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Baruch Voices V was an experience like no other, I thoroughly enjoyed the extraordinary oratory prowess of the performers, their ability to control the stage, capture and hold the attention of the audience and evoke strong emotional responses in the way they perform each line. I was fascinated by the depth and variety of the stories from other freshman like myself.
That got me thinking about my own life. I feel like I have accomplished quite a bit and gone through quite a bit also. I feel like I am growing and maturing at a pace not unlike those around me. However when I listened to some of those stories of the things students my age have had to deal with or overcome in their own lives go be exactly where I am, it astounds me. I feel both blessed to have had life be fairly easy and guilty that someone should have to go through pain and suffering and have a hard time starting off their lives.
I am proud though to be around individuals who can overcome obstacles like abusive parents, and be able to function and thrive in this university world, those people have my utmost respect. This reminds me to be thankful for where I am and that I should never allow myself to be complacent.
The writing behind those monologues being performed was at an unimaginable level as only can be with something someone is passionate about. I feel like I haven’t been passionate about anything since the semester has started, just going with the flow, but I am very excited for my classes next semester and I hope to continue growing as a student. Baruch is a place where there are many interesting and deep people, and the performance of Baruch Voices V was an example of just how interesting and deep these people are.

So Baruch College is an interesting place, there are so many people who reflect on how they hate this or that about the school, so many people who describe their first and second semesters as intolerable. There are Innumerable complaints about the unnecessary math or English requirements, or the annoying back and forth when administration loses some form of paper work or other. For the first two months or so I disagreed vehemently I honestly wanted to give Baruch an unbiased go, but it becomes difficult when you feel like you have no control over your own school life.
I have also heard that the first and second semesters were brutal and that most people didn’t start loving their Baruch experience until their third or even fourth semester. This makes sense because everyone feels they need to stuff their prerequisites into their first, second and third semesters and very few people end up enjoying the courses they are taking. It is very difficult to complete a 5 subject course load when you are only doing it because you have to, also because Baruch is a commuter school, most people feel disenfranchised, like they are not connected to their peers or their school.
I have started to feel this way also, but I realize that I don’t hate Baruch, in fact I quite enjoy it, every experience is what you make it and we all chose to be here. Now the fact that I myself was feeling overwhelmed has left me jaded, however, I refuse to let that taint my college experience. I joined clubs and made friends and that has connected me to something so that my life isn’t just school, home, study, sleep, school again. The social aspect and sense of community is intrinsic to a successful college career.
I have included a picture of some of my Club Friends because they have helped me survive my college experience thus far.

When I think about the things that make me happy, the list is long, but then I have a tendency to talk simply for the joy of hearing myself speak… but I digress, the things that make me happy, I love bright mornings and late nights, birds chirping and leaves falling, a hot cup of good coffee, GOOD coffee not that cheap slush you find everywhere, or a nice red wine, Pinot Noir, Merlot or Shiraz all good friends of mine. I love sushi and making friends, God I sound vacuous, I love making friends? Who the hell says things like that? Oh well, I hate going out of my comfort zone though, and I despise change, guess that makes me a paradox, mmmmm paradox sounds mysterious, I like it. Speaking of paradox, the last time I was in a classroom I was teaching it, now I’m in bloody stupid Math wondering why x and y live in harmony with numbers, I just hate feeling so stupid. Thank god for all my other classes where numbers play a minimal role. I can write you a five page paper on writing five page papers but don’t ask me to factor something. When I feel stupid I can think about the moments in life that made me feel empowered. This is yet another copious list, worry not, you will grow accustomed to my circumlocution, it’s really quite endearing(LOL), now back to the topic at hand, I love to reference my time at high school, being Student Council president, peer counselor, or even that my High School was ranked number one in the English speaking Caribbean, these remind me of where I come from and what I am capable of, now more philosophically, every day I wake up, every moment I think of my parents love or my friend’s support, every hour that I am healthy I feel empowered, because my parents worked hard for me to have the opportunities that I do and I work hard not to waste them. I feel empowered every minute of every day because that’s just how it’s supposed to be. Back to the Caribbean thing, yes I grew up on the Island of Trinidad, yes I don’t sound like everyone else, but let’s get one thing straight, I don’t have an accent, all of you do, (HAHAHAHA), Here is something that’s new to me, “oh hey, where are you from, oh Trinidad? I love your accent it’s so exotic.” Exotic, seriously? Like what the hell man? If you ask me if I’ve ever been to a city I will punch you! It is cute though, personally I am as fascinated with everyone else as they seem to be with me, and that’s the beauty of Baruch I think, all of us from all over, coming together to learn completely immersed in the wonderful diversity of the student population. That is all, you may now return to your regularly scheduled lives 🙂 .

Nicholas’ Playlist

It is difficult, I think, to make a post that represents who my classmates think I am because I simply don’t know. Not because I don’t care how others perceive me, simply because I have only known my classmates for three weeks, in such a short time we have seen many facets of each other’s personalities but only with time does it become clear to us through socialization the impression those around us have of us. One does not simply ask “Hey what do you think of me?” because without a doubt one’s classmates haven’t really given it any thought as yet. I can only assume that the person whom I perceive myself as is the same person my friends and classmates perceive. This considered I have created a playlist of 10 songs which I believe is representative of the ME my classmates are just now getting to know. (Click Hyperlink Above)