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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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 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 only14 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!
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!
Tired of just sitting on the couch watching TV while munching
on your chips? The Fitness Center of Southern Connecticut State University is a
great place to start getting your daily exercise. They are open Monday-Thursday
from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Friday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday from 9:30 AM
to 4:30 PM, and Sunday from 2:00 AM to 7:00PM. Are you new to the gym? Not a
problem, the fitness center has more than 25 exercise machines that will fit
all your needs. SCSU students are
eligible to join the fitness center for a fee of 60 dollars a semester or 120
for the entire academic year (Fall and Spring). Students can also join during
the summers for 35 dollars. The fitness center offers many varieties of
classes. One class that stood out to me was “Hard Body Boot camp”. This class
is created to push your limits and give you the beach-body you always wanted. This
class is offered on Wednesday at 3:15 to 4:15 PM.
When I first started to read the
syllabus for this class, I noticed that we have to blog three times a week and
I immediately thought to myself, “What in the world does blogging mean”? So being
curious, I went online and did some research on blogs and found them to be very
fascinating. At first, I thought blogs were strictly written by students in
college but as I researched I found out that blogs are everywhere. Many big
newspaper companies have blogs on their websites, written by professional
editors and writers. They include a variety of topics from life lessons to
health and politics. For the people that
think reading is a boring, I realized blogs are the perfect opportunity for
them to start enjoying reading. Although Blogs are short, they are very
informative. Many people believe informative writing is boring but not with
blogs! Many blogs include an interesting background and a new way of reading.
While I was reading, I enjoyed how blogs are teaching you about the topic, but
also about the writer. As I started to write my blog, the first thing I thought
about was my audience. I didn't want my blog to be boring and blunt. I wanted
my reader to read the blog and enjoy doing it so much that he wants to read it
again. I also wanted the reader to learn about me as well as my topic. I felt
that this is very important because as a blogger you want people to return to
your blog and really understand you and your writing. Although these are my
first couple of day’s blogging, I truly enjoy it. Blogging brings out a part of
me that I've never seen before. As a blogger I feel as if I’m helping others
while I’m helping myself. While I write these blogs I start to concrete my
thoughts, and my beliefs. My goal as a young blogger is to continue blogging after this course ends.
The morning I woke up to go to my first day of orientation,
I thought to myself, why me? Why do I have to waste this beautiful summer day
going to a pointless orientation? As I
arrived at southern, I noticed all the beautiful buildings and the amazing
landscape. I always imagined, I would go to a school with perfect green grass
and it’s finally reality. When I first stepped foot on the campus, I
immediately knew my life would be changing. As I looked around during orientation, I
didn’t see all my high school friends surrounding me, I didn’t see all the
teachers I usually say “Hi” to, all I saw was faces of strangers walking by. It
was scary at first, I kept thinking about whether or not I’m going to make
friends or if I will ever like this place. Even though I was stressing out
about all these things, I knew college was a door leading to many new
opportunities. Although many people might consider college as a place where you
have to go in order to find a good job in life, I think differently. College is
a new chapter in many students’ lives. During college, you learn
responsibilities; you start to realize what the real world is like, where there
is no more mommy and daddy doing your laundry or your younger brother or sister
waking you up for breakfast. Now it’s all in your hands, you control when to
eat, when to wake up and when to do your homework. College is going to help any student,
including myself, get ready for the real world.
Coming from a family where
my brother, last year, was the first person to graduate from college, being in
college means a great deal to me. When I left my last class on the first day of
college, I felt like a new person. I thought to myself, all that hard work I
put in during high school really paid off, as I am now a proud student going to
a university. I was over whelmed by how much southern has to offer. I wanted to
do so many activities, and I wanted to become a member of many clubs. After
that day, I knew southern was the place for me. I take pride in going to
college, whenever someone asks me what I’m doing in life I immediately say,
“I’m attending Southern Connecticut State University.” As a student in college
I feel like I have a bright future, which determines me to excel in my classes.
Throughout college, I plan on using all the resources I have available to me to
thrive and flourish in life.
Just a video I found on YouTube. Thought it was pretty cool because it shows all of Campus.
