My first three months at Baruch have been mediocre. T.I. would not approve. I know that I’m getting what’s considered a really good education, especially when factoring in the cost, but Baruch is just so BORING. Going to a “commuter school” sucks, and whenever I stay for the weekend at my friends’ schools and have a great time, it just makes me realize what I’m missing. A lot of people have been complaining about how much work we have. I don’t think its that we have a lot of work as much as it is that we don’t have a lot of time to do our work. My commute takes about an hour and a half each way – that’s THREE HOURS wasted every day, and I know some of us have an even longer commute. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we get home late and just have no energy or desire to actually do our work. I chose a meme that relates to this point. I’m here regardless however, and all I can do is make the most of my time here and try to be the best I can be, and I know that once I graduate, I’ll be saying that I wish I was still at Baruch.

My first three months here at Baruch has been a great experience. I’ve met some people who I feel I will remain in contact with, even after leaving Baruch. The area that surrounds Baruch has given me a chance to try different foods that I have not tried before. The school is also conveniently located in the city, which gives me a chance to travel there and explore different places surrounding the school. The workload, in comparison to high school, is much larger. I am trying to slowly adjust with the amount of work that I’ve been receiving. Although it has taken me a bit of time, I am becoming more effective with time management. Additionally, I’ve been taught to think critically in multiple classes, and I’ve learned a lot. I am looking forward to spending the next three and a half years, here at Baruch. The picture below is one I took of some cupcakes that I’ve tried from Baked by Melissa. This picture basically shows my frequent visits to try different foods since coming to Baruch.

My first three months in Baruch was an amazing experience. I started to get involved with campus activities and joined clubs and I loved it. In high school, I always just went home after school ended and I didn’t like that, so I wanted to change that. In college, I wanted to get involved when pursuing my higher education. I wanted to surround myself with intelligent and ambitious people to motivate myself. Now that I’m involved with extracurricular activities, it feels like I have some meaning attending this school. I’ve met friends that I’ve grown so close with in just a short amount of time, hopefully who I’ll keep in touch with forever.

I think I’ve learned a lot about time management. With all these clubs and organizations, I’ve been the busiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. This made me feel good about myself because I’ve always been the lazy type who never really did any work. But by being able to go through college and the amount of work I’ve been getting, I proved to myself that I was capable of doing much more than I thought I could. I was able to truly understand what people meant when they said time was precious. You can never get you time back, so I learned to use it wisely and effectively.

My impressions of Baruch so far? Well…what can I say? So far, it just feels like high school part two. Well…except for the insane amount of writing. Sweet baby Jesus, I think I’ve had a writing assignment just about every week. It’s a jarring transition considering I only wrote like, one essay a month back in high school. Guess I kinda expected that there’d be more writing, though. Not that that makes it any better.

Anything I didn’t expect about college? Well, for one, I didn’t think the majority of an average day in college would be sitting on my ass, waiting for a class to start. Neither did I expect to return home everyday so freakin’ late. I’ve got little time for anything other than homework and/or essays by the time I get home. It’s tragic. Speaking of homework, let me just give a nice little shout-out to that Art class that everybody knows and loves. Sure, RateMyProfessors warned me that the class would be terrible, but man, I still didn’t anticipate how many precious hours I’d blow on pointless art projects this semester. I mean, I’m drawing a toy moose for homework in college? I just…I don’t…wut even.

This beautiful GIF speaks to the deepest recesses of my heart.

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All in all…I guess Baruch’s been alright? Yeah, I don’t love it, but I probably wouldn’t be havin’ the time of my life in another college, either. Probably won’t be transferring, anyway, for financial reasons, so sorry, you’re all gonna be stuck with me for a while. You know, funny thing, CUNY’s so dirt cheap that financial aid’s actually giving me more dough than I need for college. Essentially, I’m actually getting paid to go to college. Ain’t that peachy.

Much as I hated it, this semester’s gone by pretty fast, actually. I mean, dayum, it’s already November. Can’t wait to spend the holidays with a lil’ special someone. o bby

I might like next semester better, as I anticipate less pointless art projects and speeches oh thank the lord Jesus.

www.pinterest.com

This pretty much sums up the attitude that I’ve felt at Baruch. COMPETITION! INTERNSHIPS! SUCCESS! that’s all I’ve noticed while attending Baruch and I’m pretty sure that’s the same for other colleges. It’s not bad to want to succeed but come on, there are incoming freshman transitioning from a haven for some to a dog eat dog environment. Constantly being reminded that there are people probably better than you will receive the job that you want isn’t making this change any less stressful. I have met great, kind people that remind me that PEOPLE do exist, not just robots that are trying to become rich. I understand it’s predominantly business oriented but that doesn’t mean once you’ve enter the doors you just forget what it means to be human. To be honest if I didn’t have friends coming in to Baruch I would probably have hated my experience so far. No one cares about you, NO ONE. Even in our blocks, yeah it’ great to have a chance to get to know other freshman but when spring semester comes around there is no guarantee that you’re going to have classes with them.  I have enjoyed myself so far, exploring the city around the school and exploring new things in Baruch because I do believe that Baruch has a lot to offer. It’s in a great location, obviously a strong work ethic. I just think the students need to take a chill pill and possibly some professors because they’re probably stressing out the students. I’ve gotten used to Baruch and I don’t hate it. I just wish that it felt more welcoming and warm in a sense. I don’t get the urge to want to join a club because it sounds more of a requirement than your own interest. Who knows, maybe I just felt intimidated by all the students who have better study habits and more knowledge than me. Maybe once I’ve actually TRY to be a part of Baruch I’ll see things differently. Maybe I’ll meet more humans than robots. I guess i just have to put myself out there, that’s what college is all about anyway.

“Kareem, wake up, you’re gonna be late” I here the same thing every morning. It’s Wednesday morning and I could really use some more sleep. But I have to make it to freshmen seminar, so I get out of bed and jump in the shower. I don’t know why but the shower always seems shorter when you’re actually in it then when your waiting for it. 30 mins later, I’m out and ready to get dressed. But that bed just seems so comfortable, let me just check it out really fast. I blinked once and boom it was 20 minutes later. Why does that always happen? I’m still not sure but I gotta hurry even faster now then I needed to before. After trying on half my closet,I have the simplest outfit on. Time to walk to my car and make my way to the bus. Wow it’s cold out… Heat heat heat. That’s better but shittttt no gas! Whatever, I’ll worry about that when I’m in the middle of the road with no gas.. Omg there’s the bus hurry park get out and hop on Kareem! “Hold the bus!” I made it thankfully and this is just another morning in the life of Kareem cheese I mean Kareem Fadl.

freshman slideshow

Hello Fellow Bearcats,

The reason I chose the pictures in my slideshow is because I feel like they can tell a lot about who i am as a person. The first slide depicts a map of my hometown of Staten Island, New York. I have lived hear almost my entire life and have grown to both love and hate this Island I call home. The second slide depicts where my parents are originally from, Egypt. the picture is of the sphinx and pyramids that are in the capital, Cairo. The third slide depicts one of my favorite hobbies, sports. I enjoy playing football and my favorite team is the Giants. I played soccer for high school and my position was goalie. Russel Westbrook is my favorite basketball player. The 4th slide is suppose to represent my love for music. i love all different types of music from R&B to House music. 50 cent, August Alsina, and Tyga are three of many artists that i enjoy to listen to. Ever since I was young i have had a love for animals. My favorite animal is a cheetah for some weird reason that I am unsure of. The Lamborghini Aventador is my favorite car and i hope one day with the help of majoring in Actuarial Science, ill be able to buy this car.

Monologue

The pitcher began his motion,

I started off towards second.

The throw was coming in from the catcher.

I could see that it would be close.

I began my slide and felt my foot get caught in the dirt

But I could not do anything to stop my ankle from being twisted.

I tried standing but the pain was too much to bear.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

My first serious injury happened my senior year of high school and it could not have been worse. I missed the entire baseball season all because of one play. Although I realized it was not my fault, this did not ease any feeling of sadness in me. I hope I never have to experience that ever again.

Even though I am yet to find any sensible reason for this, I still believe that everything happens for a reason. Since then, I have started class in Baruch, made plenty of great friends and will be continuing my baseball career at Baruch as well, when the season starts in the spring.

It’s weird how time flies. Felt like it was just yesterday when I struggled to even find a suitable college. Now, we’re already halfway done with our first semester. Yes, there were stressful times before I got to this point. But to me, it has been a blink of an eye. Time’s moving. Another blink of an eye and I’ll be a sophomore. A junior. A senior. It’s quick. Time hits you full force. So I try to take it slow. Take it in and enjoy what I have. Enjoy the people around me. Enjoy college. Because before I know it, it’s another blink of an eye—I’m right there, stepping up on the podium, smiling at the cameras, receiving my diploma.

What would I do without you?
As long as I can remember you’ve been there. Meeting you in Pre-School was by far the best thing that ever happened to me. I could always count on you to be there for anything. Together we continually brought new people together, and we made a great group of irreplaceable friends. Without you, who knows how my life would be.
What would I do without you?
Even through my unnecessarily excessive groundings, stupid fights, stupid decisions, every breakdown, everything that went perfectly right and everything that went horribly wrong, even through the death of your dad, we became so much closer. You are the best person I know, someone who always put others first before himself, despite everything you’ve gone through. You’re an inspiration and I have the utmmost respect for you. You’ll be the best damn marine out there. I’ll miss the living hell out of you and I’ll be here waiting for you the second you get back.
What could I possibly do without my brother?