Monthly Archives: March 2013

I wake up; it’s Monday, is it really Monday?

What happened to the weekend, wasn’t it just Friday?

It’ll flashback to me later

In a city that never sleeps, I seem to be always sleeping

Not that because I’m from Jersey, I have some Brooklyn in me too

I’ve been all over the world

But nothing is like New York

The city that always has me asking what happened

Forget it, let me go to school

I swear I see the same damn bird flying high as I get off that 6 train heading to school

Here I am, Baruch thousands of people walking around

Some of them looking like Edward Scissorhands dressed them up this morning

Many look nice though

Sitting down, just got something to eat

This girl is eyeing me like a kid doesn’t exist

Girl, I know you want this donut

Everybody free donuts on me

Schools done, it went alright,

Finally back to the dorms

Chilling good with the homies

I wake up, it’s Monday again

Wait, what happened?

Since I performed my monologue in class today, I will also post it.  Hopefully everyone else does too!  Here is my monologue that I wrote about a year ago…

Hi Everyone!!!!  As you all know, I am Joanna… First thing that I can tell you about me is that I get so annoyed when I am called Joanne.  You pronounce my name with the na sound at the end.  Therefore when people are trying to remember my name I usually tell them it rhymes with banana.  Anyways, I’m a 19 year old (turning 20 on November 30) Junior who’s majoring in Graphic Communication and I love it.  Besides that I’m a half Salvadorian and half Dominican girl with crazy curly hair that represents my life.  Fun fact… I changed my laugh because my old was so embarrassing.  (True Story:: Once my friends and I went out for dinner to celebrate the end of finals.  I began laughing and a friend who didn’t know my laugh, really thought I was dying.)  I am told by close friends that I am the sweetest person with the cutest personality they know.  If this is true, I don’t know but I can admit that I am determined to be positive and happy even if I’m not.  I try to have a smile on my face even if things are going wrong and if things go wrong, as they sometimes do (I feel like that line is part of a song) then I will just deal with it.  I also tend to smile for no reason whatsoever.

My top 3 concerns for this semester is…

1. Time-Managing – I am teaching two FRO classes as a peer mentor, I’m working in the Office of Student Life, I have 5 classes (2 of which I have to dedicate hours outside of class time) from Monday to Saturday,  I am in a sorority and even though I became inactive I still try to be around when I have time,  I don’t want to kill my social life, and I have a family that asks me to go to family events like every weekend.  My concern is trying to NOT stress myself out.
2. My freshmen students – Not only you guys, but my past, present, and future freshmen seminar students.  I want each and everyone of my students to have a good semester…. I want them to get good grades and to pass freshmen seminar.  But I also want all my students to have fond memories of Baruch College.  I want everyone to find a niche here in school or a friend to hang out with, attend USG parties, get active in clubs, become leaders, gain more confidence, find your passion, and graduate with a good G.P.A…. and get an AWESOME job.  My concern, I guess, is that they don’t try to make the most of their first semester which in all honestly is beyond my control.
3. I guess my last concern for this semester is finding an internship for next semester or researching which country to study abroad for the summer.  Even though its only plans, every day is one day less and I feel like I’m running out of time.

I graduated a catholic high school in June of 2009 and now its September 2011.  The difference from each experience is that I’m older, wiser, and closer to the “real world.”  I have more control of my life and make more mistakes but the lessons I learn from them are more useful.
I am beginning my third year here at Baruch College and I am definitely not the same girl who entered Mason Hall for Convocation in 2009.  I knew I was going to change but I didn’t expect how much.  When I began in Fall 2009, I was really naive.  Two years of Baruch College made me into a mature adult.  I went through a lot, pledging a sorority, becoming a student leader, getting As and Bs, failing classes, realizing that business was not for me, finding out that my passion was in the arts, and trying to find out who I am which honestly… I’m still trying to figure out.

Below is my self-portrait… It’s actually a photo I found on google.  Almost everything is true except that I have brown eyes instead of blue eyes. 

The first picture is an Ice rink, as I stated many times ‘”I love hockey”.  The feeling I get while I’m on the ice is indescribable. Not only do I get all my anger out but im playing the game I love to play. Every game is a new challenge, you have to find a way to win the game. Picture #2 LGR- Lets Go Rangers, I have season tickets, I am in charge of selling them though. If there is a game I don’t sell then someone in my family attends the game.  They are a lot of fun, especially when the rangers come up with a win.  The third picture isn’t something I do so often, maybe three times a year. Going to a rave, you and thousands of others jumping up and down, whats not to love. We got Israel, to me known as the Holy Land. I lived in Israel for about Two and a half months. Unbelievable time in my life, I traveled a little, went on many different trips from hiking to the top of mountains to paint-balling. Food i love food, you can’t live without it. To me its important to eat healthy, a combination of eating the right way and playing hockey equals to results!!

http://tinypic.com/r/2jdhnbd/6

This monologue is supposed to be about this semester so far

You see I first went to SUNY Albany

The atmosphere just wasn’t for me

I was homesick after the first night

I knew something just wasn’t right

I decided to come back home, no point in being upstate

Called some schools in the city but they said it was too late

So I spent some time working and learned how to drive.

The semester off kind of made me feel alive.

I took care of a lot of things at home especially because my mom left

You see at home I am the only girl I live with my dad and my brother so my house is always a mess

So as a college student I am faced with the question. What will I do for the rest of my life? Tough question right?

You want to be happy and love what you do

But we all want that nice paycheck too.

This semester is my first semester so it’s a little challenging to balance work, home, school, family, my boyfriend and going to the gym.

Feels like I don’t have time to breath

Math 1020 was BUNK

But I got a 99 on my final though which wasn’t that tough

And let me not start about Political Science talk about boring, it is honestly a joke

Sociology is probably my favorite class

English is cool except all we do it talk about sex and LGBT

History…. Is yeah… just a lot of studying

I just need to start adjusting

My biggest accomplishment in life was being SO president of my high school

I was involved in so many clubs so you can say I was kind of cool.

Baruch is a commuter school honestly I am not a big fan

Its hard to get used to I mean don’t get me wrong its great just not the same man

Maybe I will find my place here at Baruch.

I have met some cool people like A-money and Rubinator.

Who I spend most my time in school with and will probably hang out with later

I’m not really sure how to end this so I’m just going to stop here

I really hope to enjoy Baruch a little more next year

It sucks when your name is so common in this world, you get jumbled up with other people in systems.

First off, my name is Ruben Abimael Flores. Not Ruben Flores Jr. Secondly, I go to Baruch College, not Lehman College.

I came in for freshman orientation the happiest I could be. After taking a 6 month break from school, and working for a bit of that time, I figured I need find something to do before I become a couch potato. Several hours into the orientation itself, one of the peers pulls me out and tells me the one thing I didn’t expect.

“The last four digits of the social security you showed isn’t in the system.”

What? Are you kidding me? How is it that my information is wrong? I put all the information in myself! Lucky for me, the lady working in the ID center was a sweetheart, and had patience for my problems. It took me 3 weeks to fix all that was wrong. Tons of visits to the offices just to prove that I am NOT Ruben Flores Jr.

I’ve come to realize that no one will help you unless you seek the help itself. During that time, I met some of the dimmest people, some people who just don’t want to deal with student issues, and some people who understand the situations we’re put in.

Perhaps I’ll have experiences that you can’t find anywhere else. I hope the rest of my time here at Baruch will be just as eventful but less stressing.

The main theme from my free writes seems to be the problems with having two lives. My life is now transatlantic. I love being here and I’m so glad I came. I feel like it was something that I had to do and is one of the only things I really felt sure about even though it meant leaving my life in England. I applied to university in England, even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so applied for psychology. I never actually sent the application as I decided I would take a year off and go to Australia with my friend. We ended up not having enough money to go to Australia and the idea of my gap year would be changed.

I got a job doing club photography and promotion and met some really amazing people and had the best time. After summer, all my friends from high school went away to university and my friend and I were left behind planning to go to Australia. We didn’t save enough so ended up coming to New York to stay with her sister. We had the best time together exploring New York city and Long Island and Queens- where we were living. I decided to apply to college in New York. We stayed in New York twice for two months each visit together. After I came back home from the second trip, I didn’t want to leave, I hated being back and didn’t do anything for a month. Even being at the airport hearing British accents made me depressed. Then I decided to apply to CUNY colleges and get back to New York.

Once summer started all my friends were home though and I had so much fun. Then when they all left again, the students at my local university were back so work got really good again. I ended up spending a lot of time on the campus promoting and met loads of people. I used to hate my hometown and complain about it all the time but the time between coming home and going to college, I really started to appreciate Norwich. I had a great job, a boyfriend, great friends, I was really loving my life. I got my acceptance letter for Baruch really late and I didn’t think I was going to get my VISA in time so I kind of convinced myself I would have to defer. I got a cancellation visa interview and got it in time.

Leaving was hard but I wasn’t excited. I didn’t want to leave the life I had built in Norwich but I felt like it’s something I really wanted to do but also had to do. I feel like it was important for me to get away from my hometown otherwise I would’ve stayed there not really experiencing anything else. I love it here now but sometimes I really miss Norwich. One of the free write prompts was where do you see yourself in 5 years, really made me realize that I have no idea which continent I want to end up living in. I love both so much and can’t choose.

I haven’t really had any problems at Baruch so far, I’m really enjoying everything and I’m not really finding it that different to the last 2 years of high School in England. Living in the dorms is interesting… I’m glad I did it as a life experience but I like my own personal space and sharing a room with two other girls and sometimes one girl’s boyfriend is crowded. I’ve had some really good experiences so far and I’m so glad I’m here but I’m also looking forward to going home for summer for the other half of my transatlantic life.

Im David I like a lot of stuff, what I like a lot is relaxing on the beach.  I don’t know what I like least.  I come from New Jersey and went to high school there, and then went to Israel.  Israel was a lot of fun I will never forget the time when me and my friends went to Tel Aviv for a weekend it was crazy.  I enjoy the beach a lot in Israel ,but when you go in the sea there are fish that nibble at you.  My friend got bit once and screamed like a little girl everyone at the whole beach looked at him and stated laughing.  Ever since then we call nisan, the litsan.  Nisan is his name and litsan is hebrew for clown.  I came back and now I go to college at Baruch.  Its going well, my biggest challenge is being able to stay attentive during my political science class.  The proffessor is very old and boring.  He talks a lot about the same things over and over again, really teaching his subject in an uninteresting way which is unfortunate.  I think the only two grades we have in that class are going to be a paper and a final.  The paper is probably going to be due in the coming weeks.  Id like to transfer to the University of Miami, because I love Miami.  I have a bad handwriting and I wish sometimes that it could be better.  I also like to draw 3D objects when lecturers get boring.  I want to do very well in school now because that way I would learn more.  I don’t think I learned so much in high school.  One of my greatest accomplishments this far in life was helping my little league team get in to the championship by hitting an inside the park grand-slam.  The bases were loaded, two outs, and a full count.  I hit the ball to deep center field, it hit the back fence and I had enough time to get to third base.  Than, while at third the outfielder threw the ball over the catchers head, I sprinted home slid under the catchers mitt and was called safe.  Everyone went crazy and I was a hero.  After the game the whole team went for ice cream and I got my favorite, vanilla strawberry swirl with cookie crunch on top.

I can see the world around me moving…  Cars driving, people walking, growing even as if slow motion was fast forward…  I see my loved ones before me. But I look down…why am I bound in chains?  Who would put these on me?  Glass. If only I could touch these glass walls in front of me.  If only I could reach out, I could break down this glass.  Could I? Wait; there’s a wall behind me with a door.  It isn’t made of glass, just weathered stone. Why would that be..?  Does anyone else see? My loved ones are right there but they might as well be miles away…  Who has done this to me?

Suddenly I’m filled with rage, and as the words foam like battery acid in the back of my throat, I swallow them.  Right then the wall grows exponentially in all directions. As I look up in terror the shadow of it blackens the sky.  I turn to my loved ones just as they fade into darkness.  I run for them (SMACK) a hard packing sound echoes as my face hits more stone.  Stone? The glass was gone now. No more windows to view the world, just cold stone.  A slow chill scratches up my spine and across my chest.  Just as it reaches my chin, those words I had swallowed surge to the roof of my mouth.  “NO!” In a scarlet fury I look down at the chains on my wrists to rip them out of the towering wall…  Only to find the chains were never set in stone.  They lie on the ground chained to nothing…

I hear someone through the door walking. Immediately, I rush to the wall and sit as if I had never moved from it my entire life.  How many others are in this hell hole?  I have to save them.  I have to escape.  The door… It just occurred to me I hadn’t ever looked at this door before. It looks to be solid iron with a tiny slit for someone to look in at me.  A sick feeling churns my stomach.  As I inch toward the door, it seemed an eternity had gone by.  I look up to the slit and peer out to a small damp hallway.  There were no other doors. I can only see a dim light at the end of the hall. The light is so minuscule it could only be maybe one small candle.  Footsteps echo down the hall, I scurry back. The feeling of searing needles goes around my throat as I sit motionless. The footsteps seem to stop and then grow softer as if the guard had turned around.  I let out a very slow, very quiet sigh of relief and inch for the door once more.

I peer out again, leaning into the eye slit as much as I can.  My body is pressed to it as I strain my eyes down the hall again. The door screeches for the longest millisecond of my life, and then swings completely open. Stunned, I stand in the doorway frozen.  I crouch down and press against the hallway wall.  I could hear faint music. The light even seems to grow a fraction brighter.  Slowly I press down the hall… growing closer to my captors. I feel the fury slowly pulsing through my veins, welling up at the base of my esophagus like coals in a fire.  A doorway shrouded by a curtain is all that separates us.  I can see a silhouette through the thin sheet.  This will be easy.  I creep forward, coming so close now I can hear him breathing. I carefully match the pattern of his breath so he can’t hear mine. The fire in my chest explodes and all at once I leap up, throw back the sheet with wrath burning in my eyes, only to freeze. Cold, dead in my tracks I stop face to face with… a mirror. Only my image is scared… not bloodthirsty or infuriated, but terrified…

We are our own captors

Hi,

This assignment is for the ones who didn’t submit the  first blog.

On Blackboard, one of the tabs is labeled Session 4: Leadership & Service.  There is a New York Times article titled “The New Student Activism.”  For this blog post, please read this article and write a summary of it.  Also include your thoughts and opinions of this article.

Then, write about a previous experience you had where you took a leadership position.  How do you define leadership and who would you name as a good representation of that definition.  Attach a picture of that person.

Post must be around 500-1000 words

It was my first day. I walk into the room with its large windows and the sun beating in. It was hot. The walls are plastered with white tiles, reflecting the sun. The back of the room has a draining system for the water with a floor that ever so slightly tilts down as I walk through. There are twenty five metal tables, twelve on each side with one in the front. At each table stands at least two people. Their uniforms awkwardly fit, uncomfortable with the thick fabric and the heat of the summer day. I take a look at myself and with my jacket buttoned to the very top, my black and white apron wrapped around me, and my hat tied securely on my head, I almost feel like I’m playing dress up. But then again I’m excited.

Suddenly, a harsh voice, easily identifiable as a French accent begins to speak. All of these French terms are being thrown at me. Shoot. I should have taken French in High School instead of Spanish! Not that I remember anything from Spanish anyways… She’s speaking faster and faster and everyone around me begins to move towards the washing sink in the back room. We wash our hands, once, twice, three times. The movement in the room feels almost like an army with perfect lines and precision. We stand in an order as she walks through the lines checking our uniforms. She even asks one man to take off his shoes so she can see the color of his socks. “Blue?” She asks him with a condescending tone. He looks down at his feet and we all can see the sweat come down his face. She rolls her eyes and continues her inspection. She stops. Oh no. She gets to the small girl with pretty long blonde hair who looks absolutely terrified. “Vud I vant your dirty hair in my croissant?!” Quickly, the girl tied her hair up and covered it with her hat. And she continues. She stops at me, I definitely stopped breathing for those few moments, and with a quick glance at my uniform, she continues on her way.

Again she speaks, by now I’ve gotten used to the accent. Her quick comments don’t make me jump as they did. Now, we begin.  With a small smile I can see the passion she has for this work. We begin to speak about chocolate, all the different types of chocolate. My French may not be so great, but this stuff I know.

In third grade we had this project where we had to write to our favorite company asking them questions about their products. I chose Hershey’s Chocolate. I wanted to know why Hershey’s didn’t come out with a non dairy, but milk chocolate cake. In fact, why didn’t they sell Hershey’s chocolate cake and only chocolate bars? I thought it was a brilliant idea and Hershey’s would definitely take me up on it. After they received my letter, I was sure they would call me and beg for me to come be the owner of Hershey’s. And then of course I could eat all the chocolate I wanted.

After weeks of waiting for the response to my letter, it finally came. A small package in the mail addressed to me. I couldn’t wait to rip it open. Enclosed in the package was a letter from customer service explaining that a non dairy, but milk chocolate cake would be impossible. I was flabbergasted. How could they say impossible! Didn’t they realize how great my idea was! And then the letter continued explaining that they did not make cakes, but listed were a few “top secret” recipes which included Hershey’s chocolate. I quickly folded up the recipes and stuck them under my pillow making sure not to share these secrets I shared with Hershey’s.

Today, I have no recollection if I ever even tried out these “top secret” recipes that must be listed on google. I have no idea where they went after sticking them under my pillow, but I bet my mom had something to do with it after finding a paper with black ink next to my white pillow which could potentially stain the white and then the world could come to an end. So I bet they made their way to some trash can or a recycling bin somewhere.

Even though I was heartbroken after Hershey’s didn’t find me to be brilliant, I continued on with my love for chocolate. Unlike my dreams of a Willy Wonka world, chocolate doesn’t come from chocolate filled rivers. It is processed from the cacao bean which is cultivated in Africa and South America. There are many types of chocolate, ranging from dark, milk, to white, and more. The chocolate we know is made from grinding cacao beans to form cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Much of what we eat contains those two ingredients as well as another form of fat and sugar. Milk chocolate is a sweetened chocolate that contains as it says clearly in its name, milk. White chocolate, on the other hand is not really a chocolate. It only contains one ingredient out of the main two, cocoa butter. Cocoa butter, sugar, and milk form that decadent goodness.

The French lady continued to speak. On the table, she had a large stone slab, there she poured melted chocolate and with two frosting knives, she began to temper it. Tempering chocolate is the secret to professional looking products. It allows for smooth looking chocolate with a shiny and both satisfying finish. The chocolate on the table looked oh so good and the finished product looked way better than any Willy Wonka chocolate I had imagined.

If I could do anything, but be here, in school. I would be in the kitchen, making great food. Because food has this awesome ability which nothing else can compare. Food has the ability to connect people, make them happy. It brings out customs and cultural traditions.  A familiar ingredient can bring someone racing back to their childhood without even saying a word… Just the sight, the smell, and of course the taste is what’s important. Bursts of flavor stimulate memories that can put a huge smile on one’s face, maybe even shed a tear. And that’s why I love it. Because food isn’t just something we eat to stay alive. It’s personal.