FRO was an experience that meant a lot to me. Looking back at it now, FRO really did help me transition into college. Back in freshman year of high school, I had a really tough time transitioning from middle school to high school. My personality is not the type to reach out and make friends, I need people to make the first step; and for me, FRO helped me with that first step.

I met so many amazing new people that I am really sad to leave now. Like some people have told me, everybody in our FRO group will probably be going their own ways and will soon become little more than strangers… That is what I am scared about. Sure, some people will stay in contact with a couple of others, but it will no longer be as a class. I am scared and sad that people will move away, and go their separate ways. I’m not really good at saying good-byes, it really hurts… that’s why I don’t usually like making relationships, because I feel that they will always end up with someone being hurt.

Sure, there were times when it felt kind of embarrassing doing stuff in FRO, but it was these moments that really let me connect with other people. Being the emotional person I am, I am going to miss these times. It’s a shock that the end has come so soon and I am kind of missing it already.

The enrichment workshop on leadership was essentially what I expected it to be about—how to be a leader! I can’t say it was the most original, or fun experience, but it was very practical.

The students and those involved stressed the idea of getting involved in extracurricular activities, even if you are a freshman! This resonated with me, because I always have terrible luck when it comes to joining things.  I feel as though I always jump on the bandwagon too late, so I’m hoping I’ll have better luck next semester when it comes to joining clubs.  It was nice hearing from a panel a real group of students instead of a person talking about them.  I feel as though the message comes across clearer and more sincere when the people involved are the ones sharing their experiences.

I believe that a leader is not born, but instead rises to the occasion when the situation calls for him or her.  Everyone has a special set of talents that, when used, are great at helping people accomplish things.  To me, that is who a leader is—someone who uses their skillset to help a larger number of people.  I believe that we’ve all been leaders at one point or another, and we’ve all let someone lead us, too.  Neither of things is bad, as a leader can accomplish nothing without his or her “followers.”  I hope that I will become a leader during my stay here at Baruch, and help to make a positive impact.

A lot of people have told me what to expect going into college, and most of them had different opinions.  Someone told me that attending a CUNY was pretty much the same as high school; someone else told me that college is completely different from any other experience public school could prep me for. When it comes down to it, none of these expressions can accurately describe my time here at Baruch so far—not that they’re incorrect for some people, but they’re just not right for me.

I was actually quite surprised by my classes here at Baruch.  At my old high school, English was always a very challenging class, so I expected college-level English to be impossible.  I found that instead that ENG 2150 is one of my favorite classes, and it often features class discussions that I enjoyed thoroughly at my time at Brooklyn Tech.

One of the more obvious differences, though, comes at the simplest level—the difference in subject matter in classes.  As a first semester freshman I wasn’t allowed to pick my classes, so they were pretty varied, including a lot of subjects I had never taken before: law, sociology, and communications.  I’m very partial to sociology, and find my law and communications classes to be extremely interesting as well!

And then, of course, there’s Freshman Seminar, the whole reason I’m writing this blog! To be honest, I initially wasn’t exactly thrilled with taking a no credit class that is required to graduate, but as the weeks passed I’ve warmed up to this class.  It’s been very helpful when it comes to learning about the small things every freshman should know (registration information,) and it’s great having a meeting with your advisor every week! It’s also really cool having a (super cool B) !)peer mentor who is able to give helpful advice from the point of view of a student. A lot of the time those who give guidance can come off as fake, but I never got that vibe from FRO. (:

All in all, college isn’t what I expected it to be, but it’s also not what I didn’t expect it to be…if that makes any sense at all.  I don’t even think I can summarize my emotions with one word or sentiment, but I suppose this gif of Nicki Minaj will suffice.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Fro wasn’t what I expected it to be. I thought it would just be lecture after lecture of the workings of Baruch and how to be a more productive student.  We actually got hands-on time with our peer advisers Namit and Ms. Lancia, and we had fun.  Namit was a big help in helping me construct my schedule for next semester, and I learned all of the requirements I need for my major.  The volunteer project was a great experience as well. But most of all, I’m glad I got to meet and befriend the amazing people in my bloc.  Even though we’re all going our separate ways next semester, we will always be LC 14. 

The leadership workshop was interesting however, it did not do much for me. I felt like it was not as productive as I had thought. Although some of the leaders at Baruch talked about their experiences, I felt like the workshop was a waste of time for me personally. I would have preferred if this workshop was optional. I am not the type of person to take a leadership role on such a large scale. I prefer to stay behind the scenes and help out with different projects. It was interesting, though, to see how involved some of the students were in student life and at the same time made time for everything else in their lives.

http://klememes.blogspot.com/2012/11/college-cycle.html

This picture pretty much sums up my first semester and my expect ions from what is left of this semester. Before starting college I was told that college would be very hard and i would be buried under all the work I was going to get from my classes. However, i felt like my classes were pretty easy. Even though I did end up getting a lot of work from the classes at certain times throughout the semester it was not impossible to do. I expect the up coming semester to be similar, just not as easy.

FRO was an interesting class. I actually liked it. At first i though this as going to be like my other classes with projects and other work. However, I was glad it was not that. I was not very happy with the timing because it conflicted with club hours. Most of the clubs that I wanted to attend were held during FRO. Despite this, I enjoyed my time at the class mainly because I had easy access to my advisor and a peer mentor in case I had any questions.

Otherwise known as freshman seminar. The name was a bit misleading– it’s just like any other class, but less pressure. I have mixed feelings about the whole experience. It was a time to relax and to start planning our future at Baruch, I’ll give it that. But the timing of the session was very problematic. Firstly, I think we had more time than we knew what to do with some days; 30-40 minutes would’ve been sufficient. Also, having the seminar at 1pm on Tuesdays was annoying enough. I missed many club meetings because of this timing, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. Additionally, I understand how the blog posts kept us focused on certain things, but I don’t see how useful it’ll ever be outside of this class. That being said, though, Lancia and Namit were very kind and friendly and seemed to genuinely care about the LC. In the end, I honestly think that we could’ve survived without Fro being mandatory; maybe for future improvements, Baruch should shorten the length of each session, the frequency, and make sure that it doesn’t coincide with club hours.

On Thursday of last week, we walked to the Rubin Museum of Art and took a tour to learn about the intricacies of Buddhism. The focal point of Buddhism is trying to live a good life in order to reach nirvana– or enlightenment– so that you won’t be tossed into the continuous cycle of reincarnation. The idea is that you won’t need to live another life because you’ve reached your highest potential intelligence and tranquility. Now, the question is: how does one achieve nirvana? I learned that there are technically a few ways to do so. One way to reach it is through extreme experiences. This is very broad and basically includes anything that gives one a feeling of extreme pleasure or enlightenment. For example– and one I was not aware of prior to this tour– having a lot of sex is actually considered an extreme experience, since it feels like an out-of-body experience to most people. Additionally, though, other experiences include climbing to physically high places, such as mountains. It is believed that deities were at one time present on these mountains and that simply being in the same places that they were will expose you to some of their power. But just being at the peak of the mountain itself is powerful, too. To able to look down at where you’ve been and not feel attached to earthly objects  is essentially how nirvana feels. Finally, I learned, surprisingly, that of all the possible realms of life/existence, the human realm is actually the closest to nirvana– even closer than the realm of being born as a demigod. It’s pretty interesting that so many cultures and religions, whether past or present, put such a great emphasis on the potential of the human mind and spirit.

Fro was helpful in picking classes and “sharing feelings”. It sometimes interfered with club meetings I wanted to go to, which I did not like. Lancia was a good Professor, solid 4.5 on ratemyprofessor.com from me. Namit gets a perfect 5.0 much love

The workshop was somewhat helpful. I thought the main guy could have been more presentable. I wouldn’t want to be led by a man who doesn’t even button his top button while wearing a tie. This showed me only that he is unorganized and cant buy the right sized shirt.