The Community Service Project definitely encouraged me to embrace communication. My biggest support center was probably right within that FRO Seminar Room. There are plenty of places I learned about like the Starr Center or the Library that will definitely prove useful in the future, but I still have not utilized them. Most of the help I received, for this project, and for any other issues I had came directly from the LC. We were all confused together, until someone was able to untangle a mess or pull through. I’ve realized that sometimes you will be that person and sometimes you will not. It’ll be a push and pull process, but asking for help and providing help is a big part of it.

What will I be doing in three years? Who knows?! I love to make plans and stick to them, but three years is too far. I don’t know what my interest will have evolved into. I don’t know how my values will have changed. An obvious long-term goal would be to be on track for graduation. But if three years have passed from this point, I hope to do a lot more than just graduate. There is study abroad, and internships, campus events that I have been lax in participating in. Having typed that, I also need to remind myself there are tests to take, projects to complete, and always, always sleep to catch up on.

Well, obviously, first and foremost I am a student at Baruch. My primary responsibility is to learn here. Some of that blends into being a Baruch Scholar: my tuition is covered as long as I am good at learning. But what I’ve observed is that being a student is also a compilation of many, many efforts involving self-discovery.

The essence if being a student has evolved tremendously. Before, it used to be someone who went to school and took tests. Now, I‘ve noticed, school involves participating within the community and outside of it as well. In the past week I’ve heard the words club, workshop, participate at least 20 times. The idea of becoming this type of student hit me way before high school, which is why it is so astounding. Many people I’ve spoken to started volunteering towards the end of high school to get scholarships. So I think it’s more than that for me. I’ve been volunteering since seventh grade.

This is very directly related to the Honors Program. The culture of service here basically enhances something I’ve been doing for some time now. I find it extremely motivating, personally. I know that I would not, at this point in my life, take on a volunteer project if I was not asked or required to do so. I know from past experiences that community service is important and rewarding, but it is no longer something I actively pursue because let’s face it – I have no time. So being in this program is actually beneficial on both sides.

Where am I going? Seriously, where is my next class…because I cannot remember what room I’m supposed to be in. Aside from the geographical setback of being new to a school, there is not much else to worry about. For some reason I felt very acquainted with college. This made me realize that there are some very important actions, turned into habits, which I am just used to at this point.

In terms of education, I was raised to keep working until I got the best. Imagine a little girl digging through a worn backpack to show her mom the A she got in school. The mother sees this grade and replies, “But where is the A+?” That is how my household works to this day. Make a goal and work for it. Now my mother doesn’t have to care about my A because I do.

Another tremendously important ideal of mine is to not shy away from new experiences. Even if they are tantalizing, tortuous, and sometimes terrifying. Very much in tune with my cynical attitude is my belief that the older you get, the less people care about you. You grow up, assume more responsibility – and that makes you an adult. But it also means those who were responsible for you before, no longer have that role in your life. Well, the upside to this is that I’ve assumed this role for myself a while ago.

The downside is that the responsibilities never decrease. There is definitely a high standard for work here and an even higher emphasis on time management. At first I thought I had a minor culture shock from the school environment, but now I see that it is just something new that I have to adjust to, and from there I just keep on going.

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