I went to the Rubin Museum for my enrichment workshop. Although it did not really resonate with me on a personal level, it did inspire me in a few ways. The pieces in the exhibit encouraged me to look more into interesting details and symbolism as most of the artwork were based on those aspects. It also encouraged me to be more open to other cultures and learn about their religion. I also really enjoyed the prayer room as well. It was constructed really well and had a constant humming sound coming from somewhere that was cool even though it kinda creeped me out at first. It was unfortunate that we weren’t able to see the whole exhibit (especially the sky exhibit 🙁 ) but I enjoyed my time there and learned quite a lot.

My enrichment workshop was the further-in-depth exploration of research/source citation skills, using FOCUS 2 survey from the STARR program. Taking this survey changed many things for me. I came into Baruch thinking that English would be my major. I want to become a lawyer so I can become a judge and not any old judge, a great judge. I thought that doing English would prepare me by improving my writing and orating skills. When I did the FOCUS 2, it showed me the majors for specific jobs and the amount I can make in one year. I looked for my occupation and found that my major should be Political Science and Government. I was a bit relieved because I enjoy politics. I want to change lives and be able to help people and my country. I want to be the next Olivia Pope. I want to be a part of history. I also learned that I am very responsible and I want to do my job efficiently. This workshop opened my eyes and helped me choose the right major for the career I want to pursue. I do want to double major, so I will push forward and do my best. My career in law will be great and I am determined to be successful.

The enrichment workshop (AKA: Rubin museum visit) did not resonate with me personally because i’m not that religious of a person, however it was cool to learn about other cultures. We also did not get to explore the whole museum do to time constraints, so that could have also got in the way. My favorite piece however was the prayer room, because it seamed very peaceful, it was a peaceful piece, HA! see what I did there. The room its self was very intricate and had many smaller components, all of witch held a meaning, from the material it was made out of to its position in the room, it all mattered. It was this detail that made me relies how much their gods mattered to them, and I found that type of faith in theirs gods crazy.

This is a photo that I took and edited. This photo relates to me because not only is photography a passion of mine, but this is literally the view outside of my window. It is a sunrise and symbolic this relates to my time here at Baruch and in New York. Previously living on the west coast, we get beautiful sunsets, however I have not really seen a beautiful sunrise, and I feel that it is nicer seeing something coming than going. A sunrise is a new beginning, just as my time here at Baruch has been a new and bright experience.

“If you are irritated by every rub, how can you be polished?” is a quote by Rumi, a Persian poet. This quote talks about welcoming life’s challenges and to not be irritated at every challenge that comes our way. I think this fits my experience so far at Baruch. I am welcoming the new challenges of college life, such as the workload, time management, and moving out of my comfort zone. In college, the work isn’t as much as high school but when you procrastinate and the work stacks up, then it becomes a problem, so I guess the workload and time management comes together here. Time management is a challenge for me because I want to socialize, play games, and still keep up the good grades. And finally, meeting new people was hard in high school because we were confined to our classrooms and I was reluctant to meet new people because the other high school students were reluctant to talk to me too. But, now in college, I am more open to meeting people and college students are more open too. Another challenge that I’ve encountered is being independent. Back in high school, I had a group of friends and would do everything together but now that I’m in college, I can’t depend on a group of friends to do things that I want to do, because: 1) they’re not there and 2), not everyone wants to do the things that I want to do. So to sum it up, I learned to face my challenges head on rather than leaving them aside, ignoring them or make excuses for not facing them.

Making things happen. That is what my Baruch experience has been so far. I believe most of us have set goals for ourselves. We may not definitely know what we want or where we want to be, but we definitely now where or who we DON’T want to be. In my case I have a pretty good idea of what I want and were I want to be and in order to get there, I have to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. My time so far at Baruch has been very complete! It has been fun and special as well as challenging and different. In all, much better than expected.

My boundaries are being pushed every day and I find my self learning new things every single moment about myself and the people around me. I’m growing as a person and learning from my mistakes, because not everything has been excellent. I’ve found myself struggling with some courses.Nevertheless, that is partly why the experience is being so rewarding.

This semester in Baruch represents the beginning of a journey. I have no time to waste. I want to continue growing, strive for more and never stop MAKING THINGS HAPPEN.

My experience at Baruch College thus far has been a great one! I’ve found out about so many cool clubs (such as fusion) and met many amazing people throughout this semester. Although college brings a heavier load of work, it does give you more free time and I was glad when I realized this. I like being more independent and being in control of my schedule. However, one thing I did hate was my daily commute. Especially in cold weather. It is nearly three hours, has multiple transfers, and I would have to wake up hours earlier than when my classes actually started. I also regret not working harder on my class assignments. I will take everything I learned from this semester in and pick up the pace for the next upcoming spring semester. Even if that means that I will have to give up precious sleep for it… 🙁

http://cheezburger.com/2641783808

My time at Baruch College so far has been amazing. This picture shows what has motivated me in these few months at Baruch. I am determined to be successful and do my best. I never want to forget my values. In order to reach the goals I have set for myself, I need to have faith. I know that I can do all the things I aspire to through God. This verse basically states that. I have been doing well and each day I am getting stronger. I am glad my family instilled good values within me. I just want to stay on the right track. I want to prosper, be in good health and become successful. Without God none of that can happen. This Baruch experience thus far has shown me many people and cultures. I am going to try to continue doing my best so I can reach my goals. This verse is the verse for my life.

http://darrellcreswell.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/inspirational-bible-verses-philippians-413-christ-strengthens-me/

http://soulsymphonycomic.com/comics/home-away-from-home-part-2/

Home Away From Home

by Isik Basarir

I always felt as though school was a home away from home. I’m sure a lot of people feel that way. we spend most of our time here. We often spend more time in school then we do at home. We spend more time with our classmates than we do with our family members. I wonder if one day, after I graduate, I will miss school, like missing home. I spend so much time in school and experience so many things, so many emotions that it sticks. For example, I miss middle school. I miss high school. Those were all good times. So much happened. I wonder if college will be like that too. My feeling is that it will. Maybe I’ll miss it more than I miss high school.

Charged With ID Theft in L.I.R.R. Ticketing Swindle

by Isik Basarir

In New York, our security systems are very reliable. We usually feel safe during the day. We don’t worry much about someone stealing our credit card information because we have already taken necessary cautions for it. However, there are still people who can outsmart our security systems.  A group of people who happen to be Romanian immigrants outsmarted the security system of L.I.R.R ticket vending machines. They placed cameras on the vending machine to steal people’s credit card information.  Who could imagine such a thing happening. Fortunately, the NYPD cops were able to capture the thieves and make train stations secure again.

(source: nytimes.com)

Charge Is Dropped in Beating Death a Transgender Woman in Harlem

Today, NYPD is doing a very good job at maintaining the safety of our city. Crime doesn’t happen very often. Most of us leave the house feeling safe. We do not feel threatened. However, that’s not the case for New York’s transgender community. They actually are not as secure as some of us when they go outside. There are some haters out there and they can hurt them. In Harlem, Islan Nettles, 21 was attacked by a group of men when she was walking on the street with friends. She dies a week later due to her injury form the attack. It’s even more unfortunate that she was so young.

What’s even worse is that the police haven’t been able to capture the attackers. There are only some suspects. We don’t know who did this for what purpose. But it surely is upsetting and frustrating to see someone being beaten to death in public. The thought that this can happen to more people is tragic. Hopefully, someone will do something about it. We cannot just tolerate or forget about these kind of things.