They say adrenaline is the most powerful drug in the world. And it is. It was the last game of the season. Our record was 11-2, and we were in second place, behind only Martin Luther King Jr. High School who had a record of 12-2 – their two losses both coming against us. Our final game was against Laguardia, and this game was huge because if we won, we would be tied for first, but would win the division because of our better head-to-head record with Martin Luther King and would receive a number 5 ranking. But if we lost, we would end in second, and would be given a horrible ranking of 28 out of 32.

 

Nobody on the team knew who would pitch that game. Would it be our number 1 Jake Bader, who was only on four days rest? Would it be Luke Christy who had been suffering with back spasms of late? or would it be me, who added stability to what was essentially a three-man pitching staff without me. At the last minute, I got the call – I would start. I had to pitch this game like a playoff game. I felt the pressure and the adrenaline the entire time. This Laguardia team had defeated us for one of our two losses in extra innings against our number 1 Jake, who had posted a herculean 0.80 ERA (5 runs in 45 innings). This lineup also featured two of their better players who had not played in our last meeting. I knew I would have to be able locate my fastball, and be able to dial it up when I needed to. I also knew my curveball would have to spot on and devastating – along with my splitter, which I could use to backdoor a hitter. But I was good under pressure, I lived for it. And in the game of baseball, pressure and adrenaline are the only things that can keep you composed – if you would believe it.

 

The game began, and I immediately hit trouble. I came on and walked the first two batters I faced. I knew immediately something wasn’t working. I went back and started throwing only fastballs. I was able to first get an easy pop out to left field, and then got the next guy 0-2, but again lost control and hit him. The bases were now loaded, and my confidence was not there. I was able to nab a strikeout on three pitches: two fastballs with a extra life on them, and then a devastating curveball in the dirt. And the next pitch, a weak grounder to first, and I was out of the inning.

 

My second inning was equally bad. I began with a walk, and then got a pitch over the plate and gave up a shot double in the gap. Fortunately the run didn’t score, and it was 2^nd and 3^rd, nobody out. Now I was excellent all year with runners in scoring position, probably better than anyone in our division. After having the next batter 0-2, I completely lost control and walked him. And now the bases were loaded with no one out. My coach was not coming out to the mound – I knew he had faith in me. My catcher Danny came out to the mound and told me to give him three hard fastballs. I dialed it up and let it fly, and got three swings and misses. And on the first pitch of the next batter, I got an easy grounder back to me. Throw home for the force, throw to first for the double-play and for the second straight inning with bases loaded and less than two outs, I did not give up a run. Once again, I did not crack under the pressure.

 

I went behind the dugout to be alone and try and gather my concentration. My coach came over to me and told me that he was watching me, and that my mechanics were off. I was leaning with my head which was a weight shift problem, and I was falling off the mound, which was a footwork problem. I took some practice pitches. During that bottom of the inning, we exploded to score four runs and take a huge early 4-0 lead. I went out for the third. My third-baseman came over to me and looked at me and said – start throwing from the stretch, that windup is throwing off all of your mechanics. I gave it a shot.

 

What happened? I gave up one bloop single with one out that inning and then retired every hitter I faced for the rest of the game (14 straight). In the 7^th, with the final three batters, it was my favorite time of the game. We were still up 4-0, I was three outs away from the win, and knowing it was the last inning, I could empty the tank. I could throw fastballs as hard as I could. And I did. I struck out the first two hitter of the 7^th on nine pitches – eight of which were absolute gas. And then a little weak grounder to first, and I had the complete game shutout, the win, the division clinched. We recorded the final out and the entire team ran out to the mound, my catcher jumping into my arms and everyone else piling on after him. It was one of my all-time great moments. This is why I play baseball, to feel that adrenaline, to feel that competition.

 

 

 

 

 

It was 9am on a Sunday morning in mid-May, I was still weary eyed, as I stepped into Baruch College. Upon entering, I noticed some friendly people, both student admissions ambassadors and adult admissions counselors. One of these counselors took down my name to sign me in, and instructed me that breakfast was being served in the cafeteria. Although this was the second college open house I had visited, I immediately knew that this was the right place for me. The friendly tour guides showed my Dad and I around the modern Vertical Campus, and then over to the library, with it’s own Subatomic Trading Floor. Throughout the entire morning, I marveled around, taking in the modern-day feeling of the place. The current students seemed to enjoy the place, and raved about their wonderful experiences, and how it would leave them well prepared for the real world. One of these students even showed a large group of us up to the future Baruch dorms. Getting onto the subway was interesting, as she had to keep refilling the Metrocard to swipe everyone in.

Fast-forward 17 months later, and here I am, a freshman, attending a Sunday open house. This time, however, I am in the opposite role, and I am one of the Admissions Ambassadors providing the tours circulating the campus. I am one of the people instructing people on where to go for breakfast. More importantly, I am the one who many visitors come to asking questions and for words of advice. I am also the one leading the tour, to make sure everyone makes it onto the subway and up to the dorms.

Now, many of my fellow peers and tour attendees ask me how I know so much about the campus, and how I am so involved at such a low student status. Well, I knew that at Baruch, as in the real world, I would be required to seek out opportunities for myself to become active in the school community. Over the summer, I had joined the admissions ambassador club, providing tours and working in the welcome center with the admissions department. Then, I also became involved with the Lexicon yearbook, and will be working directly with the business development team. With them, I help out finding sponsors for the yearbook. Very soon, I will also be applying for a position on TEAM Baruch. With this opportunity, I will be able to provide my experience to assist the new incoming freshman with their introduction to Baruch. Hopefully, in the spring, I will be an Orientation Leader, and next fall, will hopefully become a Freshman Seminar peer mentor.

Many students ask me why I am so involved on campus, rather than hanging out in my dorm room. Many think that it is some sort of crime to become so involved and possess so much school spirit for a CUNY school. The fact of the matter is, however, that these people are some of the same population who told me that Baruch has no social life or school spirit whatsoever.

Even though Yousuf already posted his :))) Yay for Yousuf!
Here’s my monologue from Freshman Year in case you need some ideas.

Remember, it’s due on Tuesday 🙂 and don’t forget a picture!

Post a monologue you’ve developed in your seminar, along with a self portrait (which can be a photograph, an image, a cartoon or some other depiction of how you see yourself).

I’m the typical teenager who likes to do the typical things. I like to eat, sleep and go out. I graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City. With a 40% drop out rate, it wasn’t the best, but I have to say it wasn’t the worse either. I was able to meet friends and I was able to explore. I found out what I liked and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I found out that I loved poetry. None of that Shakespeare sonnet stuff or Ayaz’s poems. I love real legit modern poetry. I also started planning my career path at the end of my High School years. I want to be an event planner. I want to intern at different companies and land a real part time job before I turn 20 and a full time job when I hit 23. It doesn’t seem quite realistic, but when I look back at what my siblings did, I start to believe in myself.

Two of my sisters also graduated from Baruch. They both found internships and worked their way up to a part time position then full time before they even turned 22. At such a young age, they found out what they wanted to do and never stopped pushing forward to achieve it. They are who I want to become when I grow up. Just like how everyone else looks up to someone, my two sisters are my role models.

To hit that level of success like my sisters did, I know I’ll have to open up more and start networking. I knew I had to get involved with things so I basically signed up for every club there was at Baruch. Even though I haven’t had the time to actually participate in every club, I can now proudly say that I am part of the USG Campus Affairs Committee and one of a million photographers of the Ticker.

I am the typical undergrad student. I am no different from any other student here at Baruch. I am lazy, I procrastinate but at the end of the day I work hard to play hard. And like everyone else, I learned to love Baruch College.

Yousuf Ahmed

10/16/12

Freshman Seminar

Monologue

I am sitting in Baruch’s library writing a monologue. What is a monologue? A monologue is pretty much a basis of writing out your thoughts. However, I do not really want to make this really long because that will take up a lot of time and take away time from doing other activities mainly studying for my midterm and quiz coming up within the next few days. I studied for my midterm, but I need to study more. There is quite a bit of information to remember for that midterm. It is for Business Law, if you were wondering. Anyways, I don’t think I really want to talk about this because it will remind me of how much work I have left to do, so instead I will talk about… books and the library.

Books are to the left of me. There are reference books, big books, small books, and all sorts of books. They are organized into shelves and a particular order. They are for the most part “standing tall.” Some are leaning over, but are in a particular fashion so that way it won’t fall. There are lots of rows of books, too. It would be pretty interesting if someone took on a challenge to read them all. I know I don’t think I would. I think that would be a waste of time because reading one book usually takes me days. Reading all these books would take me probably more than a lifetime! Those are the books that are on the left of me.

On the right of me are windows and more desk space mostly. I see some of the Newman Vertical Campus, too. It’s pretty cool; I can even see a reflection of the building that I am in because some of the Newman Vertical Campus has some glass windows. I hear people making noise outside. Why do people need to be that noisy? What are they saying? What are they doing? I hear cars, too. The one person honked. That’s pretty typical since we are in New York. I know I got off topic, but that’s ok.

In front of me, I see people to some degree. I see one person’s back. I see a person’s hair. I see a clock all the way on the other side. There is this person who sat down like some seconds ago. There are lights on the top. There’s a bunch of stuff. When I think about it, if I were to explain my image, it would take a long time. I just checked the time; it is 3:30. I am making pretty good progress with getting this done. What else is there to talk about?

I feel pretty cold. I don’t understand why I am so cold. It usually is pretty cold on the 4^th floor. I pressed “4” on the elevator, so it must be the 4^th floor. I thought it was the 3^rd. It’s quiet like I’ve been told. Here, I barely have any distractions. I, also, heard that during midterms week, it gets packed. You have to be one of the earliest ones to actually get a spot. People, also, sleep here. I don’t think I would want to sleep over at the library? Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable and not “homey?” That is what I would think.

I should get something to eat soon. My breakfast was Pop-Tarts unfrosted strawberry. It was good. I, also, had some milk, too. It was organic. My sister bought it, so I just drank it. It was good, too.  I could eat pizza or get a Subway Tuna Sandwich. I’m not sure I have options. When people are given the choice, they can get confused. I don’t think I am going to eat right now maybe in a few hours. We’ll see what happens.

I am going to conclude with this thought that everything that I observed was not a waste of time. Actually, it was sort of. The thing is that I observed my surrounding a bit better. It showed me that there are things you do not notice and force to notice in order to understand something a bit better. Perhaps, it didn’t do that either. If it did, great! The point of this monologue was to have no purpose just write stuff down, which I did. I think I did a pretty good job, how about you?

 

The photo is from my pictures file.

Wait and Bleed-Slipknot

http://youtu.be/B1zCN0YhW1s

San Diego VIP-Skrillex

http://youtu.be/aI_wb8BSU-Q

Octopus’ Garden-The Beatles

http://youtu.be/CUFcfXgW_dQ

Whats Up People- Maximum the Hormone

http://youtu.be/AafK4-eppMw

XO-Fall Out Boy

http://youtu.be/5qPXDE-OsIw

A Brief Introduction on Dubstep Production- Dubba Jonny

http://youtu.be/JkYhneTczXo

Reaching Out-Nero

http://youtu.be/sJVQJ4-n_cA

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites-Dirtyphonics Remix

http://youtu.be/fpwVCVVLfcI

She’s Like Heroin-System of a Down

http://youtu.be/-EjMsV5D1Zg

 Cinema-Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go

http://youtu.be/u-KqDVNowKU

 My name is Porsha Johnson, favorite color is purple, favorite ice cream flavor is coffee, biggest fear is getting eaten by a whale. I was born and raised in Far Rockaway, Queens and went to channel view school for research. As you can see by my music taste, I like dubstep, techno in general, punk rock, and metal. I also love classical music and was taught how to follow listening charts in elementary school. My favorite band is sytem of a down and a close second is slipknot. The first time I ever heard system of a down i fell in love because I never heard a song about selling ass. I dress like a fruit loop at times and I love neon colors. I’m a laid back person most of the time especially when I’m high on coffee (it actually puts me to sleep). In high school I was known as captain sarcasm and I’m always very straight forward about things. I love all things fat and fluffy. I have a really fat penguin pillow pet named Scott, I treat him like he’s my child.  There’s not many words to describe me, so here’s one I made up: Supercalifragisticpimpatoucus….squared. I’m always open to meeting new people and especially trying new foods since I LOVE EATING!!!! I think I’m just ranting now so, may the force be with you. peace out bros.