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Guan here, this workshop starred Colm Toibin, author of Brooklyn, which I’m SURE most of you have read.  So, since all of us were there, or were supposed to be there, there’s no need for me to summarize what he told us about. So it turns out that the idea for his story was based off a real life event, meaning he wasn’t very creative. Not bashing him though, since it certainly takes quite a lot of skill to write about it skillfully like he did. I’m glad he chose to speak about how he wrote the book rather than talking about school-related stuff and encouraging us to succeed.  I found it a rather interesting workshop, at least more than the last one, aside from the questioning session near the end, mostly because I didn’t like the students’ questions. Would have been more enjoyable if it did not force me to stay in school later than I would have preferred.

At the workshop I really paid attention to what the lady was saying. The resources that we have in our hands, the methods of communication, or technological advanced websites, newsletter, videos, radio stations, and more are not 100% guaranteed to satisfy our educational needs. It might not be hard find information, but it is extremely hard to find sources of information that are trustworthy. I really liked the examples she gave us with the videos. If I see a discovery channel report, I am trusting it 100%. People that work for such big documentary channels have to know what they are saying, they have to spend so much time studying their area of work. You dont see me out there in television because I know nothing. So you really put your trust in these people, this channels, these sources. If they are not true, then what is it?

Very interesting workshop. It was in the middle of my lunch time thought. I had 25 mins to have lunch at 2:25pm so It was not the best of times. That distracted me and my classmates a little.

To be honest, the workshop hardly held my attention. I’m sure the woman presenting is intriguing, well-read, and successful, but i really did not care for her presentation. To me, it was just a handful of cliché information thrown at a group of people that were more focused on how hungry they were. However! The BBC video about flying penguins was funny and made me think about Eric Idle’s humor and how the British are intelligent enough to understand that the video was a complete joke (i’m not sure how it would’ve gone over had it been shown in the US). The Insider Edition video concerning Dystonia was just awkward, and i’m not sure whether or not we figured out if it was a fabrication or just a really bizarre publicity stunt. The video of Walter Cronkite’s news coverage of JFK’s assassination was interesting enough- it definitely humanized the event for me. Otherwise, i left the workshop having gained nothing but a new appreciation for being able to eat lunch when you want to.

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At the workshop, I learned that eyes can deceive you. Just because a source is reliable and well-known does not necessarily mean the information they provide is true. Our workshop had us view a documentary about flying penguins from the BBC Network. Upon closer speculation, the video of the flying flightless birds proves to be fake. Likewise, the story of the young woman suddenly struck with a rare disease known as dystonia seems to be fake as well. The only problem with this story however is that you cannot really know for sure how she’s feeling because you can never be “in her shoes,” so to speak. Outside evidence shows that it’s not true however.

I have been through way too many changes in my life, and music has been a part of it as I grew up. I was born in Costa Rica; Spanish-speaking country of Central America, so I speak perfect Spanish, and Spanish music was around all the time in TV, parties, and any other festivities. As a kid I liked energetic music, I was a very shy kid and dancing was not my thing. At parties I would just sit around and watch other people have fun. I went through many faces in my life, culture wise emotionally, educationally, and physically, and music came attached to it.

Si la Vez by Franco De Vita

A song that I listened to when I was in Costa Rica. I was probably around 10 and my brother who was like 5 loved this song. I have a Pandora station named “Franco De Vita” until this day. I listen to it when I have long trips or would like to find relaxation or just a better feeling inside of me. His lyrics bring me joy and put me in a better mood if I am going through difficult times.

I don’t Love You by My Chemical Romance

A song that describes my friendships with my best friends in Costa Rica. Every time I listen to MCR or other punk bands that I used to listen to back in CR I always remember my friends and remind me of who I once was.

One by Metallica

Describes who I wanted to be at some point when I touched ground in US. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet, and the bass players they had over time were my heores. I dreamed I could have the swagger, the look, the aggressiveness, the skills and I just wanted to be like James, but also like his friend and later rival Dave Mustaine from Megadeth. They are the definition of good guitar players. When I listened to Metal music was when I moved to the US. I found in Metal the energy that I did not have. Metal music pumped me up.

Leave the World Behind You by Swedish House Mafia

Then the big transition to the modern age came into me. My US born older cousin Ansley listened to a lot of Hip-Hop by such artist like Kayne, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and also listened to what he called House Music, electronic music in other word. I didn’t like it at the beginning, then I listened to this song and I was like “hmm this is cool, but effeminate” but the beat was very nice. As a metal listener I had a deep appreciation by music that came from instruments played by the hands of someone. But that was about to change

One by Swedish House Mafia

I was starting to get used to the Hamptons, and the American culture. It was not easy and it came after more than 2 years. To fit in I asked my friend Matias the name of a couple of djs and he named a few of which I followed and made research. I didn’t like it much, it was to calm for what I like in music. But then I remembered “Leave The World Behind You” and looked it up and found the name of the artist looked it up and One came up. A new Brandon was born, one that liked house music. From this point on I had things to talk to people about. They liked me and my music so I started fitting in a bit more. Big big change.

A Milli by Lil Wayne

Crazy playlist huh? I know. Lil Wayne came to me with this song. I hated previous work, though it wasn’t for me, but then this song man, changed it all. What a sick song, “a millioner ima young money millioner tougher than Nigerian hair”. My culture changed in the US. The people around me was not going to change for me, I had to change for them, and for me in order to be accepted and feel confortable.

Miss Me Drake ft. Lil Wayne

Describes the little bit of swagger I developed by listening to Hip-Hop. The song is so hot, now old but really? This song is never old to me “uh s*** m****goddamn, kicking b**** out the condo like pam”. This song really set the mark for what I am now “man I got so many styles, I am a group”. I have changed so much and now I am a blend of everything.

Faded by Tyga

His lyrics are just as disgusting as Lil Wayne’s, but holy beat! The first time I danced in public was in November of 2011, I actually never danced before in my life with anyone. I had a girlfriend that liked to dance and so I had to and I danced to this song. I did really good, she was good enough so I followed what she did and I was fine. I became a well known dancer after that. People thought very good of me at parties, they said things like “I have seen you dance, you are good” and in clubs (don’t ask me how I got in being 18) I asked girls out to dance that were in her 20s. I became very social thanks to it. Girls thought I was hot! Can you imagine? Me, hot? Never before, so I was liking it a lot.

Miami-Chasing Summers by Tiesto

Now I am a very adapted person. And I just want to live life to the extremes. I went through very difficult moments just a couple of months ago. I was not feeling right inside. My heart got really hurt by someone who I loved. After that this song made me realized that I needed to breath new air and so I did. This song as tiesto himself describes is a very happy song with a very nice slow intro and an amazing drop in the middle. That’s what I needed. A slow beginning that would lead me to a better me.

3 Peat by Lil Wayne

“I am on it, uh I am on it, I am so on it, however you want it, you can get it tonight h** and all night h**, I get the beat from Mistro, a f**ing right h**

I might go crazy on this n***** I don’t give a m****

Run up in the n**** house and shoot his grandma m****

WHAT WHAT I DON’T GIVE A M****

This is me now, I care about family and nothing else. I am very self sufficient and I don’t trust many people. But yet I am still a good kid, “I ain’t a killa but don’t push me”

My playlist

Queen – I Want It All

I am someone who has always strived to be successful. This song is about living a life with ambitions and trying to achieve your goals. It applies perfectly in defining who I am. I am motivated to be successful and my ambition stems from wanting to provide my parents with a work-free and more relaxed life. They have been working since they were five years old. Needless to say, they have had a tough life. I am driven to be successful because I want to be able to give my parents a much deserved break from work and give them a vacation which they rightfully have earned.

Nas – I can

This song has a great positive message overall and is always worth listening to. The song also reflects my belief that hard work gets you to where you want to be.

Miley Cyrus – The Climb

Not necessarily a favorite song of mine but I am someone who enjoys a wide range of music and for some reason I just like this song. I included this song because it’s a great example of how my family and I have lived our lives so far. It’s been a constant struggle and we’ve faced numerous obstacles but thus far we’ve managed to overcome them. Just to name a few, some of these obstacles include my parents moving to New York with four kids with not even a penny in their pockets. Also, learning the English language during the fourth/fifth grade was not easy for me. The song also resonates well with me because the roadway to success as I understand it as an uphill battle and no matter how hard it seems, you just have to give it your all as the song suggests.

Queen – The Show Must Go On

This one always serves as a little motivation for me when things aren’t going my way. The simple message in this beautiful song is that life is like a show and although things might not turn out the way that we planned, the show must go one.

Queen – We are the Champions

Yet another song by Queen but I feel this song also represents a part of me. As I stated before, I strive for success. It’s my belief though that on some level I have already achieved financial and personnal success. I make a large amount in earnings a month, more than I’d ever hoped for at my age. I worked extremely hard for it during my gap year between high school and college and am immensely proud of my achievement. Although the song itself is most likely about Queen themselves and how they made it to the top, another possible interpretation is that it’s a celebration of a victory and about the struggles on the way to that victory. Apart from my success, my parents in their own right achieved something great as well. They started with nothing when they first moved to New York but they now own and manage their own laundromat. This is definitely a victory and so I feel that “We Are the Champions” applies perfectly to my family.

Lupe Fiasco – Words I Never Said

I chose this song because in it Lupe Fiasco states a wide variety of views on the world that I personally share and agree with. The song raises some points about issues in modern society and they are for the most part something that I also think about often. I find myself sometimes getting angry over problems the world currently faces and someday I want to be a part of the solution to those problems. In my opinion, to make a difference in the world, you need money. Bill Gates is a prime example of someone who uses money for solutions to problems and he has helped and saved millions of lives doing so. It is my ultimate goal to build a successful business and thus have the funds to impact the world in a positive way. This song simply reminds me about some serious problems in today’s world and that someone needs to do something about it.

Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World

Though this one may be a little contradictory to my previous example, it does show another part of who I am. On one hand, it is one of my favorite songs. Also, the song, much like myself, is optimistic. I am optimistic that problems can be solved and that ultimately one day they will be fixed. It also serves as a reminder not to forget about the small things as I go through life.

For this assignment I chose to present eight pictures that represent who I think I am. In these eight pictures is everything I do and everything I associate myself with. My name is Partap Singh and I am an Indian American college student who has just started working towards a bachelor’s degree in economics at Baruch College. The first two pictures are based off my beliefs and my position on life. The first picture in this sequence is my mindset towards the rest of the world. Most of the time I feel that life is a game and all I have to do is persevere and eventually beat it. Although it may get extremely difficult at times all I have to do is overcome any challenge I am faced with. I believe there is no substitute for hard work and that’s why I don’t take any shortcuts in life, this is the theme of the second picture and it links back to what is said in the first picture. The next two pictures show that I not only like to work hard but I also like to play hard. I am a big user of Netflix. When I am relaxing seventy percent of the time it involves watching something on Netflix. I watch a lot of movies, documentaries and TV shows. Although Netflix has a vast amount of content it is still missing a lot, that’s where TV comes in to play. I follow a number of shows which include the big bang theory, breaking bad, Dexter, and top gear and I am a big fan of basketball. I have been watching basketball for eight years now and every year I get more and more involved in the process of following it and being a fan. The next picture is a picture of a laptop. A laptop is important to me because it represents modern technology and in this day and age everything we do is somehow connected with technology. Sometimes I feel sorry for my laptop because I don’t shut it off for weeks, that’s how integrated it is with my life. The next picture is an Indian flag; this is what represents me at my core. Although I was born here my family stems from India and everything that I do in my life is shaped around that fact. My Indian culture is the subconscious factor that pushes me to make the decisions that make.  If I was not from India I would be a totally different person, from the way I look to the way I think. The last picture is a picture of food. I am a big fan of trying new food. Whenever I buy food I try to be diverse as possible. Any time I go to buy Chinese food or Indian food I try to order something off the menu that was different that what I ate last time. All these pictures are  a summary of who I am as a person .

One of my most favorite and effective ways to relieve stress or express my emotions is through writing. Whenever I am feeling worried, sad, or angry, I would just sit myself down and start pouring everything out on paper. Writing always makes me feel better afterwards and it has been my outlet for years. Although not as effective, listening to music also helps me relax. When I am somewhere where I can not get any privacy or just do not have pen and paper on hand, I would listen to music to keep my mind off things. Listening to music is a good way to distract me from the real world because I love to concentrate and enjoy the songs. I also like to visit the park near my home when I am free. Since I am in the city for most of the week, I like to get away from all the crowds and noise and just be around nature. Sometimes I just have to take a break from everything and appreciate all the small things in life, which are also very important to me. I like to think that I am a pretty optimistic person. I do not like to linger on the negative things that happen to me and allow it to bring me down. I tend to look on the bright side of things and hope for the best. I have found that being positive makes me a happier person so I try to think optimistically as much as I can. Reading is probably one of my favorite hobbies. There are so many genres I like to read about but I enjoy reading fiction the most. It sounds cliché, but I think that books can be so interesting sometimes it feels like an adventure whenever I am reading one. Another thing I like to do is to exercise. I mostly just run outside when it is warm because it feels great afterwards. It feels so much better than sitting in front of the computer or television for hours. I love running so much that I try to get my friends and family to join me because I believe it is such a healthy thing to do for one’s body. Just like most of the students who attend Baruch College, I want to get a job in the business field one day in the future. For now, I think that is what I want to do when I am older, but it is not impossible for me to change my mind when it comes time to choose my major. I entered Baruch with the desire to major in something that has to do with business, but it is not a passion of mine. I want to try it out to see if that is really what I want. Last but not least is my joy of helping others. I always try to lend a helping hand whenever I can because I believe that the help will come back to me when I need it.

Its hard to pick 8 songs that describe me, but here we go!

1) Hypnotize by Biggie Smalls-  This song captivates all the good times I have had with my friends. I am a strong believer in living life to the fullest. I’ve made mistakes that I probably shouldnt have but this song reminds me to just have no regrets in life and just enjoy the moment that your living.

2) Hey Jude by The Beatles- I love The Beatles. I listened to them my whole childhood. This song in particular reminds me of my childhood and about my family. It is really special to me in the fact it helps me deal with bad things have happened in my life. It helps me be up when im feeling down.

3) Dream Chasin by Chiddy Bang- I am all about chasing your dream no matter what cost. This song represents that. No matter how hard something might be you just have to keep moving on.

4) What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong- One of my all time favorite songs. It reminds me sometimes to look and appreciate the little things in life. We take so much for granted and never truly appreciate everything in life. So this song helps me put a perspective on things to realize that the world isnt such a bad place after all.

5) Piano Man by Billy Joel- This song reminds me of a lot of the unselfish things I’ve done for my friends and family. I always believe that when someones feeling down and sad that you should always do whatever you can to help them realize the good and life and at the least cheer them up for awhile to show they have people there for them.

6) Giant Steps by John Coltrane- I am a jazz geek. I love jazz and its the only genre that can just relax me and let me hit the pause button on life. This song just represents the whole genre of jazz and the impact it has had on my life.

7)Bout To Get Fruit Punched, Homie by The Wonder Years- Since they are one of my favorite bands of all time I thought I would have to use one of these songs on the list. This song again just reminds me of my friends and the great times I have had growing up with them.

8) Moondance by Van Morrison- For whatever reason this song just reminds me of the great times I have had with my family. And that no matter what they will always be there for me. I am really close to my family so this song is especially close to my heart.

Adam Bernstein's playlist

1.Don’t Wake me up-Chris Brown
2. EMpire State of Mind-Jay-Z
3. WOrk Hard Play Hard-Wiz Khalifa
4. Basketball-Bow Wow
5. Who Let the Frog Out-Axel F
6. So Much To Say-DAve Mathews Band
7. Hava Nagila-Dick Dale
8. Sunday Night Football Theme-NBC

I picked these songs because i think they accurately describe me. The First Song by chris brown, describes me in the way that i hate waking up. I think I’m the worst morning person and it usually takes the unlucky person that has to wake me up 3 or 4 times before I even move in my bed. The second song, Empire State of Mind, is one of my favorite songs as well as a song that really goes with who I am. I was born in New York City and have lived here all 19 years of my life. the third songs describes me perfectly because I do work hard and then after working so hard i reward myself by going out and having a good time afterword. Basketball by Bow Wow, is a song that i feel describes my personality because i love all sports, especially basketball. I love playing basketball, talking about it and watching it on TV. Basketball and all sports are a huge part of my life. The 5th song on my playlist is quite a weird song, but i ahd to put it in. Ever since i was in 1st grade all my friends started calling me Froggy because of my deep and raspy voice. The name has stuck to me ever since and most people don’t even know that my name is Adam. The name Froggy is basically my name now. So much to say by DAve Matthews BAnd is a personal favorite and i think it goes well with my personality. I like to talk a lot and i feel like i could strike up a conversation with just about anybody so i feel like characterizing me as somebody that has so much to say would be a correct characterization. The 7th song on my playlist is a jewish song that people sing at jewish celebrations. This song goes well with my personality because I am Jewish. It also goes well because I like to dance and party at these celebrations, which is exactly what the song is meant for. The final song on my playlist, Sunday night Football theme song, is a great tune that describes me well because like i said before i love sports and maybe my favorite sporting event to watch is Sunday Night Football. I hope this playlist gives you a good idea of who ADam Bernstein is and what my personality is like.