because it always inspires me to try something new in what I do. I also love to make connections between things that I’ve learned in a history lesson or just something I picked up randomly online about some time period and then seeing a piece of art that coincides with what I’ve previously learned. It really makes me feel like I’m learning about the world and gaining knowledge that I don’t need to know—but knowledge that I want to know.

My first term of college is actually pretty comparable to my first term in high school. Just a huge amount of freedom is thrown upon me and I’m responsible for everything that I have to do. I’ve told a lot of people the same answer that I’m gonna tell you right now about my experience at Baruch: that it’s really similar to my high school experience. The only difference that I’ve really noticed is that scheduling gives the student freedom of how they can allocate their time. You can line up your classes like they were in high school, right up against each other, or you can leave yourself little pockets of time for you to do whatever you want. You can go out and visit any sights of interest, or maybe visit some friends who are around the city. You can give yourself an extended lunch break or study for your next class in the library.
Just like in high school, there are some teachers who will take attendance extremely seriously and will fail you regardless of performance if you don’t show up. But some other teachers give you the option to not show up to class. The catch is that you are fully responsible for the work you produce if you don’t show up to class. If you miss the notes or miss a quiz, you are fully responsible for this. I believe that these classes really let the student decide what they want to do and how they will progress in their college life. It’s really a taste of real life and giving you options. People all excel in their own ways that they’ve developed. Some ways work better for most but some people just like to use other methods of approaching subjects. Some people like to self-study and show up to class when they know a quiz or test will be given. Some people can’t do this, and have to show up to class and take notes and study them. Obviously, it’s safer to go to class but some people just can’t work that way. This example of freedom really represents the kind of experience I’m having right now in college. I can kinda feel around and see how well I’ll do using one method or another for each class. There are no phone calls home, no reports sent in the mail. Everything is up to the student. I really think that the college years are the years that you finally leave the nest.

Hmm, my favorite workshop? Out of process of elimination I guess I have to go with Baruch Voices. I mean let’s just say standing in the shrine room of the museum listening to the weird voices just didn’t do it for me. And the play in Mason Hall? Ye, it was funny, but it got a little weird at times. For me, I’d have to say Baruch Voices was the most intriguing. With so many different personalities in the school, it is interesting to hear the different monologues people came up with. There was also the possibility of them reading mine that kept me intrigued. They didn’t :(. Oh well, I’ll get over it. The actors were very good at performing the monologues, so that made it pretty enjoyable. It’s nice to hear what different types of people have to say about themselves. You can learn a lot about people just by listening to the monologues. I guess that is what made it the most intriguing to me.

Exactly 21 days left in this semester: 2 weeks of classes plus finals week. Wow. Where did the time go? SO much has happened in SUCH a short amount of time. My first three months at Baruch is comparable to riding Kingda Ka for the first time at Six Flags. As you are walking towards the ride, your heart begins to pound just a bit faster; the closer you are getting with each step, the ride seems to become more and more intimidating. As you take a seat and prepare yourself for the ride of a lifetime, you reflect on what everyone has said about the ride previously; how it’s insanely awesome or how incredibly scary it is (also researching the ride beforehand and coming across an article about when they first tested the ride with a test dummy: the first try the dummy came back without its head, the second try the dummy didn’t even come back at all-makes one pretty nervous). And then you ascend into the skies above. It’s official, there’s no turning back and running off to the spinning teacups. You’re approaching the top, the climax at this point, and all you feel is the pressure of the wind against your face and your heart in your throat as you pray to God you’re still alive by the time its over and then…its finished. You’re back at the boarding deck within 4 seconds with your head still in tact and your hair a bit messier than when you boarded. You’ve succeded. Now, time to move on to El Toro. That’s college and that’s my experience at Baruch so far. A roller coaster ride that, at first, was nerve-wrecking, in the middle, stressful with trying to adjust to everything that made up the “college life” from papers to people, and in the end, perfectly fine and moving on to bigger and better things all just within three months.

http://themeparks.about.com/library/graphics/KingdaRender5.jpg

The image I inserted is of the superhero Flash, because well, this semester went by so fast! It feels like yesterday we were meeting each other for the first time on Convocation Day. Awesome Andrew, Intelligent Ivy, Lovely Lora, Nice Nansi, Cool C.J., Adorable Albert, Delicious David (??), Angelic Angela, Magnificent Molly, Dirty Diego (I don’t wanna know), Daring Darshanie, Wonderful William, Rocking Romy, and Jolly Jen. (Sorry if I missed anyone). Anyway, when I was starting college I was a little intimidated, being that I wasn’t coming with any friends. However, looking back, everything has been great. I enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. Everybody has been really nice. I guess it’s kind of sad knowing that i wont have a group of people in all my classes, but I’m sure it’ll be alright. So far I’ve been able to keep up with all my classes and manage my work pretty well, which was something I was originally worried about. School hasn’t been as hard as I expected it would be, but maybe that’s just because I got credit for calculus and didn’t have to take it. I hope next semester goes as smoothly for me as this one did. I don’t know what the future has in store for me here at Baruch, but I can say I am optimistic. Anyway, I’d like to thank everyone for making this an enjoyable semester, and wish everyone much success in the future. The world out there awaits us. Go get ’em!

My favorite enrichment workshop would have to be “Baruch Voices” because it was interesting to see how everyone expressed how they were either feeling about their transitions to college or about personal life experiences. Having the actors voice and act out the monologues helped to provide a realistic feeling to the writings that would otherwise be hard to convey with the words alone. This workshop inspired me to get writing again, to voice my feelings in a completely new way so that those emotions I experience would not be bottled up inside, waiting to explode at a random and vulnerable moment where the consequences would be dire. The free writes that led up to the creation of our monologues and eventually the production of “Baruch Voices” were sometimes unbearable but it helped to simply get my feelings out on paper. Writing down my feelings and experiences helped to organize what was going on in my life and to work out any problems that I might have had that day.

http://tinyurl.com/cq7sx2z

Walking in Baruch on Monday morning for the first day of the fall 2012 semester was overwhelming simply because there are so many students on campus. Trying to figure out the fastest way to get to art history on the seventh floor was mildly difficult because the lines for the elevators were so long and walking was simply not an option. Once I got to class, it hit me how large the class size would be in college because lectures have about one hundred kids whereas there were only about twenty-five kids in each of my high school classes. However getting used to the size of Baruch did not take long at all. Having “club hours” is one of the main features I like here at Baruch because there are so many different clubs and events to go to, make friends, and find new interests. For the many events that I have gone to, the people there are friendly and inviting because they are excited to share their club with potential members. Although at first I felt like a lost puppy in a crowd of strangers, I feel at home after three months because I have gotten used to getting around and adjusting to the college experience. This feeling of adjustment is shown in my picture depicting a collage of many different and unique colors coming together to make one beautiful abstract painting. The painting reflects how I can now say I feel at home because at first glance, one would see different colors, but once you look closely one sees that there are similar colors. The few colors that are the same represent that even in a crowd one can find their own niche among a bustling crowd, as I have in the crowds of Baruch.

Baruch has been quite the experience for me so far. After almost one semester I can say that I have finally adjusted to what is going on here. Baruch started off as a maze in my head. I had no idea how to get to any of my classes or how to speak to an academic advisor when I first arrived here. Slowly but surely i started adjusting. Everything started clicking and i realized that there is just so much that is going on on this one campus. I like to relate this to the ride ‘Its a Small World’ in Disney. This ride demonstrates how there is so much going on in this small world. Baruch is a small place and there is so much going on in it and I feel that I have adjusted to a lot of it but nearly enough yet. One day I will have taken advantage of everything this small Baruch has to offer and it will benefit me greatly. All in all I can say that my first few months in Baruch have taught me to see Baruch just like this picture above.

Lora Goldberg

11/28/12

Please Note: The picture on the side of my post ( the girl tourist who is lost) is the picture I am trying to portray here. The girl is trying to find her way around while looking for new and exciting places to explore. That girl is very similar to myself because during these past few months at Baruch, I was like an explorer witnessing new places and meeting new people wherever I went. Not unlike Dora the Explorer, often I was faced with obstacles that I found difficult to overcome at first. Some of these difficulties included facing the fact I was on my own in the city as well as developing a stronger sense of awareness that would help me in day to day problem solving. When I had to write an original paper for my English class, I was very close to giving up at several points but I remembered that I must start somewhere and that none gets it perfect on the first try. Just like Dora emphasizes, you must pass each obstacle in order to reach the reward on the other side. Hmm… maybe there was more to my young obsession with the show’s cute songs and characters. During these past few months, I have gained a certain independence that I am most definitely proud of. I no longer depend on my family to make decisions for me whether it is a decision about when to study or which graduate school is best for me. I make sure to follow what I feel is the right choice. After all, when you take part in a job that makes you happy, you have a better chance in being successful. So, while I am still an explorer in the sense that I am still uncertain of which path in life is the most suitable for me, I am confident in my choice to start my adult life in Baruch College where the opportunities are endless.

FRO BTA