The leadership workshop taught us what it really meant to be a leader.  It talked about influential leaders in the world, how they started and what they created.  They even brought in some local leaders from Baruch’s various clubs and organizations.  The workshop left us with some variable information on how we can take charge and be somebody, and I’m sure it would have given me valuable life lessons that I would always cherish if I had actually paid attention.

Often times it is difficult to integrate into something new whether that be making the transition from high school to college or moving to a new neighborhood, and it can often times be very helpful to have someone assist you in that transition. This is essentially the driving idea behind Freshmen Seminar, and although the intentions behind Freshmen seminar seemed to be good, the program itself was very hit and miss. On one end when it came to choosing classes and building a schedule for next semester, I personally found Fro to be very helpful when it came to assisting me in helping decide what classes to take and without it I would just be lost. On the other hand, when it came to community building, i felt like fro missed the mark. I am not saying that there isn’t any sense of community whatsoever; quite the contrary- having most of our classes, such as Fro, together and being placed into an LC did help to foster a sense of community to the extent that friendships were made and at the very least we all know, or should know, each others names. What I am saying, however, is that some of the projects such as working together on blogs and doing community service seemed to miss the mark when it came to team building. For the blogs, in theory, we should have worked together to accomplish a common goal but in practice, from my experience at least, we just worked separately on the blogs 30 minutes before the  class they were do. Also, the community service- and this isn’t a complaint to having to do community service by any means (i do believe in giving back to the community)- seemed to miss the mark of building us as a community. The entire LC didn’t work on the same project and we only had to do it once;if anything, the community service was good in the sense that we were able to give back  but ultimately failed because not everyone was in collaboration and was for such a short period of time that it seems forgettable.

When i think of the term “leadership” certain phrases come to mind- loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. When i think of the term “leadership”, i think of great military generals such as George Washington who were able to not only lead a group to achieve a certain goal but through their dedication were able to exceed their own limits and push their subordinates to do the same. When i think of the term “leadership,” i think of powerful organizations such as the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. When i think of the term “leadership,” I most certainly do not think of that workshop we went to! The “leadership” workshop, if it can even be called that, seemed to be nothing more then a diluted club fair. The main speaker seemed to be way to jittery and to a certain extent nervous and almost no one seemed to be paying attention. To be perfectly honest, that “leadership” workshop needed better leadership. But i did take something away from the workshop. When the student leaders spoke to us and told us their stories it pushed me more towards joining a club. I had been on the edge of joining a club for quite some time now but listening to the leaders did convince me more to perhaps join one in the next semester. Besides that, the leadership workshop really didn’t have any other significant impact on me.

Last Thursday we went to the Reuben Museum, which is dedicated entirely to showing off Buddhism and educating the general public about it. I learned some very interesting things which I had not known, although Buddhism had been  covered within my high school world history curriculum. One of the most interesting things which I learned was that within Buddhism’s path to enlightenment there are several approaches. There are some which are done by completely removing yourself from anything that affects you, living a simple life, and removing yourself from pleasure and pain. However, one of the things which I learned from Namit was that the Buddhists considered that there were other worldly approaches to finding enlightenment, such as having an immense amount of earthly pleasure. This at the very least surprised me, and made me want to look more into some of the other things that the Buddhist thought of. Another very interesting thing was the chart that described the different hand symbols used in paintings and sculptures of Buddhist figures. I had never made the connections, and had thought that some figures just had a traditional look, but it turned out that the same figure might be portrayed with different hand symbols. Something I had never thought of.

Music is very important to me. Music helps me think and make my important life decisions. It’s truly amazing what these artists were able to express through their songs and how we can benefit so much from listening to it.

1. Jubel- Klingdale

2. Holy Grail- Jay Z

3. Your Song- Elton John

4. Demons- Imagine Dragons

5. Candle In The Wind- Elton John

6. On Top of The World- Imagine Dragons

7. Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison

8. Two Worlds- Phil Collins

9. Man in The Mirror- Michael Jackson

10. Smile- Uncle Kracker

I was planning to do pictures first, but I already spent 3 hours looking for song translations and lyrics.

…Songs it is.

Introduction (I guess?): Hopefully I didn’t interpret the songs too differently 😛 All of the Japanese songs (I don’t know Japanese, but I will…one day) except for one (#5) are sung by VOCALOIDs. VOCALOID is a singing voice synthesizer; basically it’s a computer program where you can use the voice bank installed in it to create the vocals for your song. Meaning, it’s sung by a synthesized voice, not a (real) person. Since I am a terrible explainer, Wikipedia if it’s needed-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocaloid Be forewarned, not everyone likes Vocaloid because of the metallic-like vocals; some find it to be even unbearably annoying. It technically depends on the Vocaloid since they all sound different (some are more realistic, some are more “metallic”), but it ultimately depends on the listener.

English Songs:

1)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mC1_MnEHjU “The Golden Age” -Woodkid             It’s about children growing up from their “golden age” to become adults and how we have to take responsibility of everything now instead of being able to be naïve and ignorant of the world around us. It’s the stage of life we’re going through I guess.

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcyIpul8OE “Holocene”- Bon Iver                                   I am not too sure what the song means, but I think it’s about realizing how insignificant we are as compared to the whole universe. Just have to accept that fact.

3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qF_qbaWt3Q “Waiting for the End” – Linkin Park “The hardest part of ending is starting again.” Everything ends and begins in life and it’s hard to move on. I agree with the song.

Japanese Songs:

4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZOPlZTAPDs “しんでしまうとはなさけない！” – Jesus-P (Wonderful☆Opportunity) ft. 鏡音リン ・レン (“Death Should Not Have Taken Thee!” – Jesus-P ft. Kagamine Rin & Len)                                                                                                        I know, weirdest song title ever. But it’s the most awesome and funniest vocaloid jrpg-themed song. Ever. JRPGs ftw 🙂

5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa0zvkyQoPQ “empty” – kz (livetune) ft. やなぎな ぎ (yanaginagi)                                                                                                                                                                 Sort of the same meaning as “Waiting for the End.” Stop dreaming and living in sorrow of your past mistakes to greet the new dawn. I agree, again.

6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccx8ZqTWCoY “clock lock works” – ハチ (Hachi) ft. 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku)                                                                                                                                 People grow up to work blindly to make money, ignoring what they truly want to do in life by locking it away(?) I can relate to that :/

7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G85GUfuJTg4 “積乱雲グラフィティ (Sekiranun Graffiti)” – ryo (supercell) ft. 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku)                                                                                Reminiscing the happy times and little things in life as you grow much older and always having the feelings stay in your heart. I would like to grow older like that. lyrics: http://www.animelyrics.com/doujin/vocaloid/sekiranun.htm

8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4hO8WjvlE “parades” – whoo ft. 初音ミク Append DARK (Hatsune Miku Append DARK)                                                                                                                 The song is vague and open to interpretation, but I think it can be about getting through a hard problem in life after losing your path and how looking back it wasn’t that much of a big deal after all. It happens with all those tests we take 😛

9) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4avTLP3zXVA “Sky of Beginning” – じん  (Jin) ft. 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku)                                                                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZUjqVbU1uQ  “LIVEDRIVE” – じん  (Jin) ft. IA                                                                                                                                                                                                   I couldn’t decide so I used two as one~ They basically mean the same thing–go after your ambitions and dreams, no matter how crazy and what others think. “Sky of Beginning” has a more childish/innocent/cute tone while “LIVEDRIVE” has a more bold/hard-beat/serious tone. Lyrics for “LIVEDRIVE”: http://mojim.com/usy111619x3x2.htm

10) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT2wVgoBH28 “現実的論理主義者 (A Realistic Logical Ideologist)” – ゴボウメン (Goboumen) ft. IA                                                                                   I think it’s criticizing in the point of view of a realist of how we have to conform to society and especially how optimists and pessimists view life. I know I’m definitely not a realist, but I should be so I can make more obtainable goals.

finito! that was really long OTL

Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood- The Animals (Red Band cover) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7TKRBiw38M
Going to California- Led Zeppelin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDgb5vVHuA
Gymnopedia

Song for Puppets- Dan Pundak

So Young So High Philharmonic version-Dada LIfe

Life- Avett Brothers

What is Life?-Goerge Harrison

I Got- Young the Giant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWRttE4YEMg
All These Things the I’ve Done- The Killers

Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright-Bob Dylan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N17KILNSS0

Ever since I was small, music has played a big role in my life. Admittedly, I was a very socially awkward kid…so music was a big escape for me. And as hard as my dad tried to have me only listen to the Beatles and classical music, I ended up diversifying my tastes. I was constantly on the lookout for different types of songs to think to, and to figure out where I was going next. With this playlist, I wanted to clue you guys into the kind of music that I find best for introspection, across several genres. Unfortunately, I have yet to find Rap or R&B to which I can think, so if you guys know of any let me know!

My Playlist

This playlist basically sums up my wide array of musical interests and it also sums up my life. Songs 1-3 are more RnB type of songs which is probably my favorite type of music style because of the meaning behind every song. I feel like there’s an RnB song to relate to any situation I’ve ever been placed in. Songs 4-7 are more Hip Hop/Rap based. When I was younger I loved old school rap which is why I have Tupac in there but recently I started to listen to artists, like J Cole, who actually have meaning behind their songs. Songs 8-9 are Fusion/ Hindi songs. My culture definitely has a huge impact on me and it has definitely molded me into who I am today. Song 8 is the Indian National Anthem (just in case anyone was wondering). Song 10 is a Christian song. My religion really defines who I strive to be as a person and it is definitely one of the main factors that shape who I am.

I was born in Ukraine and although I came to the states when I was 5 and only went back to Ukraine on vacation twice, i’m still proud of my Ukrainian heritage and try to keep it close to me.

Family is also something that is extremely important to me because no matter how much we might fight or bicker, I always know that i can count on my family and they can count on me in any situation.

Friends, not just acquaintances but true friends, are just as important to me as family is and i know that i can count on my true friends in even the worst of situations.

Music also plays a big role in my life. Whether it’s Pandora playing in the background while i study or my IPod playing on a long train ride, you’ll almost always see me listening to some sort of music.

What started off as a hobby to kill some  time after school has now become something that i do at least once every week. Whether it be playing pick-up games at the local court, playing in a team-based tournament, or just shooting alone to help clear my mind, I’m on a court as often as possible and the game has become one of my personal favorite sport.

I’ve spent a couple months of my life living in California and although i don’t live on the West Coast anymore, some of the hobbies i picked-up there have definitely  stuck with me. Perhaps one of the biggest ones is longboarding. sometimes it’ll take the form of a big down-hill race and sometimes it’ll take the form of me just cruising to the park, but whatever the form, longbarding has become something that i take great pleasure in doing.

Paintball and Airsoft have also become hobbies of mine. Although i don’t play now as much as i used to, the few times a year that I do manage to make it out to Skirmish or other fields are always some of the best times of my life.

Handball has also become a fairly big hobby of mine and currently i’m working on becoming  a ranked B player.

“Shut Up And Smile” by Bowling For Soup
I admire this song because, although it’s message may be too ideal and naive for our time, it tells us to just let go of our transgressions and be happy for once.
“Natural Competition” by Conditions
This song, in my opinion, has an accurate take on life, especially in a big city like New York: every activity becomes a competiton.
“Good Life” by OneRepublic
With a relaxing harmony, this song reminds me that if you stop and take a good look, life really isn’t that bad.
“The Hell Song” by Sum41
This song represents having a sense of clarity in the midst of stress.
“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
Similar to the previous song, this one reminds me that being in “the middle” of a lot of problems shouldn’t discourage you, and that there is always a way out.
“Run, Don’t Walk” by Hey Monday
This song tells me that sometimes it’s good to let loose and be impetuous and free.
“Move Along” by All-American Rejects
Be persistent and determined despite all odds– plain and simple.
“Young Volcanoes” by Fall Out Boy
There’s not a solid meaning behind this song. It’s just a cheerful, catchy tune.
“New Perspective” by Panic! At The Disco
This song encourages the listener to view things from a “new perspective” in order to find some clarity.
“It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons
Simply put, take control of your life.