Riding the Semester Coaster!

There are no words to describe my first semester here at Southern Connecticut State University. My experience has been a blast! From my first class, to the last class, I learned so many new things about how I deal with pressure. College has been a new chapter in my life. During my high school days, I was not reliant on myself. I expected things to come to me and did not put effort into many things. Now that I am a college student, I am taking more responsibilities and actions towards my life and certainly my education. Although I improved my habits, I know there is still a lot more to come; as I am only at the beginning of the process.

Things will definitely get harder, and I will have to learn to cope with what is going on. One thing that challenged me this semester was that in some classes your whole grade depends on one or two tests. I find this to be very difficult because if you fail one of the tests, your grade is most likely not going to be an A like you wanted it to be. This puts a lot of pressure on you to make sure you know the material and study. In order to overcome those challenges, I would think a week in advance so I know what is coming up. This way I get a heads start on the material and for the parts that I do not understand, I have time to review. Another challenge I faced was how a college professor expects much more from you than a high school teacher does. In high school, all a student has to do to get a good grade is do their homework and come to class. In college, it is extremely different. In order to get solid grade, one has to go home and understand the topic before they come to class. In addition, there is much more reading to do in college then high school. I have learned that everything a professor says in class is valuable.

Although I have had some difficulties this semester, I also had many achievements. One of my biggest successes this semester is time management. I was able to handle a big amount of schoolwork, as well as handling my job. I thought I was going to have a ton of sleepless nights because I would have to work when I have to study but that was not the case at all! I learned to use my time wisely when I was not at work to finish any schoolwork that needed to be done and if I did not finish I tried to finish at work! I probably had one or two sleepless nights this whole semester! Next semester, I might quit one of my jobs so I have more time for my schoolwork. I have been satisfied with my grades this semester despite some minor setbacks. I enjoy some classes more than I enjoy others and I believe that has been deciding my grade. For example, I do not really enjoy my math class, actually I dread going, which is why I probably have low grade. On the other hand, I enjoy going to inquiry class. I love the discussions we have and the students in my class. All these reflect my grade in the class. I believe I am achieving my goal of expanding my education and learning something new every day.

This first semester has definitely taught me many things. For instance, it has taught, college is all about how with growing up also come a lot more responsibilities. It also gave me a blast of confidence for next semester because now I know what to expect and now know all the resources southern offers that I can go to if I need help. For next semester, I plan to continue to strive in my education and to spread my wings to study abroad!  I plan to continue to use the same techniques next semester such as, time management, and good study habits to get good grades.  I enjoy coming to southern because it is a university with many good resources for students to strive in their work. My first semester has been a memorable one and I hope to keep expanding my education. Here is a short video of me explaining my thoughts! Enjoy!

Campus safari!

For this week’s campus safari, I went to the Office of Study Skills Enrichment. This office focuses on everything you need to do to get a good grade in every class. Their focus is on time management skills, note taking and studying skills as well as test taking strategies. The staff at the office was very welcoming and had no problem answering any of my questions. This is a great resource to have on campus because everybody gets stressed out when it comes to tests and this is a great way to learn how to handle that. I encourage every student to visit the office!

Success and Failure!

Being successful takes a lot of hard work. This semester I feel like I was very successful due to the hard work I put into my schoolwork. One of my biggest successes is my Political Science class. Political science has always been a very interesting subject to me. I feel like I really understand everything that is going on in that class. I worked very hard to get a good grade too. We have 3 big tests each worth 25 percent of your grade. For the first test I made sure I studied and I ended up getting a 92. When the second test came around, I started to know what the professor is looking for so I studied even more. When I got the second test, I ended up getting a 101! I enjoy that class a lot because the teacher is great and it is an interesting subject. Another success I had was in inquiry. I am proud of the way my videos turned out because I worked very hard on them. Although I had a lot of success, unfortunately I had some failure as well. My greatest failure was in my math class. This class is very difficult for me because I do not like the subject and the teacher is the worst. Whenever I’m in class, it is a struggle for me to stay awake. I believe this has affected my grade because the grade I received was not the grade I was looking for. Through all my success and failures this semester, I feel like the most important thing is that I learn to learn from both of them.

Final video already?!?

Final video already?? I feel like the semester just started! I want my last video to be the ultimate factor. I want my video to stand out the most. Since this whole class revolved around creativity I want this video to be a step up from all my other videos. I plan on using all the things I learned during this course to enhance my video. Although I believe myself to already be creative, there is always room for improvement. In order to make this final video a creative one, I need to start now. This week I've have been very confused with how to start with my video. I didn't know how to be a little more creative then all my other videos. Then finally an idea popped up in my mind. I decided to make my whole video into a trailer into what is near in the future. I started working on it as soon as I got the idea. I started to answer the questions that are involved with it. I feel like this is a good way to get a good start because once I actually sit down to work on it, the process will be faster. I feel confident about this project because I'm used to iMovie by now and know my way around. I still can't believe this is the last video we have for this semester. This video is Abigail faster of our grade so I want to make sure I do well.

Campus safari!

For this weeks campus safari I decided to attend the day of peace at southern. At first I didn't know where it was located but then realized it was at the Lyman Center from 3pm-10pm. The day of peace included many interesting acts. First there was a festival of music. Then a dance group from Southern put on a wonderful show! There was also a group that discussed ways to spread peace around the campus! I enjoyed going to this event because I met a lot of people and it was fun!

Underage drinking video!

For our third video assignment I talked about dealing with underage drinking. I actually had a ton of fun doing this video, because I worked with my cousins and friends. I feel like we all worked well together. I feel very confident in my video because I used many techniques. First I used the video taping to bring the problem up. Then I incorporated some text to give the viewer a solution. I tried to make my video not go over the 5 minutes 30 seconds mark but it was very difficult for me to do that. I had a lot of information I needed to present in order to continue the story of my video. Although its a bit lengthy, I was very proud of my topic. Underage drinking is a big problem not only in college, but in high school as well. People think that drinking is fun and nothing bad can happen to them. That is wrong. There are a lot of consequences that involve underage drinking. Thousands of teens die every year because of underage drinking. Did you know, that more than 40% of car crashes are because of drinking and driving? Yeah, that's a lot. Many students think that drinking can relieve stress from the week's work, but there are many other ways to do that. Students can get involved in clubs and activities. They can also excluded them selves from students that do drink a lot. Overall I feel like I worked very hard on this video and used my time wisely to create it.        

The Finale!

As we read The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp for class, I began to think more about creativity. This book teaches a lot about creativity and how to become a more creative person. If you lack creativity, it gives you many exercises you can try, to help improve your creativity. Creativity is everywhere you turn in life. Whether its trying to find a job, or working on a project at school. It's all about how creative you are, to attract viewer. Although I feel like I'm a person with a lot of creativity, I still chose to do these activities  because you can't be over creative! Some of them even deal with how to accept failure, and what you can work on if you do!  Twyla Tharp talks about how she feels she is a creative person. Twyla Tharp works in a blank white room with mirrors on one side. She doesn't let this affect her creativity. In fact, she uses this room as a way to expand her creativity. She uses this white room to make dance pieces, and she actually wins competitions! One thing Twyla Tharp emphasizes is the importance of practice. She believes that people are not born perfect, and that everybody needs to practice in order to master something. After reading this book, Twyla Tharp taught me to not only be creative in everything that I do, but also to accept failure and to learn from it. Creatively is something that is unique in every single person. Everybody is creative in their own way and you are in control of it. I recommended everybody to read this book, because it will open your mind to things you have never noticed before. It is not that hard to read as well, so you can always read it in your spare time!

Field trip to the library!

On Thursday the class met in the library to explore everything the library has to offer. Wendy first walked us through the library to show us where everything is. I really liked that because I haven't seen the whole library before, I discovered many places I could go to study. When Wendy took us into the computer room, I thought it was going to be another boring lecture. I was totally wrong. I liked how we had to do the work rather then just sit there and listen to Wendy. Wendy was very nice to everybody. I felt like she really enjoyed her profession and loved the library. She was very helpful hole I was trying to find my book. One thing I didn't enjoy during this class was the work that needed to be done. I felt like the worksheet she gave us was very confusing. Many people around me didn't know what to do, along with myself. They cold have made the worksheet a little more informative. I would have loved to learn a little more information about what I was doing. I felt like I just jumped right into the assignment without really knowing what I was doing. My favorite part was searching for the article. Although it was very confusing, I feel like it will come in handy in the future. The amount of information we have is incredible. It is very important to sensor your searches because there is just to much information. I feel like going to t he library was a very important thing to do since it will help us in future classes. It also shows that google Is not the answer to everything. The library pays tons of money to get information google does not offer, so we need to use that to our advantage!

Campus safari!

For this week’s Camps Safari I went to Career Services. At the Career services office you could figure out what career would fit your lifestyle. The welcoming staff are very happy to talk to you and help you with your future endeavors. Another important thing they offer is career counseling. You will meet with a professional that will help you with career options, writing a resume, intern interviews, and also help you find a job. They are located in Schwartz Hall 102 or you could give them a call at 203-392-6536. After this trip to the Career service office, I known where to go for all my career needs!

Stay away!

This week I knew I had to be creative in my blog post, so I went on a mission. I wanted to do something that made me learn something about myself. As I was reading Twyla Tharp, I came across a very interesting activity. It was named Brew Ruts into Grooves. In this activity Tharp speaking about turning a bad habit into a good one. You are probably thinking that this is impossible. But guess what, it's not! I have many bad habits but one thing that frustrates me the most is going on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram while I'm studying. I end up being on Twitter and Facebook longer than I end up studying! This gets me very distracted and I tend to do it a lot. I had to make it stop. I used what Tharp said in this activity the next time I was studying. I made sure to sit in my room where I always study and not touch my phone. I was working on Terms and names and I told myself every 10 terms I memorize completely I get to go on my phone for three minutes. Believe it or not, this actually helped me with my studying. I thought about it as a little reward to myself. It also kept me motivated to study and memorize those terms and names. I came to the conclusion that I don't really need the social media sites in my life because they are only distractions. They are awesome when I have nothing to do but get in the way of school work very often. After this activity, I have learned to keep away from my phone while doing school work!

About TIME!

Facing my fear is very hard for me. I cannot do it unless, someone is pushing me or calling me a baby. For this weeks assignment I knew I had to push my limits. I didn't know how or when but I knew I had to. Twyla Tharp talks about how to not not push anything until another time because pushing it away isn't going to make it happen faster.  She also says if its something you want to do you have to find the time for it. After reading this I thought to myself that time is always a factor for me because I'm a full time student and I work two jobs. Sometimes when I want to do something I don't have the time to so I push it off until another day. Then when the next day comes I push it away again. Doing something that takes too much time can be overwhelming. This had to change. This week I decided to register to be a AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) coach. Being a coach has been something I really wanted to do because I love the game of soccer. I have been playing soccer my whole life and understand the game better than others and I want to use my knowledge to help younger kids. Becoming a coach is a big responsibility because of the amount of time it takes. I now have practice for an hour twice a week and a game every Saturday. I had to really think about being a coach because of the time it takes. Overall I feel like I made a very good choice because it is something I always wanted to do but I feared it. It is something I always wanted to do so I feel very accomplished.

Talking to a CC!

For this week’s Safari blog I talked to a CC (community coordinator). I asked him how he got involved in being a cc. He told me that it was always encouraged and he felt like he had what it takes to be a CC. He told me a CC has to be an active person in your surrounding and a overall well rounded person. A CC has to also be a good student in the classroom. With all this comes some very nice benefits. If you are a CC you get to live on campus for free. Which is pretty nice and saves you a big chunk of change! But with all this comes responsibilities. If something happens on the CC's floor he is responsible for it. He has to deal with anything that happens 24 hours of the day. It is very hard work!      

Twyla Tharp

After reading Twyla Tharp's Creative Habit I believe it is a very interesting book. It helps a person think about how to be creative. It also shows how such a small thing can go a big way. For example, she uses the blank white room as an example. Although this room is all white, it is where all the thinking and creativity happens. In this white room, Twyla creates her dance routines and makes money. I also liked how Twyla Tharp wrote her book. I feel like this book is both for a 3rd grader and a college student. Her use of big and colored letters really brings creatively to the book. After reading this book I noticed that Twyla does not believe in natural ability to be good at something. She believes its all about practice and practice to be good at something. I also enjoyed how she talked about rituals and beliefs. To me, this is a big part of my life because I always do special things before I do something. For instance, before I start to play soccer I always have to walk around the field to get my head in the game. I believe if I don't do this, I won't play my hardest and I won't feel concentrated. Walking around the field helps me get focused and helps me think about what I'm going to do during the game. This is the something for the yoga person turning on the candles. Twyla also talks about muscle memory. You might not know it, but muscle memory is used in everyday life. For me, I use it on the soccer field to know how hard to kick the ball for it to reach its desired destination. Reading this book really opened my mind up to how small things can have a big effect.

Man Vs. Cities Video!

I believe this video was a little harder than the first for many reasons. I sat in front of my computer for a whole hour because I did not know how to start this video. I didn't want it to be the same thing as my first because I felt like I used everything I can in my first video. As Ideas started popping in my head, creating this video got easier and easier. I decided to make my video about what the city of New Haven has to offer for southern students. After I knew what I was going to talk about, The actual video creation went really smoothly because I previously used iMovie to create my first video. I found it very easy to use the second time. I decided to go with a tv show theme because it really interesting to the viewers. I wanted this video to pop out at the viewer and make the viewer really enjoy it. I believed I made this video informative while making it fun and easy for the viewer to watch. Some of my strengths in the video include the video clips and pictures as well as the technology used. Although I had a lot of strengths I believe I had some weaknesses just like every video. Some of my weaknesses include not enough information on the clubs in downtown New Haven. I don't go often do I couldn't put my own information in their and none of them seem to have websites. Sketchy I know. My video went smoothly until I lost power for a week. I was very worries I couldn't upload it in time but UI did a great job and I was able to post my video!

Interfaith Office!

What in the world id the Interfaith Office?!? I decided to go to the Interfaith Office.  I knew it had something to do with religion but I wanted to see if anybody ever went there. When I got there they were very nice to me. I met the shoe staff and they told me all about the office. Religion is everything to them and they welcome everybody and all beliefs. When I was younger, my parents always took me to church every Sunday and I loved it. As I got older I slowly started to pull apart from that. Know that I know Theresa place at college for me I will always be here!

Midterm grades!

When it comes to grades, I always worry, especially in college. I kept on refreshing MyBlackboard to see if my grades are posted. I'm not very satisfied with my midterm grades, as I got three B’s, and one C.  Im not very worried about these grades though because my professors said that they will change. There are some tests and quizzes that I did bad on that are going to be dropped at the end of the semester, which will help my grades. I believe I still have time to improve my grades because I'm just starting to get used to the college work. At first, I was still in the "high school" mindset but now I know what college professors expect from you and I want to improve. I think the amount of time I put into school has affected my grades because as you see I put the least amount of effort in East Asia class. I plan on working a little harder on the classes I have low grades in because I'm not satisfied. I can't believe I got a B- in my math class which I thought I was failing. Although that is not the best grade I was satisfied wit it because I really struggled through the first half of the semester in that class. In inquiry, I wanted to get an A and I was disappointed when I saw my B+. I need to read when we are assigned to read because the quizzes is what brought my grades down. Overall I know that I can improve but these grades are temporary

The mural!

I Never really paid attention to any art when I walk by it. When I read about this post I started focusing more on the beautiful art we have around campus. One that really stood out to me was  located in the Jennings and Morrill hall. I stopped one day and really looked at it. It was a beautiful piece. The mural was painted in 1986 by Nicholas Orsini who is a professor of Art at Southern Connecticut State University. Every time I looked at this mural I thought students painted it. What I didn't know is that it has a lot of meaning. This mural represents the stages in human development from left to right. It starts of with the emergence of life from the sea then leads to the discovery of microbiology then the exploration of space, and finally the botanical and biological forms depicted.  This painting if really interesting if you take the time to just look at it and study it. You will find the amount of detail and thinking it took to create this mural. It shoes that the artist is a creative thinker because he thought outside the box. This mural really makes you think before entering the science department, which I thought was pretty funny. You can always look at art, but to really admire it you have to stand and study it for a while. I loved this blog because it really makes you think about the world of art and how it influences mankind. 

School's Radio

For this weeks campus safari, I decided to visit the school's radio website. At first I couldn't find it but found it after I searched for it on google. I found the website to be very disappointing. It was very confusing to navigate through and it was also mostly empty. When I clicked the calendar, there was nothing scheduled. I would love to have a school radio, as other schools take it very seriously and it would be fun to listen to. They did not have any shows scheduled but I would love to attend the Sinfest scheduled for October 24 at 7 in the student center ballroom. The radio website needs some TLC.

I deserved it!

Midterms were very stressful for me. I don't really do good on big tests so I tend to be very stressed out during midterm week. After midterms were done, I took a deep breath. I knew I needed to do something to get my mind off college. Since all my friends are on their fall break and are back home I decided to go out with them. We all wanted to go to the movies and then go out for ice cream. It's always a fun with my friends because we tend to argue on many things, like picking out a movie. After 2 hours, we decided to watch Pitch Perfect. Let me tell you, I never laughed that hard during a movie before. That movie was hilarious! I wanted to watch it again! During the movie my friend decided to throw popcorn at me, so being me, I decided to throw it back. We ended up having a popcorn war during the movie. I know, so immature. After the movie we went to  Peach Wave a self serve frozen yogurt place. Although I spent 7 dollars on ice cream, it was delicious. I missed all the old times where we used to go out every weekend during high school, so going out this weekend brought back many memories. When I was out with all my friends, I felt free. I didn't worry about school as much and I freed my mind from all my midterms. I guess it's good for everybody to go out and do something fun once in a while. College can be over whelming, and everybody should reward themselves by going out and having a fun time.

Midterms already!?

I couldn't believe I was taking midterms for the first semester of college! I feel very confident in every assignment I hand in for every class. In high school I was always an A or B student and I wanted to continue this throughout college. I knew I had to work harder than I did in high school to maintain these grades. Looking back at my grades for each class, I believe I'm reaching my potential and putting in a good amount of effort. The classes I believe I'm doing the best in are this one and my political science class. I feel like this class comes easy to me because of all the discussions we do and I'm not afraid of speaking during class. My political science class is another great class for me because I just took a test that is 25% of my grade and I received an 93 on it. I felt very accomplished when I received my grade because it reminded me that hard work pays off. On class I feel like I'm having trouble in is my math class. I can barley understand my professor and my last test I got a 63 on although I studied hard for it.  To recover my grade I studied hard for the next math quiz I had. When I handed in my math quiz I felt very confident that I got a good grade. I'm the type to worry a lot about my grades so I get very nervous when a professor hands back grades. These last weeks have taught me that whatever happens, like goes on and you need to learn from everything. You get a bad grade? Study harder next time. College is all about the effort you put in.

Meeting my professor!

I met with my East Asia Instructor, Thomas Radice, at his office hours this past Tuesday. I had to ask him questions about about the midterm exam that was coming up and about the quiz we just took. I needed to know what I was doing wrong and if I can get some extra credit. His office Is located in Engleman Hall, room, EN C215B. His times are as follows: Mon. 1:00 – 2:00, Tues. 11:00 – 12:00, Weds. 12:00 – 2:00, Thurs. 11:00 – 12:00. The professor golf me to take better notes while he was talking to help me get better grades on my quizzes. I'm glad I went to talk to him because now I feel like he knows who I am and notices me more in class. He was very nice to talk to and we got some good laughs talking!

Can't believe I did that!

I spent countless hours thinking about what I'm going to do to push myself out of my comfort zone. It is very hard to push me out of my comfort zone because I'm not shy of anyone or anything, I'm a dare devil. I wanted to do something I haven't done before. On Saturday, I called my cousin asking him his opinion. Surprisingly, he was on his way to Six Flags New England, something I haven't done before. I immediately thought of this blog, and put my car in drive with my destination being Six Flags. When I got there, I saw it, the roller coaster Bizzaro. With a 221 ft drop, I knew it was the roller coaster for me. When I got in line, I started getting butterflies in my stomach. I didn't like the feeling. At all. I knew I had to continue because I was with my friends who love roller coasters. As we got closer and closer, the butterflies in my stomach grew. At one point, I was about to turn around and tell them I can't do it. I was up next in line and my cousins were all laughing and joking around because they are excited, while I'm about to cry. I sat in the seat and said this is it, this is my time. As we went up the steel frame, I knew this was the best thing I was going to do. When we got off I was speechless. I definitely didn't expect such an awesome ride. I was laughing at myself because I was scared at the beginning. A lesson I learned was you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to have fun. We all had so much fun, we wanted to go on again! Oh what a day it was at Six Flags New England

Learn from it!

Failure is emphasized very much in The Mindset. Failure is hard for people to deal with, no matter who you are. Everybody in life wants to be successful but unfortunately, it can't happen. Although you fail, it's the way you get back up when you do. There are two types of people that deal with failure, the people with a growth mindset, and people with a fixed mindset. The people with a growth mindset see failure very differently than a person with a fixed mindset. For example, the person with a growth mindset sees failure as an opportunity to exceed the next time he tries to do something. They will use failure as a lesson learned. They come back and finish what they started. On the other hand, a person with a fixed mindset would just quit after failure. After reading this book, I thought about myself. I always try different things in life and sometimes fail. I use this failure to strengthen myself and recognize what I did wrong for the next time. Whenever someone challenges me telling me I can't do something, I try a lot harder too achieve my goal because I want to prove myself. For me, failure is very hard because I'm very competitive in everything I do. I believe that failure also measures the determination in a person. When a  person failures it should motivate hem to do better. For example, my freshman year of high school I did t make the soccer team, but I didn't quit and used the summer for more practice and I ended up making the team my sophomore year. There are many ways to prevent failure but it's very important to learn from it as well.

The writing center!

For this weeks campus safari, I went to visit the campus writing center. The writing center provides a great place for students to visit if they need any help with writing assignments. The center is located in the basement of Engleman Hall in room A-014. I decided to choose the writing center because I'm not a strong writer and will hopefully use the center when I have a writing paper due. When I first walked in it was very quiet, but a lady approached me immediately and asked me if I need any help. She turned out to be very nice and told me, I was welcome back at any time. I had a good vibe when I walked in and would definitely go again. The busiest time for the center is during exam week, so make sure you go before! .

Having the right Mindset!

After reading the book Mindset by Carol S. Dweck I came to the conclusion that I agree 100% with what she is saying. The authors two main ideas is that you either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. I think that is very true because as as you progress in life you realize what mindset you have. For me, I believe I have a growth mindset because I like to learn about new things and I always practice what I'm bad at so I can become better. This book reminded me of the 10,000 hours we talked about in class because they both relate to the effort one puts in. For example, the person with a fixed mindset tells themselves that their natural talents cannot be improved. While on the other hand the person with a growth mindset, although may have talent, goes on and practices to make them even better. The growth mindset relates to the 10,000 hours because it shows that you need time and effort to master a skill. I reality the person with a fixed mindset fears failure. For example, the fixed mindset person would rather do something and be good at it rather than do something he's not good at and fail. To me, that is the wrong way to go in life because you will never learn from your mistakes. I believe I'm in a growth mindset now because I always challenge myself to new obstacles and if I fail, I take that failure and use it as motivation to be successful in my next try. I believe that everyone should try to be a growth mindset person because it will make you feel better about your self and make the world a better place

Video Project

I couldn't believe how my video project turned out. Being a kid that is obsessed with technology, I really enjoyed this project. I started this project on Thursday, September 27th. I sat on my computer motivated to finish this video. As hours and hours past by I noticed this is taking longer than I expected. I did not hesitate at all because I knew I had all weekend to do it and I wanted to do a perfect job. On Friday I continued to work on the project and finally on Saturday morning I finalized the video and then published it. Overall the video took me 20 hours to complete but it was totally worth it because I know I put my hardest work into it.  For my video, I decided to take videos of myself talking about every video. I found this a very strong tactic because it keeps my video informative and fun to watch. I also tried to make my video a little exciting by adding effects and suspense, almost like a movie trailer. A downfall of this was it took much longer because I kept on messing up my videos which made me frustrated. I had to eat dinner on my computer because it took so long. Another important aspect of my video was that I used iMovie. iMovie is a great program for making videos. It has endless possibilities to add to your video. Although I loved the program I found it very hard to use so I spent most of my time looking up tutorials for the program. Although it took a while to get used to, I'm happy I used it because I learned a new program that I can use in the future for any class. When I was done with my project, I showed it to my whole family because I was so excited with my work. My whole family loved the video and couldn't believe the work I have done to it.  With all this hype spread around my family about my video, I got excited to post it and show it to all my peers.

Campus Safari

For this week’s campus safari, I decided to go to a “This I Believe” event. Dan Gediman the co producer of This I believe cam to SCSU to talk to us about the book. Dan Gediman talked about the history of the book and how it was put together. He shared information of people from past wars writing in what they believe in which started this whole thing. I found this very interesting because at the end of the lecture, we got to meet him and ask him questions. He even signed our books! At the event, you get a free T-shirt but I was unlucky and they ran out. It was a great experience!

College struggles: Studying

The video project had me thinking for a while, which is why I'm sitting here rushing this blog post. I started thinking about what I struggle with and how I can use this project to reach my highest potential in college. I immediately thought about studying. This is one topic I always struggle with because I find it hard to sit there and review when the teacher already talked about it. I picked this topic because this video will be informative for both me and my viewers.  The questions I'm trying to ask my interviewers relate spam from how to study to where to study. For example, I'm asking my older students and staff where they find is the best place to study on campus. I'm also asking my freshman if they feel comfortable studying in their dorm rooms. I find these questions very informative for freshman because in college their may be many distractions which may get you off track from studying. Im very happy to be a commuter because I find studying on campus to be very difficult because there is always something to do that is better than studying, like clubs and fairs. In my video I will try to teach people where to study and how to study so they can do well on their test. When I first heard we are going to have to make a video for this project, I got very excited. I'm able to use technology to help make these questions interesting. I will be using iMovie an app that can be found in the app store. This app will help me make my movie be interesting to the viewer. Since my topic tends to be very boring, I plan on using technology to help make a video that is both funny and informative. I will be taking videos all over campus of kids studying or at least trying to study.

Time is Money!

The self-study helped me learn more about myself then I ever imagined. It was very surprising to me the amount of things I did in just one day. On the first day I thought my schedule was just like everybody else's but then I started to see a pattern. A pattern that seemed to be unhealthy. Going through my schedule I noticed the majority of the things I did involved either work or school. Considering I work two jobs and go to school full time, I spent 36 hours at work last week and 10 hours studying. This is where I stopped and thought to myself. Am I trying my hardest at school this semester? Or is my two jobs taking up too much time and not leaving me time to study? I thought this over and over and although I'm bringing in a good paycheck at the end of the week, I realized I need to minimize my hours at work and focus more on my school work. My father always told me that my education comes before anything. One thing that I noticed took a big part of my schedule up is driving. I realized that I am always on the road burning gas going places. I believe this assignment helped me in the long run because it taught me what I have to focus on and opened my mind to the things I do on a daily basis. Procrastination played a big role in my schedule this week. I left a lot of things to the last minute and then I was in a rush at the end. I always keep a schedule of my work hours on my iPad, I will now be adding to it to help me be efficient with the time I have. recommend every person having a difficult time managing their life to create a schedule and figure out what your doing every hour of the day because it is a very vital step in being successful.

Stay Healthy!

            Flu season is right around the corner and since many college students are living in closed quarters, it is very easy to fall ill. This is why I went to the Granoff Student Health Center on campus for my campus safari. Many of you may not know where it’s located because you may not have been there yet, but it is very easy to find. The Health Center is located on Wintergreen Ave. When I first walked in, I noticed the staff was very happy that I walked in. They greeted me very nicely and looked like they loved their jobs. At the front desk there were pamphlets regarding health issues on campus. I started to read them, interested in health on campus since I’m a commuter. I found these pamphlets very informative. One thing I learned is to constantly wash your hands. Since in college everybody shares a bathroom and may often be near someone that is sick, you need to wash your hands at least 10 times a day. They also said to constantly use hand sanitizer and take advantage of the dispensers around campus. The health Center was a great trip for me being that it was my first time. 

"A" Letter Grade

I tend to always look at other peoples blogs because I love to see what they are writing about and how it relates to me. Reading other people's blogs can really help me with mine if I don't know where to start. As I'm reading some of my classmates blogs many of them stuck out, but one of them really hit me which was College Life by Faith Macdonald. This blog really stuck out because it was very well written and I feel like it is an "A" letter grade. The post that mostly caught my attention was 'Overcoming difficulties'. When I first read this blog I was very interested as to see how at such a young age, somebody can develop to create their own happiness. Faith tells the story of how her parent's divorce changed her life for the good. This deserves an "A" grading because although she had a difficulty in her life, she made the best out of it. Unfortunately many families get destroyed because of divorce. In the blog Faith describes how her older sister moved out of the house at the age of 18. I feel like that is a tough thing to go through because at the age of 18 it is hard to live on your own. Also children start hating their parents and some go into depressions. The family is never the same anymore and everyone just moves on with their life. I felt that faith taught all those kids to not have them affect it greatly and to create your own happiness, as did Faith. I also loved the story because her mom and dad ended up getting back together and remarrying. Faith really overcame a difficulty and it definitely made her a stronger person

Tips and information!

When I first entered college I was very scared. I didn't know what to expect and how to be successful in my first year. Many of my high school teachers would tell us that college will be totally different and you have to work hard, but they never told us how to do it or the best way to do it. Going to orientation and having a inquiry class taught me a lot.  At first, I was very overwhelmed with all the information And tips I received. Many people gave me advice that went against what the first person gave me. I was lost. Now that I entered my first semester, I know what tips and tricks work to help me rich my full potential. Since I'm a commuter student, I would go to school and immediately come home. Then I remember what my orientation adviser told me. He said get involved in everything you can and don't be a "car to class and class to car student". I found this advice to be very useful because I didn't feel like I was getting the whole college experience when I did that, but now I'm involved in many clubs and activities. Another tip that helped me was getting to know your professor at the beginning of the semester. This advice was a big one for me because I now feel comfortable to talk to my professors whenever I need them. I felt like many tips and information given to me didn't help me as much as others. For example, I found out that the freshman 15 is the biggest lie in the world! When I'm at school I'm usually starving and the food is pretty expensive. I'm losing 15 pounds not gaining it! In order for me to reach my full potential in college I'm going to have to keep myself motivated and make school my first priority. I wouldn't know what I would have done if I didn't have the people in my life that gave me very useful information!

Lost in the world of books!

When I first walked on campus, the first thing I saw was the huge library. I immediately asked myself, how many books could possibly be in there. After a couple weeks went by, I decided to enter the library for the first time. As I was walking up the entrance ramp, I started to get butterflies. Am I going to be the freshman to get lost in the library? After all it was a 5 stories. When I first walked in, I couldn't find the main desk so I started to walk around aimlessly. I then saw a librarian which I asked her where my book was located. After she searched it in the computer she handed me a paper and told me to go to the second floor and look for it. As I walked away I looked at the paper which said 'LC 191.94 .A46 2008'. What in the world does that mean?!? I took the elevator to the second floor and immediately saw LC 0-200. I knew this was the section for me. I walked in and found my book 'College Culture, Student Success'. It was a very easy find because it was a low number book. I wanted to check out this book because I knew it would help me out in my inquiry class. This book taught me many different ways to enjoy college. 

We are what?!

“We are moving to Shelton” were the words that changed my life. My entire life, I lived and grew up in Monroe, Connecticut. I’ve been accustomed to living there. I had all my friends that I grew up with and my whole family lives in Monroe. I loved the town and the people. Well that all changed when one night my parents came into my room and said we are moving to Shelton. I immidetely thought "We are what?!"  I was only  14 years old and as you may think, moving for a 14 year old is not easy.  Although it’s only a five minute drive, I immediately started thinking about my friends and family. I had a closed mind moving to Shelton. I hated the idea of it. I wanted to stay in Monroe. I didn’t want to make new friends or meet new neighbors. I wanted to go to Masuk High School. I wanted everything to stay the same. Well unfortunately, we moved. The first day school was horrible. I was the new kid that was “weird” and nobody wanted to talk to. For the first week I came home miserable.  Day after day, things started to get better. I started to make new friends, and I met new people. I started to love my new house, which was bigger than my old one and I met my new neighbors which were awesome!

Although the transition itself was horrible, it taught me many things. I always had a closed mind before moving to Shelton. I didn’t like change. This experience made me realize that life is full of changes and you just have to adjust to it. After this experience, I started to love change. I love new people and exploring new opportunities. As the German-American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein said “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” I believe this experience will help me a lot in college because it is the same thing I went through. In the beginning weeks of college, I didn’t have a problem meeting new people and throwing myself out there. Since I’ve faced difficulties in meeting new people before, I now enjoy meeting new people and being in a new environment!

Awesome video teaching people how to make friends!

No bad Teachers!

Having a bad teacher could be the worst thing possible. A teacher is everything when it comes to getting a good grade and enjoying the class. That is why you need to find out who the good teachers are before picking your classes. While I was reading the article “The Hunt for a good Teacher” found on the New York Times, I learned a lot. The writer had many resources to finding a good teacher. The first way is to ask your advisor. Your advisor knows what teachers fit your needs and what teachers have gotten good feedback. But let’s be honest, who really talks to their advisor? Not you? No problem! You can also go around and ask older students. The older students have been in your position and have taken more classes and are more familiar with the teachers. ASK THEM! Afraid of asking older students? Again, no problem! You can also search the web! There are many websites that are made for grading your professors. There are endless possibilities to finding the right teacher. I also learned from the reading that you need to find the teacher that has both knowledge and the capability to expand the information on the universe: “You should do everything you can to get a seat in the class of a professor known for both his or her knowledge of the material and the ability to make it a window on the larger universe.” 

I believe this is a very important topic, because having a bad teacher can ruin your in class experience. Since I’m a freshman and couldn’t pick my teachers, I got stuck with a few bad ones. If you still get stuck with a bad teacher, your best bet is to get to know them. I recommend staying after class and talking to them. Start up a discussion. Many people have different views of people and you might have a different experience with the teacher than other kids. You never know what you might have in common with that teacher, and he can become your friend. Don’t finalize your attitude on the class and teacher just on what you hear. You can be different!