FRO12 LC15

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I came to college. All I heard were stories about people having the time of their life. This is certainly the case because I am having an amazing time in college and it’s only the first semester! It seemes like time is flying by. Going in, I thought that I would have a problem managing my time but as I organized myself, managing work and fun time became easy.

Living in the dorms at 1760 3rd Avenue is awesome. Not only do I bond with my fellow teammates on the volleyball team and with players on the womens volleyball team, but I make new friends when I work out, do laundry, and make food in the kitchen. I go out to lunch with some people at the dorms on Saturdays and I hang out with some people at central park, from frisbee to a picnic.

I don’t know why but I was really excited to schedule classes for next year. I was excited to set my own schedule with the time that I wanted to start school and end. It’s great being an athlete because I scheduled early and got all of the classes that I wanted. The only problem is that next semester is men’s volleyball season and I had to make my schedule work around volleyball. I couldn’t have a class end after 4 O’clock because that’s when we start practice. I also couldn’t have class on Friday or Saturday because we travel to tournaments on the weekend and I would miss many of my Friday and Saturday classes. I finally found a schedule that fit.

I am also worried about time that I will have to do work because volleyball will take up a lot of my life. I am worried that I won’t have a lot of time to study for tests or write papers because of volleyball. But I know that if I manage my time correctly and if I do a lot of work on the weekend and don’t procrastinate that I will do well in all of my classes.

Time has really gone by, we’re already three months into the semester. I am having a great time in college and I hope that every freshman is having the same feelings and experiences that I am having. I want to wish every one the best of luck on their finals and the next four years at Baruch College. I know that playing volleyball makes me feel more like a Bearcat already!

I missed one enrichment workshop due to an unexpected short-term memory loss.   The day before.  I read my schedule and knew there was a workshop, but I forgot to bring my planner with me to school.  I only remembered the room number.  Sadly not the floor number.  I searched 3 floors, 8,9, and 10.

It was amazing because after the 10th floor I gave up.  I tried to message people for the floor number, but they were all at the workshop already, so I could not find anyone.  What caused me to give up searching is the weird situations I got myself into.  I accidentally went into a room about online dating and opened a door when a class was going on.  It was really embarrassing.

The next class, I asked my friend what floor the workshop was on.  He said it was on the 7th floor.  I was shocked, and felt extreme stupid.  The suddenly memory from what I wrote on my planner finally comes back.  I have to go to he next workshop or I risk fail the class.  This time I wrote down the room AND the floor number on my hand.  This trick always work.  I even made it there early.

The second enrichment workshop I went to was really informative.  I learned about how hurtful racist jokes can be.  There was also words I did not know was harmful.  The word “fag” was very offensive to someone gay.  I had no idea.  After this workshop, I learn to watch my language.  I also learn the word “ouch”! In reality, I have never ever used this word once.  I have heard it on T.V. somewhere but I never used the actual word.  I would say “ow” instead of “ouch” when I get hurt.  It essentially mean the same but it is faster to say.

Write a blog post of no more than 500 words that reveals your favorite enrichment workshop that you had attended and why this workshop/program/experience was your favorite. Be sure to address the ways in which this workshop/program/experience resonated with you from a personal perspective and, if applicable, if it inspired you in any way. You will have the opportunity to discuss your post in class on the last day that your Freshman Seminar class will meet.

Post Three (due by early December) Create or find a photograph or some other image (a meme, an animated GIF, etc.) that represents in some way your experience at Baruch thus far. Embed your image in a blog post in which you reflect, in no more than 500 words, on your impressions of your first three months at Baruch. Your response should be personal and creative. If you use an image that you did not create yourself, be sure to credit the source with a name, if possible, and a URL!

Due November 29th

College is not going to be like high school! You’re an adult now! You need to learn to manage your time! You need to spend two hours studying for everyone one hour in class! This is going to be one of the most challenging times in your life!

Nah.

I don’t know why every new part of life as introduced as this brand new, never before seen challenge, but nah. College is just like high school; high school was just like middle school.

Maybe its because I’ve always treated myself like an adult, and expected other people to treat me as an adult too. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been managing my own time, even if my priorities were a little-off. Maybe its because nothing ever feels like a challenge to me.

Seems like college is going to be pretty boring doesn’t it?

Nah.

College does presents one new element. College actually counts. I did nothing in middle school still got into Brooklyn Tech. I did nothing in Tech and still got into Baruch. But now I actually have to put some points on the board. I need the GPA, I need the work experience, I need the volunteer work, I need the extracurricular activities because I need the scholarship to Columbia, because I need the investment-banking job, because I need to be rich.

I seem like your average College student, stressing about the future don’t I?

Nah.

College may count, but college is still easy. Because I don’t care if I sound overly confident, I’m brilliant.  Because I took on the most difficult and time consuming “extracurricular activity”, and I’m still maintaining a decent GPA.  When the first part of this “extracurricular activity” is done, bang. Building a powerful resume through permanent activity and support, easy 4.0 GPA, and I’ll be looking into jobs and internships. Yes, it really is that easy.

I seem pretty uptight, only focused on school and my future don’t I?

Nah.

I’m going to be getting ready for my future and partying, at the same damn time. You would have thought Adult College Dylan wouldn’t want to pop, sniff, smoke and drink until he couldn’t think. You would have thought Adult College Dylan didn’t want to keep causing trouble. You would have thought Adult College Dylan didn’t want to keep meeting beautiful women.

Nah.

I thought college was going to be a lot harder. So far, it’s been pretty easy compared to high school. The first few weeks of school I remember my brother was telling me about how when he started college he was just so tired all the time and it was so much work. Meanwhile I’m just like whatever it isn’t so bad.

But my favorite thing that has happened since I started college is that I started working in this hardware store. It’s so cool and I love it so much. Thursday and Saturday are my favorite days of the week now, but especially Saturday because that’s when I get to cut boxes. Like for three years while my friend was working at the store I would hear every week about how horrible it is and all the torture she had to endure. Now I took over her job when she quit and I am just loving it. But she told the other people at the store about me, and she kind of exaggerated a little bit, saying that I like to play with knives and stuff. So when it’s time to cut the boxes my coworker just hands me the knife and tells me it’s time for my favorite part and I’m just like YES!! And my friend always told me how time moves so slowly there and she would count down the minutes till freedom. But when I’m there and the guy tells me its almost time to leave I’m just thinking wow that was fast. I guess time flies when you have a knife in your hand.

People sometimes think I’m a bit crazy, but really I’m harmless. Like when I’m with my friends it seems like every time I open my mouth and say anything they just have to most puzzled look on their faces like “what are you even talking about?” Sometimes my mind just wanders into the unknown corners of the universe and I just say something completely random. Just a couple weeks ago my friend pointed out to me that whenever I start a sentence with the words “So the other day I was thinking…” it’s not going to end with a rational thought of any importance.

Sometimes I growl at myself in the mirror. Like it’s not even intentional and I don’t realize I’m doing it. Then like five minutes goes by and I’m like wait what was I doing? My friend keeps telling me it’s not normal. I think she’s wrong. I don’t see anything wrong with it. But what do I know about normal?

So anyway, yeah since college started life has just been good. I really can’t complain about anything. I expected worse so everything just seems really relaxed so far.

Sunshine, my boxcutter <3

Until right now, I’ve lived my entire life in a bubble. You see, from the moment I was born I was a member of what’s known as the Syrian Community. The Syrian Community is a large community of Jews of Middle-Eastern descent who currently live in Brooklyn, NY. Though it contains thousands of people, the community is very tightly knitted and it seems as if everyone knows every other member of the community.

I grew up the oldest in a family of six children. As the oldest, I always had the responsibility of being a good role model for my siblings and I’ve always tried my best to do so.

Growing up in “the community” as we call it, I was never exposed to the real world. I was always in the same school with the same people. I lived my entire life with the same culture and same traditions.  I always had the same group of friends.

It wasn’t until I decided to go to Baruch that I realized everything was about to change. I realized a lot of my friends would be going to college out of town and I wouldn’t see them anymore. And it wasn’t until I decided to get an apartment in the city that I realized I wouldn’t be home everyday with my family.

Needless to say, the past two months have been a culture shock to me in a way. The Baruch experience is extremely different than that of high school and it’s definitely not an easy adjustment. I’m hanging out with different people, eating different foods, and doing different things.

My hobbies, however, are the only things that haven’t changed. There’s still nothing I enjoy more than listening to alternative rock and watching football on Sundays. I’m a die-hard Giants fan and needless to say, I’m enjoying these good times for my team. When it comes to music, I’ve enjoyed having the time to listen to my IPod in between classes.

Coming to Baruch has been a huge change for me and one that I’ve embraced and am enjoying so far. I’m looking forward to making many new friends, doing well in school, and enjoying everything that comes with the entire Baruch experience.

My name is Alan.

Going to college at Baruch feels like the 13th grade. I take the same train and wake up at the same time that I did for high school. Baruch is also a commuter school which is the biggest reason it feels like the 13th grade. But going to college is a lot more stress full than high school. The responsibility of doing well in school is placed upon yourself. I’m constantly thinking about how to get an A in every class and how I’m going to manage my time. It makes me very sad that we get so much work because I usually wait till the last minute to do everything. We also have quizzes very frequently and it just makes my head hurt thinking about it. I worry that I procrastinate too much and it’s going to affect my grade.

Although there is a lot of work, Baruch has its good sides. There is a lot more freedom that I wouldn’t have in high school. The open campus means I can get anything to each for lunch instead of school cafeteria food. I also can’t wait to pick my own classes. Even though as a freshman we get to pick last, I’m excited that we have the options to choose what classes we take and what times they start. Hopefully my schedule won’t suck. I want it to start a bit late but still end relatively early.

One thing that I haven’t done yet is join a club. There are a lot of clubs available at Baruch but I haven’t found one that interest me.So far I am enjoying Baruch college despite the work is given.

P.S. When I was little I always wanted to be a ghost buster.

Hi everyone! How is college treating you so far? My name is Zihao Timothy Zhu. I am a freshman in Baruch. College has not been as awesome as I expected. I thought I could have more freedom and more time to experience new things, but it turned out that “more time” is just another phrase for “more work.” I was never really a hardworking student back in high school; all I did was finishing my homework and projects on time, and possibly studying a little bit before tests. And I still maintained a 95-above average. However, I cannot procrastinate any more in college. Each class has tons of readings to do and countless assignments to finish; it is ten times the work I had to do in high school. Also, my upper-classmen has taught me a phrase, “one hour lecture, two hours of preparation.” I basically spend at least 5 hours on studying for the classes that I have the next day. On top of school work, I have two jobs outside of school, tutoring and promotional work. On Monday and Wednesday, I tutor high school students in Flushing. On the weekends, I work in various experimental marketing events. For those who do not know the term “experimental marketing,” it means marketing programs which most often are associated with consumer events. Some examples include sampling and live hands-on product demos allowing consumers to touch and use a product rather than just hear or read about it. Certainly, it is a very interesting job because I get to make connections and experience different events like concerts and Comic Con. Thankfully, on top of all these, I have managed to balance between work and school. And I am doing well so far in all of my classes.

Some of you might wonder, “How can you manage to balance between work and school? Don’t you need some time to relax and release your stress?” Of course I do have my own way of relaxing and releasing my stress. Or else I would be exhausted and cutting school by now. My favorite way to relax is eating. Yes, I love food and I eat a lot. I can go on and on about food all day if I want to. Luckily, because of my mother’s fast- metabolistic gene, I do not gain weight easily. I like to try different types of food from different culture. And I always search for those little-known restaurants in the city and try out their signature dishes. If they are good, I will take pictures of the dishes and post them on my Tumblr and Instagram. You can see many pictures of delicious food all over my Tumblr page. My friends always tell me how hungry my pictures make them feel.

I guess people can agree with me that lunch in high school cafeteria tastes really bad. One benefit of being a college student is that Baruch is an open campus. I can go out for lunch anytime I want and have any kind of food I want. Sometimes when I have a short lunch break, I just grab a Subway sandwich or chicken over rice from the Halal food cart near Baruch’s Vertical Building. But every Tuesday and Thursday, I treat myself a fancy lunch. On Tuesday, I often go to the Ramen House across from Baruch’s 23^rd St Building. I think the ramen soup there is very delicious and worthy even though it is $11 each. On Thursday, I go to a place a little bit farther from Baruch, St Mark’s Place, because I usually have a three-break in between classes. St Mark’s Place is full of various Asian restaurants. And I try different ones every time I go there for lunch so their food never bores me.

Another way to relax myself is singing. I go to karaoke with friends to sing out all my stress from school once or twice a month. It really helps when we scream out the lyrics carelessly and laugh along. I suggest you guys to try it out because it feels so much better after you scream out all your pressures. Moreover, I sometimes perform in Open Mics events. I have performed in different places like Union Square, Columbus Park and Kissena Park. I enjoy singing on the stage because it clears my head from the pressures I have in school. And I also enjoy the moment when everyone cheers and gives a big round of applause after my performance. Those clapping noises always “clap” away my stress from school and work. Maybe you guys should come to watch the performance next time!

Hi, my name is Ken Rong. Ya I know its an unfamiliar last name and some people even joke about it. Ken Wrong? But I am well over that after hearing it so many times.

I was born in New York and have lived here my entire life. I have to say i do not regret being born in New York because I simply love the city. Even though there are times where the crowded streets and rude people on trains do bug me but in the end I still enjoy living in this city. New York just has so many things to do which is what i like, all those possibilities. But every so often i do like to enjoy some time alone which is why I like living in Brooklyn of New York.

My parents moved to Brooklyn when i was no more than three years old. Brooklyn is a lot more peaceful compared to Manhattan which i enjoy since i like to go home to a quiet neighborhood after long days. I live on the edge of the neighborhood Sunset Park and I really do like living in this neighborhood where nothing much really happens. It feels almost like a safe zone for me where I go to at night to spend time with my family.

Even though I lived in Brooklyn i usually went to schools in Manhattan. The first time i ever went to school in Brooklyn was actually high school when i attended Brooklyn Tech. Attending Brooklyn Tech was probably the most stressful years and most enjoyable years of my life at the same time. Tech had a relatively high work load but at the same time it had 5,000 students which allowed to me making lots of good friends along the years which eventually proved stressful when I had to juggle between school work and spending time with friends.

College for me feels almost like another version of high school for me, except with a lot more work. Because of the extra work I tend to find myself failing to manage time properly. Hopefully this can be corrected by the next semester for me because i really do not enjoy sleeping at 3 am. But still college does have its benefits for me since I do have more freedom. If i want to eat ice cream in the afternoon now, i could eat ice cream in the afternoon which was not possible in high school where i was forced to eat the nasty school lunch.