FRO 14 DTI

Throughout my entire life I have been living up to everyone’s expectations,more specifically my mom’s expectations. I grew up in a very loving but serious household. I was allowed to have fun and mess around at home but for free time, it was usually spent at after school programs, homework groups, Chinese classes, and prep school. My upbringing was the standard Chinese way, go to school, study, do homework, study some more and then go to sleep. Even the extracurricular activities were controlled by my parents, I was forced into every single sport possible: Basketball, Tennis, Soccer, Baseball, Swimming, etc. Nothing was in my control and everything that I did served a greater purpose. I followed my brother into the middle school Christa Mcauliffe and went on to being in the specialized high school Stuyvesant. After I got into Stuyvesant the nagging stopped temporarily and it was then that i realized that school bored me and that I didn’t like the environment there. Everyone was studying for tests on things they don’t care about and they were stressed about studying and homework. Instead of taking the good student route, I went out and made friends rather than studying and hung out with people. This made me feel much more happier at school and less stressed. Of course I kept up with my grades but they didn’t mean as much to me at all. For me going to college was the least of my worries, I took the sat and got relatively high and was expecting everything to come to me as it did in the past. I was wrong, I messed up in more ways than one and ended up in Baruch. Coming into Baruch, I thought it would have been a total nightmare but surprisingly it wasn’t. I got to meet so many new people that I would have never meet if I had gone somewhere else. Coming to Baruch also taught me that I had to take school much more seriously but that everyone should have a two sides to them. One side is having fun and goofing off but the other side is their serious side, the side that professionals want to see and how you want others to see you. I learned that I have to take responsibilities into my own hands and that I had to take my life in my own hands. I cannot let others tell me what to do but do what I want to do. What I want to do, I do not know yet but it’s alright because I’m fine with that.

This is a picture of a troll which is basically my personality.

Back in high school, one of the first life lessons I learned was that between good grades, sleep, and a social life, I could only succeed in maximum of two of them. By entering college, I thought I would finally succeed in all three, especially because the amount of class time was shorter. Sleep would be guarantees because my classes would start later, and I wouldn’t have that 8am class anymore or wake up at 6:30am every morning. As for social life, I thought of course it would be possible. After all, what else are longer weekends for? For grades, I thought I’d be able to suffice with decent grades, that the same quick review before walking into class or studying for maybe an half an hour max would be more than enough. But I proved to be wrong when I realized I still had that alternating 8:15am morning class. The hour breaks and long weekends weren’t spent socializing, but on catching up with the next class assignment or reviewing notes for a test. With less days to meet during the week, assignments and exams came much quicker than I was prepared for. When I was finally free from my workload, social life was nearly impossible because others would be busy with theirs. I realized how important time management skills were and regretted not taking the life lesson seriously or learning not to do every assignment last minute. It was much easier to fall behind on the lengthy readings, especially when you are fully aware that the professor won’t be calling on you in class to check that you have read, or because you have to prioritize a written assignment from a different professor.

—Annie Kong

This picture represents the results of poor time management and how important it is to balance your priorities in college. Source: http://cstrips.bitstrips.com/G73GP_JP5S.png

In elementary school, I thought the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up” was asked far too often. In reality, I was bothered by the question because I had no real thoughts on what I wanted to do in the future. As a result, I just sat there expressionless, as if I didn’t even hear the question. And I couldn’t come up with an answer for this question. Up to college, I spent all my days playing games or hanging out with friends, ignoring that question. Even though I’m in college now, I still don’t have a concrete idea on what I would like to do. However though, I think Baruch college has just the right environment to help me figure out what I want to do. Each day, I’m spending more and more time on campus doing something for school, and I feel that I’m slowly uncovering what I want to do. I believe that my previous friends from high school, and the new people I’m meeting everyday will help me along the way.

I thought college would be just like that of High School. Everyday consisted of being home, then school, work, and home again. However, in reality my days now in Baruch seems like endless hours of being on campus. Although constantly being on campus doing work and being active in a organization includes less hours of sleep, less time spent with my family, and less time to focus on schoolwork, it has also helped me become more independent and create a family of my own within Baruch. In Baruch I was able to find friends who share many of the same goals as me, and I learned the joy of being able to accomplish things with many people. Through countless hours of laughing at not so funny jokes, bashing on the same professors, stressing over the same midterm and simply arguing over the quality of the cafeteria sushi, I realized that college is not as dreadful as everyone makes it sound. Through the past three months, I realized how much I have stepped out of my comfort zone. I was determined that my friends from High School would be the only friends I would have at Baruch and only until recently have I realized how wrong I was. College is not only about learning, it is about putting yourself out there, being able to network and build a bond that you will be able to keep for a long time.

When you’re accustomed to the Chinese cuisine, speak Chinese, or even admire Chinese culture, doesn’t that make you Chinese? In my personal opinion, identifying yourself as a Chinese-American doesn’t mean you have to eat, speak, or appreciate Chinese culture like a Chinese person. Identifying yourself as a Chinese-American involves understanding all of those aspects and much more, then utilizing your heritage to supplement your current lifestyle. It is when one has achieved that, one can identify oneself as a Chinese-American and fit in with the Chinese community. Unlike my parents, who were immigrants from foreign countries, I was born in America and raised as a typical American child. For them, it was a new experience to arrive in a country that was not similar in every way imaginable to their home. Eventually they learned to adapt to the American lifestyle and fit into the American society. My first language was English, my daily staple was spaghetti and meatballs. While my parents struggled to identify themselves as Americans, I constantly struggled to identify myself as a true Chinese-American. Viewing the importance of my Chinese heritage, my self-identification as a Chinese-American became much more crucial. Instead of asking for the American utensils for the Chinese cuisine at the large family dinners, I began using chopsticks. Instead of listening in Chinese and speaking in English to my family, I began to converse in fluent Chinese. I am the kid that will prefer Jackie Chan Adventures more than Jimmy Neutron. I am the kid that enjoys learning about the Chinese culture. I am a Chinese-American.

Baruch was never a college that I planned on attending. I wanted to stay in the city but I didn’t want to go to a CUNY. It’s funny how I ended up at Baruch because it was the first college I had ever visited. When I was in middle school and my cousin was visiting different colleges, I went with her to visit Baruch. Throughout senior year of high school, my friends who were already going to school at Baruch kept telling me to just go to Baruch too. I told them “nope I’m not going to end up at a CUNY.” After the first week of college, I started to love Baruch. Two of my best friends go to school here as well. I went to high school with them and never thought I would be able to see them so often again, after they had graduated two years before I did. I think that going to Baruch has been great so far because even though I spend a lot of times with people I have known for years, I have made a few new friends who made my college experience even better. Even if I never wanted to go to Baruch, I am glad that I am because the people that I have met here are great.

Grace Chan

Growing up, I was always told by my teachers and my mom to finish my homework as soon as I got home. So every day, when I got home from school, I would eat my Cheez-its and immediately open up my notebooks to do my homework, instead of watching TV with a bag of chips on the couch. I never understood why everyone around me always told me to do my homework as soon as possible when I was a kid, but now I realized how having good time management helped me at Baruch. Now, when I get an assignment, I always try to begin it on the day it is assigned, even though it is not due until two days later. In fact, when I start on an assignment late, I begin to worry about whether or not I will finish it on time. I also find it a lot easier to start on assignments early than to wait until the last minute, because the end results are usually, although not always, a lot better than if I had started the night before. Overall, I think having good time management is very helpful for college students. And if I still maintain the habit of getting things done early and on time, I don’t think I will have problems getting assignments done on time, during these next couple of years at Baruch. The picture below of a clock shows how important I think it is to always keep track of time because time cannot be replaced.

Source: http://www.askingsmarterquestions.com/time-is-money-improving-time-management/

You see, you can be whatever or whoever you want to be as long as you know how to dream. I just choose to be myself. I know it is plain and nothing fancy, but I know I have made a very important decision in my life. I need to keep the dear decision to my heart. I need to figure out what really matters to me and what is not. Not too long ago, I would just go through my days with no real concerns to listen to my own heart. As I grow older, I find I have to find my own reasons to be me and it is very hard for me to do that. I know I always have a voice, but I never dare to speak up for myself. You see, I think about other people a lot and I pay too much attention to them. I even try to act like people who I honestly don’t care. It really drains my energy and often makes me feel so small. I like to look up the sky at night and wonder “Am I different?” The answer is “Yes, I am so different from everybody else!” I want to let go of my fears to find my own sense of self. I am glad that I can walk, run, and jump by using my two old good feet. My hands will help me to reach things. My brain will give me senses. My heart will guide me where I should be going in my life. I am so glad to be me, because I know to be me is just enough. There are always rooms for improvement, but I also know that I can embark alone on my journey to find true happiness that really matters to me.

Ever since I was young, I lived under the same roof as my cousins. Since they were all older than me, I did not worry about my future. I thought that there was still a long way for me to experience all the hard work that my cousins had to do. Before I knew it, I was in high school. I still remember how I felt when I was getting ready to apply for college. Everything felt surreal at that moment. I realized that I could no longer be the little kid who only cared about playing games, watching movies, and reading books. I have to think about where I am heading in the future. Upon entering Baruch College, I met many ambitious and hardworking students pursuing their dreams. I am slightly envious of them. My intended major is Accounting, but it isn’t because I have a huge passion for business. My parents “highly suggested” this major to me because it provides a stable job. But who knows? Maybe I will end up liking business when I start taking business classes. In college, I have more freedom to roam around the city and relax during breaks between classes. This is a good thing, but it comes with a price. I have the responsibility to get to class on time and manage my time at home effectively. Time management has always been a struggle for me since middle school. I always put off my homework and projects for the last minute. After class, I go straight home to maximize my time to do work, but I have trouble starting my assignments because I end up chatting with my friends instead. Procrastination has caused me to get an average of five hours of sleep per day. The balance of social life, good grades, and sleep is very difficult to achieve. Hopefully by the end of this semester, I am able to master time management without having to sacrifice one of those three things.

– Michelle Wu

This is picture represents me because it shows how bad I am with time management. The time is telling me to start my work, but I’m trying to avoid it.

Source: Time Management. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.officetime.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Fun-Time.png>

People often have the impression that if you are an Asian American, you have to grow up to be a lawyer or a doctor, and anything else was out of the question because other jobs don’t promise high salaries. Come on, face it, if you are a doctor or a lawyer, then that profession had been forced upon you. I mean, what kind of Asian likes History and Science? Gross! Asian Americans are typically represented as intelligent overachievers with higher grade point averages and Math grades. Can you imagine the parents of these poor children? Well, I can picture my mom running after me with my report card in one hand and a clothes hanger in the other, yelling with her Chinese accent, “What is this B+?! Huh? I understand if it’s for English, but Math?” Actually, I don’t even need to imagine this situation because at one point, this “imagination” was reality for me, but that story can be told some other day. Despite being an Asian American, I wasn’t really pressured with too many expectations from my parents. The only hopes my mom puts emphasis on are that I get into a good high school and a good college so she could show off in front of her friends. Yeah, you read that right, she’s using me! Boy, you should’ve seen the look on her face when she was able to tell her friends that I got into Brooklyn Tech, while her friends told her about their children’s acceptances into other specialized high schools, such as Bronx Science and Stuyvesant. I really got on her nerves, though, when I didn’t get into Harvard or NYU. Besides excelling in my education, she also really wanted me to be able to speak Chinese and English, not necessarily fluently, but well enough so that I could communicate with others and find a good job—and no, I’m not going to be a doctor or a lawyer. Boy, did I let her down, by choosing Baruch College and going into the accounting major. But I will continue to work hard and make myself proud, and hopefully, make my mom proud too.

Source: http://www.8asians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/nerd.jpg

I chose this picture because I see myself as a math nerd. I love math, and plan on majoring in something math related.