On November 2nd, I attended Baruch Voices with the homies JJ and Ryan. I’m sure we’ve been told a couple of times where it was going to take place but we forgot. We ate first and then wandered around the first floor. We spent some time exploring and eventually found the room and ran into Noshin! After everything settled down, we sat and waited for the monologues to begin. There were so many faces I haven’t seen before and a thought popped into my mind. “Oh yeah, they’re freshmen too”. Not only that, but also that the speakers went through similar experiences with their first year at college. The transportation was a mess, and the early classes didn’t help either. Most speakers seemed to share the experience of being nervous and meeting new people. It’s a good thing Baruch is a huge school with a lot of students. You see a new face almost everyday so you’re bound to make a new friend! It’s also surrounded by multiple places to grab a bite with friends. Overall, the monologues were relatable and funny. I didn’t expect it to turn into such a good time but it felt nice having company with me. The room we were sitting in turned out to be the first room we went to during the day of orientation. It took me back to that day where I was surrounded by so many faces and yet felt like a stranger. Looking back at it now, despite it only being 3 months, I don’t feel like one anymore. I’m glad I was forced to come out of my comfort zone because I was able to meet new people. Those new people turned into some of my homies and it’s pretty cool. Baruch Voices helped me realize that we all share something in common. 
Author: b.li4
MoMA Crew
On one Thursday afternoon, my friends JJ and Ryan and I decided to visit a museum instead of heading home. We knew of like 2 museums so we all came to an agreement to go to The Museum of Modern Art. Even though it was only a 20-minute trip away, we didn’t know our directions and had to use Google Maps. After we got there, we showed the front desk our IDs and got tickets to explore many floors of amazing artwork. The regular admission would have been $25 but with our CUNY IDs, the tickets were free. We started our expedition on the second floor. There were a lot of paintings but not many of them caught my eye. What got me was a diorama, a little 3D model of a building. I thought it was pretty cool because it was small and detailed. I also realized it was probably a lot of work constructing with all those tiny pieces. We looked around for a bit more and found ourselves in a room full of these dioramas. We brought ourselves to this specific model that was protected by this thick cage of glass. We wondered how they put this cage together and began tapping all around it. Apparently the security guard got annoyed and asked us to refrain from touching the glass. We had a good chuckle and left. Reaching the next floor, we saw this abstract work of art with turning signs. All the signs were pointing in different directions and we were all like, “whoa, which way?” That’s when we decided we wanted to take a photo with this masterpiece. Some time after that moment, we headed home. I realized the CUNY ID provided us with an opportunity to visit museum for free and that could be applied to many other museums. I mean not only that but being a CUNY student has its perks. It was a nice time spent with good friends.
Club Experience
Around the end of Convocation Day I ran into a couple of UCLA (United Chinese Language Association) members while I was leaving. We engaged in a small conversation where I learned about the first event that was being hosted a week later. I decided to go later with my friends. After class ended, I met up with them outside the plaza and began heading up. By the time we entered the room, all the seats were taken and everyone else had to sit on the floor. There were about 150 kids in a room that’s meant for 30 and I kid you not, we all managed to fit. All the members were introducing themselves one at a time and I could tell from their bright attitude and enthusiasm that they were genuinely happy to see new faces. Since everyone who came was a new face, the members made all of us play some games to get comfortable with each other. One game we played was Pictionary. The classroom was split up into two teams with one illustrator on each team. I liked drawing so I volunteered to play, little did I know what was waiting for me. My whole team, including my friends, was depending on my drawing skills so I had to draw to my fullest ability for them. I got Cinderella and I drew her with the glass slipper but I seriously messed up her foot, like badly. The other team won and I became sad forever. The members of club want to promote and educate others about Chinese culture. They spread the message with fun, recreational activities, which is all I know so far, but it seems pretty fun. I can’t forget to mention again how welcoming and chill the people are. I look forward to participating in more of their events and making new friends!
