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The Baruch library has really represented the first 3 months of my college career at Baruch. Every day after school I go to the library to get my work done. It is where I find peace and there is no one around to distract me. At the library I have everything I could need. It is equipped with computers, printers, internet and everything possible to help me out in my hard classes. The quietness of the library really helps me get my work done. Seeing all the students working so hard on their classes also makes me want to do better. The Baruch experience so far has been very plesant. I have done far better in my classes then i expected and I really enjoy my friends that I have made. Although school has been great I am really looking forward to my month and a half winter vacation.

I remember before the year started I used to think that the library was useless and I could just work at home. But as my friends started telling me how great it is I started to listen to them and started to go. After going a few times I was hooked. Going every day for the past three months. The library has became my second home and it is very nice to have such a luxury.

Upon walking into the Rubin museum of art I immediately felt the feeling of being somewhere that is not your ordinary museum. As we walked in there was a very large spiral staircase that was leading up to the top floor of the museum. As we looked up from the ground floor to the ceiling we see how grand this museum is. As the tour guide had pointed out the founder of the museum was a prominent and wealthy business man and when he first laid his eyes on the spiral staircase and looked up just as we looked up he then decided to buy the property (which was a barneys department store before hand) and make it into a museum in which he can showcase his many variations of art and history of the world. As we walked up the spiral staircase as a group I saw so many different and interesting things. As I walked pass the “Wheel of Dharma and Deer” I was suddenly taken back by its craftsmanship and symbolism. As I looked more in depth to the sculpture I knew in my mind that it looks fairly familiar to me for some reason. As I read the description of the sculpture I realized that this sculpture is the most well known symbol of Buddhism. I remember when I was learning about Buddhism in my history class the same sculpture was put up on the projector screen. After reading the description I immediately felt that I didn’t know enough about it. So when I got home I researched the sculptor and found many hidden symbolism. This sculpture grabbed my attention and made me learn something new and actually helped me later on in history class.

This picture is from the Rubin Museum of Art. It is a sculpture of the Buddha-Guhyasamaja. It is from Tibet from the 15th century. It is also made out of a very important metal, being that it was the most commonly used metal during the 15th century. It was made of Gilt Copper Alloy. This specific buddha sculpture was believed to reach enlightenment through a meditative practice called deity yoga. This is when the people who are doing this “yoga” imagine themselves as ideal, altruistic beings in the form of deities. The sculpture is a representation of the practitioners doing their yoga. Personal meditational deities (yidam) are selected during an initiation ritual. The reason why I chose this sculpture is because I am very intrigued by the Buddha way. I love how they meditate towards god. It basically killing two birds with one stone. Maybe one day I will become a Buddha 🙂 Even though I am jewish I still like the ways on the Buddhist people. Some of the ideas and ideals that they have make so much sense. If they meditate they will not be inclined to do bad deeds therefore they are good people. This specific statue didn’t need to be chosen but I did want to do something that connected the people to Buddha so i chose this one. Another reason why I chose this one is because it was closest to the entrance therefore exit. I love the Rubin museum of Art and cannot wait to bring my friends and family there on Friday night for some live jazz and drinks. They also have spectacular gift shop. I love the rubin museum of art.

When I came to Baruch College on August 27th 2012 I was very excited. I did not know what to expect; coming from a private school in brooklyn where I knew everyone. I was both excited and nervous to come on my first day. Ever since that day I have been overwhelmed with work. In high school I did absolutley nothing. In college there are no loop holes or way of getting out of assignments. You need to do what is asked of you. The class sizes are much larger than I’m used to. The website blackboard is hard to navigate and most of all I have no relationships with the teachers. (that is when I do my ass kissing) Even though I just wrote a lot of negative things about Baruch, I do like the school, it will just take some time to get used to it. Living in the city, it makes life much easier. The commute only takes me around 10 minutes. I can go and come to school during my breaks as well. Taking the 6 train from 59th street to 23rd street is my relaxation of the day. I can zone out everyone with no cell phone service and just think about whats on my mind. I can also get some school work done at this time. (i usually study for my social studies quizzes then). Although I like Baruch College I hope to transfer out in another year or two.

The Rubin Museum of Art was my favorite workshop thus far. I really enjoyed the tour of the museum. I’m obsessed with all things Indian/Tibetan/that region and I am an enthusiastic of Buddhist thought. The museum was not as I had expected it to be. I even considered asking for an internship there. Unfortunately, the internships are really difficult to get because there are all these crazy, insane requirements necessary.  I have never in my life met anyone who speaks Tibetan!

Either way, visiting the museum was the basis of my decision to apply for an internship elsewhere… The Museum of Natural History! I found a great anthropology internship opportunity online and decided that I desperately wanted to apply. If it hadn’t been for my disappointment at The Rubin Museum, I would never have looked elsewhere. SO THANKS FOR BRINGING ME ! YAYYYY!!!! 🙂

My time here at Baruch has been quite a wake-up call. I have come to realize that immersing myself in my studies is the only way to do well in college. Managing my time is key. Procrastination is death. Sleep is sacred. Balancing extra curricular activities, studying, working and socializing is a lot harder than it seems. I like Baruch though. I feel as if I have been here all along… even though the hallways are confusing as hell. I sometimes don’t feel like I belong though, since I am not a business major. “Why do you go to Baruch if you’re not going to study business?” I DON’T KNOW, LEAVE ME ALONE.

I like math class, but I hate the work. I hate going into the classroom confident and leaving freaking out. I hate the fact that I didn’t realize that I’ve been slacking in all areas of study until now , when its almost too late. I’m not going to fail… but this is not the way I wanted my first semester to reflect my abilities. I’m going to have to make some serious changes for next semester. No more playing around. Not cool.

I’m glad freshman seminar is almost over so I don’t have to wake up in the morning and come here for a class that doesn’t count ! J Haha… Just kidding Ying!

I’m freaked out about registering for classes. What if I don’t do it right? What if I get the worst schedule ever? The classes I take now are going to shape the rest of my life, right?

pretending to study

The only workshop that i was able to attend so far was the News Literacy workshop. It was definitely an interesting experience to say the least. In reality I didn’t learn anything in the workshop and before going I really thought it was going to be a horrible dull waste of time but I actually had fun while we were there. We ended up watching around four videos and I can honesty say that all of the videos kept my full attention. Some of them were funny and the others were informative. We were supposed to analyze the sources and basically get to the bottom of where the news was actually coming from. That wasn’t really the greatest thing cause the teacher was kind of dull in all honesty. But all in all it was a pretty good workshop and I have one more workshop to attend tomorrow at a museum close to the school. Hopefully that one is as interesting as the news literacy workshop was. Maybe this one will take the spot as my favorite workshop.

So I chose to create my own meme and I thought the success kid meme would be perfect for this. He says “Started essay day before its due, got a 90.” and that is exactly what I did in English class. I started our second essay for the class the day before it was due and I just recently got it back and was pleased to find out that I got a 90. To be honest I would’ve been fine with an 80 but I exceeded my expectations and I glad. But speaking about the overall Baruch experience, i would say that its not bad but it hasn’t really blown me away yet. I am actually weighing my options at the moment to see if it would be a smart thing to transfer. I’ve always wanted to actually dorm when I went to college and I still really do. Maybe I could try living in a dorm at Baruch. As for all of my classes, I’m not doing too bad I’m passing all of my tests so i’m happy about that. The teachers seem to be nice although hard to follow at times. I still wish we were able to choose our schedule at first. This Thursday will be the first time creating my own schedule and i’m actually really excited about it. My favorite class currently would have to be our FRO class. It’s a really small class and we actually talk about things that matter around this school and I find that interesting. Other than that nothing else important or life changing has happened in the first three semesters of the school year.