This picture sums up my first year at Baruch. Metaphorically I am Tom Cruise; the jet is Baruch; and the American flag behind him is my future. Tom Cruise pilots his jet to accomplish his goal, to preserve America’s freedom. Similar to Tom Cruise, Baruch is the jet I fly to reach my goal. My goal is to make a future for myself through education and hard work and Baruch is the means to accomplish this goal. Tom Cruise is giving a big thumbs up in the picture because he is satisfied with his experiences. Just like Tom Cruise I am satisfied with my experiences at Baruch and I give a big thumbs up. The similarity between myself and Tom Cruise is amazing.

Baruch has allowed me to mature as an adult. Going to Baruch has opened my mind to various fields I would have never looked into. Through Baruch I was introduced into the subject of Philosophy and it made a great impact on me. Philosophy allowed me to approach subjects through logic and reason instead of feelings and opinion.  The impact of this simple change has been tremendous. Going to Baruch has also created structure in my life. Having responsibilities like homework and managing your time effectively to complete your responsibilities is a learned skill. Learning at Baruch has grown that skill.

Baruch has introduced me to activities I would have never considered. Through a school organized event I went hiking overnight in upstate New York. Before the experience I did not know how enjoyable hiking was. Because of that experience organized by Baruch I realized the importance of physical activity as an important factor in success. I also realized how enjoyable hiking was.

Learning at Baruch has allowed me to mature as an individual and work towards a future for myself. Through the various facilities, peers, and teachers at Baruch I have gained greater knowledge on how to work towards my goals. If I were asked how I’d rate my experience at Baruch; I would tell them I give big thumbs up.

It’s hard to say my interests. I’m an immature kid who’s changing his mind every few months, so to say that I have concrete interests is not possible. What I’ll do is say my current interests, although whether I’ll still be interested in them in the future is anyone’s guess.

I’ve enjoyed learning about history. I have a class “HIS 1001” that focuses on ancient history and ancient civilizations. My interest stems from a wanting to understand history. My reasoning: if you can understand the past you can understand the present. Why argue about modern day conflicts when history is a timeline of trial and errors, economic, political, and social issues that we deal with today have all happened before, our present is really nothing special or unique (but I guess we are more “technologically” advanced). Whether I still believe this in the future is, once again, anyone’s guess.

I enjoy reading. I enjoy reading because it is a pleasurable experience, and every book that I’ve read has provided me with some sort of new “insight”. Whether it’s a simple lesson about human nature; a man escaping the tragedy of war; a peer into what a dystopian doublethink world would look like (and the importance of privacy, education, and free speech); a small taste of wallstreet; youth, its triumph and trip to Bangkok; and a peer into  life under communism (Heart of Darkness, Slaughterhouse-Five, 1984, The Mind of Wallstreet, Youth, Animal Farm). I’m not an avid reader, I’m new to reading. But even as a novice reader I understand the importance of books, and more importantly, an education. Books are invaluable.

I enjoy school. School is great. Fun, too (but very challenging and stressful). It’s not a chore to get up in the morning when you’ve had a full night’s sleep, and it’s not a chore to do homework when you’ve done it a week or a day ahead of time. This is college, opportunity is everywhere, all it really takes is good organizational skills and a want to improve yourself (and your education). By no means am I referring to myself, I have spotty organizational skills and I am not intelligent.

I don’t do much, only homework and school. So I’ll talk about my past short lived interests and what I gained from them.

Meditation. It’s great, do it if you have the time. Not only does it give you an understanding of what focus is, it can help you solve problems and stressful situations (because focus, that’s why). It also cures headaches (permanently if you meditate everyday).

Sailing. Real wind sailing. I do this when I get the chance with my father. It’s a great experience, much better than going around on a motorboat. Also gives you an appreciation of the struggles sailors had to deal with when sails were used. And an appreciation for the sea.

“Travel with no money”. Everyone has/had a foolhearted dream. Now, I don’t mean foolhearted  in the sense that dreams are silly, this little pipe-dream of mine was just a pipe-dream which I used for reference when anyone asked me what I was going to do with my life. “What are you going to do for the rest of your life without an education?” Oh, I’ll travel the world. “And how are you going to do that.” I dunno, I’ll do it though. This is coming from a kid who spent his nights playing videogames into the wee morning hours and had never done any physical labor before (as in, held a minimum wage job). Glad I grew out of that. Rather quickly too when I started working.

Weight lifting used to be a big part of my life. Weight lifting is a great activity, I highly recommend it to anyone who can use a search engine and learn how to PROPERLY lift hard and lift heavy (98% of lifters don’t know how to do a proper squat!). This includes a proper diet as well. Want the secret to getting big? Hold onto your seat for this one. Sleep, Eat a lot, and do big Compound Exercises (squats and dead-lifts)  and supplement those with smaller targeting exercises (like curls for biceps, just don’t do it in the squat rack, please). Now not only are you big, you’re also strong.

Rock climbing. That was fun while it lasted, then I got a job and started getting cut for time. I loved the experience and how I got into the sport. I saw a post about it one day on a forum and had a small interest towards it. I searched online for locations to rock climb in New York (for free) and there was a (big) rock in Central Park that had just the proper cracks to allow climbers to climb up its vertical slope. I got there with no equipment and no experience. The first climbers I saw was a pair of two whom I introduced myself to and asked about climbing and necessities. First people I met about the subject of rock climbing. I’d get to know them much better later on to the point of seeing them twice a week and messaging daily when I started going to the rock climbing gym. Great stuff. I regret not saying goodbye when my attendance gradually lowered and I got more involved in other things. Stupid people do stupid things, I guess.