Monthly Archives: November 2010

As I sit here in the library typing away at my final blog entry, I cannot help but feel that I somehow allowed time to pass by without my notice. Let’s see… Freshman Convocation was on August 25, 2010 I believe. So it’s been close to three months since that very first day of school. Three months, three months of school, homework, food, and sleep. Three months of constantly telling myself not to allow procrastination to get the better of me like it did before. Three months of telling myself to do what I need to do and allow everything else to fall into place. Things fell, but where did they fall?

Today is my last day of Freshman Seminar and the last day of classes will be here in no time. This term is rapidly coming to an end. There are only a couple of major assignments left, finals, and then I’ll be done. I guess in terms of schoolwork, I did what I wanted to do. I turned in most of my homework, on time when I could. I think I did fairly well on my presentations. What else did I do? Was turning in homework and making presentations all I did over the last three months?

I guess in doing homework, I did manage to make use of the school’s resources, the Honors lounge, the lounge areas in school, and especially the library. The library was a particularly useful resource; everything from the books themselves to the study rooms to the computers on the second floor proved to be useful at one point or another. Not to mention the serenity it offered from hustle and bustle of the big city. These last three months, I was probably in the library everyday that it was open, staring at my laptop, trying to do that history analysis paper or to write this final blog entry.

Okay, I did my homework, made my presentations, but did I really learn anything? How am I different from when I first entered Baruch those short three months ago? Let me see… I think I can honestly say that my outlook has changed somewhat. At the very least I no long see school as a prison where I just have to serve my sentence and wait to be released. But I think more importantly than what is why. Why did my outlook change?

Privilege and Responsibility! The answer is simply that. I am given so many privileges and opportunities. The opportunity to attend college for free, the privilege of having an incredible library within such close proximity to the school. With so many resources, it is my responsibility to give back to the community however I can. Whether it is creating a community service project for next semester, joining a club that engages in community service this term or simply not wasting time procrastinating.

The community service project and just Freshman Seminar as a whole has helped me realize that my time does not belong to me. That when I waste my time sitting at home doing nothing I am not only neglecting my responsibility to myself but I am neglecting my responsibility to the larger community.

Honestly, I don’t know what my role is, whether in the Baruch community or in the broader community. I mean I know bits and pieces but I can’t seem to piece together the full picture. I know that in Baruch, at least part of my role is to study hard and to maintain a fair GPA. Making a friend here and there would not hurt either but aside from that I don’t know anymore.

When I was in high school, my main purpose was to study hard and try to maintain a good GPA. Other than that, my high school life was just hanging out with friends and killing time. I could have done more during my time in high school but I was being lazy. I did not know what to do and did not feel like getting out of my comfort zone and finding out.

This time, I want to do thing differently. So for my freshman year I signed up for a number of different clubs in Baruch. I went to the information session for a couple of them and found something that I was interested in. Right now, I devote a good portion of my time outside the classroom with my chosen club.

As for my role in the broader community, I think I should volunteer my time to helping my community. But I do not want to just get involved in anything; I want to spend my time working for a cause that I genuinely believe in. As of right now, I do not know that cause is but I will volunteer regardless and see if I cannot find something that I like to do and is beneficial to the community.