It’s that time in the semester you start weighing all the other options… just kidding! I’m not a gold digger. And I’m not going through all this for nothing. Definitely came into college with the common goal we all have.. to succeed and then pursue a good career afterwards. Baruch will sure help me do so! This semester, I have had a far better experience that I thought I would have. I have met awesome people that I am sure I will be friends with for a long time.. because they do say “Your college friends will be your friends for life.” Being a freshman all over again is not a fun experience at first, but realizing that there are so many more other first year students who are going through the exact same thing that you are, makes you feel a little better. Especially when these people are by your side, helping you out every step of the way. Or laughing with you about it if none of you can figure it out. This semester has helped me learn a lot about myself; from the better techniques I can use to study, to realizing that a career path I would perhaps consider pursuing only two months ago is not an option for me anymore (because of those grades that helped me realize that I’m finally in college), to how interested I am in other cultures that I knew nothing about before I came to Baruch.

In the beginning, I would dread coming to FRO class because of the fact that we would receive no credit for it and it would just sound so awesome to end your day at 9:55 AM on Wednesdays. However, now that we’re close to our last day, I realize that I will miss it. We always have an awesome time together. We have had some good laughs, especially when we all presented our monologues. Also, Melissa and Victoria have helped us somehow transition into this scary but exciting and new stage in our life, college. It’s hard to pick a favorite moment. I feel like something interesting and funny happens every Wednesday during that 75 minute period of time we spend together.

Next semester will be a new start, hopefully better than the first one. It sure will be, because we know a lot more now. My main goal is to stop procrastinating so much (just look at the time I’m posting this up), which is something a lot of us want to work on. At the same time, I am eager to learn a lot more and am looking forward to taking classes that will hopefully help me pick my major in the near future. I wish everyone the best of luck & if we don’t have classes together after this semester, see you guys around campus!

I don’t know why it won’t let me rotate it but here’s my selfie in the auditorium right before we saw the performances at Baruch Voices.

Sitting in the pool balcony on a gloomy Thursday afternoon, after just finishing a 4000-meter swim workout. My red Baruch spiral notebook is on my lap and a Hunter College pen is in my hand.

My body is exhausted, but my pen continues to scribble the sounds across the page. While lamenting about my misfortune in being unable to nap after such an odious practice, I try to reflect on special occasions in my life, the ones that really affected me and shaped me into the person I am today.

But there are just too many. Writing my monologue on whatever first comes to my mind would probably not be the best idea ever. They say the saddest things in life are the things that one remembers.

It was hard to choose specifically 8 pictures that describe my whole life. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I LOVE taking pictures, and I’m usually always ready to capture every moment.

The first picture is the one of my family. They are, without a doubt, the most important people in my life. We have always been inseparable, and we are trying to maintain this strong bond for as long as we can.

The next picture is a picture of the beautiful Tirana, my birthplace. I lived

there for the first 14 years of my life until my family decided to move to the United States. Although I knew my life, I always do and forever will miss the feeling of being in my mother land. Well I go back to visit every year, but it certainly is not the same.

My family was not always a family of five. Both grandparents from my dad’s side shown in this picture mean the world to me. My grandma lived with us for many years, and although my grandfather did not live long enough for me to actually know and remember him, I hold a special place in my heart for him.

My fourth picture consists of my cousins. Albanians have large families, which means, lots of cousins. Most of them live in the United Kingdom, one of my favorite places in the world. Ironically enough, after my family moved to New York City, they’re all jealous of us and cannot wait to come here.

The next picture is my “famous” selfie, the best one I have ever taken. Throughout high school, I always got involved by joining clubs and teams. During senior year, while everyone else couldnt wait for the bell to ring to go home, I would wait for the bell to ring so I can start planning all the senior events, due to the fact I was Senior Council President. At graduation, I was offered to speak in front of around 3000 people. It was awesome!

The sixth picture shows another very important part of my life, swimming. I learned how to swim competitively sophomore year of high school. From there, I learned to love swimming and swam for my high school swim team for 3 years. I love it so much that even the stories about how hard college is, did not scare me enough to stop me from joining the Baruch swim team. On the top picture is my orange family, the lifeguards I work with over the summer.

Ever since I was little, I always loved to draw and paint. These are only some of the art work I have completed throughout the years.

Throughout my life, I have met amazing people, and made great friends. I have many friends I left back in Albania with whom I am always in contact with, despite the time difference. But at the same time, I have friends here as well, the ones that I can actually see more often. This is a collage of my closest friends. I have a different and special bond with each one of these ladies. I know I can always trust them with everything.

The final picture is a picture of my new home, the greatest city in the world. (sorry, had to do 9, it was not going to happen with 8) This is what everyone in the world pictures in their head every time someone mentions America. I love living in New York City. Of course it was hard in the beginning, to start life all over again in a place completely different from what I was so used to, but as time has passed, I have learned to get used to everything here, and am now living the ‘American dream’, hoping that one day I will pay back my parents for sacrificing everything they had back home so that we can have a better life.

Beliana Krashi (Bella)