Final Assessment

            Looking back on the semester I feel that I have done a pretty good job as far as my Inquiry class is concerned. That is not to say that I didn't have my ups and downs with certain assignments for the class. But I think that overall I am satisfied with my work in the class. I think that earlier on in the semester I was not at all excited for the class but I think that I was still scare of college so I was making sure that I did every assignment because I still was not sure what the consequences would be yet. Towards the end of the semester I more so realized what I really needed to do and what I could let slip. This may have impacted my grade a bit more than I wanted it to but I still think that I will be satisfied with my final grade. The most important thing that I took away from this class was a better understanding of what college life really means.

            Earlier on in the semester I think I made a much better effort to make sure that I got all of my assignments done. I wish I could say I did it out of determination, but I think that it was honestly out of fear of failure. I was still adjusting to college life and I was doing every assignment for every class. If you look back you will notice that I did every campus safari up until a certain point and then I just basically stopped. Also I chose to do only the ones that did not require me to come to school events. I chose to do these ones because of the fact that I am a commuter and I live about thirty minutes away from SCSU. So most of the time driving here is a big inconvenience for me. So I did all of the ones where I could go and pick something up while I was around campus. But besides campus safaris I did basically everything else. I made sure I worked hard on my mid-term video as well as made sure that all of the readings were done and ready to do the in-class writings. Working hard on these assignments has definitely paid off seeing as I got an A- on my mid-term video. Basically I was a, for lack of better word, goody-goody student for the first half of the semester. But I really don't see anything wrong with that because it helped me build up a strong grade to allow me to slack off a little bit later on in the semester.

            Another thing about the first part of the semester was that I really feel I took a lot from some of the reading assignments. Especially the ones about time management really helped reassure me that I was on the right path for college. We did that sort of self assessment in class on how well we manage all of our time each week in college and it showed me that I am spending the right amount of time on my studies. This really gave me the confidence to actually relax and calm down about my school work because before this I was basically completely consumed by my work.

            After all the good things that happened this semester I started to go downhill. But I didn't go off the deep end completely. I just seemed to be more preoccupied with making new friends and trying to balance out my social life with my school life a little better than I was already doing. This isn't the worst thing that could happen because I really only started to miss my campus safari assignments, in addition to coming to class unprepared for the in-class writing assignments a couple times. I still managed to do every single blog post on time and to the best of my ability which is definitely a big accomplishment seeing as those count for forty percent of our overall grade for the class. So yes I did choose to not do some assignments which I do regret doing. I think the only reason I regret not doing them is more because of the fun times that I could have had when doing them. I don't really believe that not doing them will affect my grade all that much in the end.

            I came into this class not knowing what it was about at all, and once I heard what it was going to be about I wasn't at all excited for it. But even though I didn't like the class I think that in the end I really managed to get a lot out of the class without even intending to. The blog posts and the video assignments were very helpful for me to learn about college life and what college assignments really are. Also the readings taught me a lot about what I needed to do in order to be a successful college student. The best part of this class was that I made a few very good friends who I plan to keep a relationship with throughout the rest of my life.

            Overall this semester in Inquiry class was a success for me. I managed to obtain some pretty good grades through all the ups and downs that I had in the semester. The class taught me exactly what it was supposed to even though I didn't realize it until now. But most important I made some great friends who I can hang out with for the rest of my life and I also got a great teacher and peer mentor who will both help me whenever I need them. So I think I did pretty well for myself in my first semester Inquiry class at SCSU.

Final Video

                                              Here is the link to my Final Video Project:
                                         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJDa8FJwZE

Goals, Goals, Goals

                For next semester I have a lot more goals for myself than I did for this semester. I think my main goal is to try my best to declare my major so that I can get started on all of that. But I really expect more from myself now that I have gone through an entire semester in college and I basically know what to expect regarding assignments. Next semester I really want to work hard to get my GPA up to a really high point so that I end this first year with some good tendencies to continue with as a sophomore at Southern. Also socially for next semester I really want to challenge myself to find even more friends to be able to talk to about school and just hang out with in general. I'm still a pretty shy person so this semester will definitely be a test of character for me since we are not in multiple classes together and being almost forced to make friends now. But I think I'm up for the challenge because I did pretty well with finding some very good friends this semester so I'm going to do my best to continue doing that next semester. Socially I would like to have a better relationship with my professors next semester because this semester I felt like I didn't have a relationship with really any of my professors. It makes me much more comfortable when I have a friendly relationship with my professors because it kind of keeps me more calm in class as well as out of class. So those are my basic goals for next semester. Some of them may prove to be pretty challenging, but then again if they weren't challenging then they would be very good goals now would they?

Pros and Cons

                Looking back on this semester I have definitely had some ups and downs. I would say that my biggest failure of this semester was getting too used to college and sort of falling back into some of my high school habits. I think that once I started to really get used to my schedule and classes that I started to become almost lazy like I was in high school and when that happened my grades started to reflect my laziness. But thanks o one of my best successes this semester I was able to realize what was happening and do my best to reverse the snowball effect that my laziness was crating on my grades. Another one of my greatest successes was actually doing pretty well in my Western Civilization class. I have never been fond of History in general and my grade for any history class usually shows it. But this semester I worked hard and so far I have a solid B in the class, which I am very proud of. The last big accomplishment for me this semester was actually making the videos for Inquiry. When we received those assignments I was pretty upset because of the fact that I hate making videos for a class or assignment. If I'm on my own I can make a video for fun but when I absolutely have to do it I can't actually get myself to come up with anything. But in the end I actually made two videos that I am very proud of. The first video I even received an A- on and the second one's grade is, as of now, TBA, but my outlook for that grade is good too. So like I said there were many ups and downs for me this semester but I like to think I did more good than I did bad so I'm happy with this semester!

What I'll miss

                This semester has been pretty good regarding the friends I have made and the classes I have taken. But for next semester I will miss having class with some of the guys in my classes. Luckily I am in at least one class with the two guys I have become closest with over the semester. Other than friends I will probably miss having a pier mentor who is actually trying to help the entire class out. I will definitely miss having a mentor who isn't just like another teacher who doesn't care about how the class does in the future. But later in college I know there will be a time when I don’t get into any classes with the friends I have made this semester and when that semester comes I will miss my new friends but I will make sure that we still keep in touch and hang out from time to time. Another thing I will miss from this semester is my teachers. They have all done a great job with helping me adjust to college life in general and helped me become a college level thinker. The assignments they gave to me were very helpful in preparing me for the largest amount of work that college will offer me at some point during my college career. So overall I will miss my new friends, my pier mentor, and my English and Inquiry professors for the rest of my college career.

My Ideal Life

                My ideal life after college would go like this… I would be married to my current fiancé and we would have our own house or apartment. I would have gotten my degree in whatever my overall major turns out to be. Also I will already be at a well paying job or else on my way o a good job. I don’t want to be rich but I would like to never have trouble with money, and be able to get my family most of the things they desire. I would also like to be the main money earner in my house not because I am the man, but because I would like my fiancé to have an easy life. I don’t want to have her feeling like she ever needs to work as hard as she can to support our family.  I want to be able to be  leader in my workplace and I want my co-workers to be able o look up to me. Now this all may seem like a lot to ask but I have seen my parents do this exact same thing with only going to college for about two years each. I feel that going to school for four years and gaining my degree with definitely give me a much better chance at living out my ideal life. I plan to work as hard as possible to get this ideal life and I won't let anything stand in my way.

Mountain Biking Video Draft

Link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ0IvyRvgP8

This is what I have so far for my project. But I also have some of the interviews done but I haven't added them in yet because I am unsure where I should put them in the video. Should I break up the clips of riding into seprate sections with interviews inbetween each section? Also how is he sound ratio with the video clips and the music?

MMMMM FOOD!

                Food. There is just so much you can say about food. So I think I'll try to go in the direction of what I personally eat. I would have to say my all time favorite meal would have to be breaded chicken breasts and buttered noodles on the side with some sort of vegetable like steamed broccoli with a little lemon juice on it. Other than that I would have to say that I love basically any kind of pasta with homemade sauce from my mom. Every Sunday there is always a big plate of pasta waiting for me for dinner. But I definitely don’t just eat good wholesome meals like that all the time. I would have to say that I am a pretty big junk eater. If I had the choice of good food all the time I probably would choose it most of the time. But that’s just unrealistic in our world now. So a lot of times I will just grab something quick to make me feel full even though I know it's bad for me and that I'll be hungry again in like fifteen minutes.

                Another reason why I eat a lot of bad food is the fact that I work at McDonalds. Now there is no one forcing me to eat the food there in any way. But I usually work a six hour shift after school and then on the weekends I will work a nine and a half hour shift. So honestly I could not go through a whole shift without eating because my body needs food to keep up with the craziness of fulfilling orders. When I do eat there I tend to buy some of the healthier menu items (yes, there are some healthy things at McDonalds). I usually get a salad with grilled chicken and apple dippers on the side and water to drink. Other than that I'll get a wrap and apple dippers. But I never eat the burgers because I know how bad those are for you.

                Other than that I really do try to eat healthy because I realize what will happen to me if I don’t. I do my best to eat right but I also do have some candy every once in a while. But that is how my diet has been for my whole life and so far it has worked out for me so I plan to keep it that way.

My Skirmish Experience

This is a video of the game, I am in it at about 2:43 wearing the yellow mask and white shirt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKq3YAwmXpE

                The perfect example that I have in my life to show that I was a leader happened in Pennsylvania  during the largest paintball game ever in the world. This game had over 4100 people playing in it and it lasted three days long. It was played on a field that stretched 100 acres and included woods, swamps, and open fields. The theme of the game was the famous war battle of Invasion of Normandy.

                Now on the last day of this game my friends and I were in the middle of a huge open field with hundreds of players from both teams battling it out for control of the field. In this game people were allowed to use smoke grenades, but it was so hot that day that one suddenly lit the grass on fire in the open fire that we were in. It took a minute but the fire was put out. Now at this point all of my friends had finally run out of paintballs, but I still had a little bit more. So I was in the middle of the field and the other team started pushing towards us. My team began to retreat but I stayed to fight.

                Suddenly I looked back and saw that I was the only person left on my tem out on the open field and the rest had retreated back to the woods. As I looked forward I could see literally hundreds of players on the other team moving towards me. At that instant I had the choice of running back to my team and getting shot about a million times or making one last attempt to rally my team and still get shot a lot. Naturally, I chose the more brave route of the two. So I looked back at my team once more and started sprinting towards the other team. I shot my gun as fast as I could just absolutely painting every person I could reach until I was completely empty. I got shot upwards of 100 times but right after I did it my team cheered and all started running back on the field again. As I walked off the field in A LOT of pain I looked back and watched my team take back the field.

                This was honestly one of the best feelings I have ever felt because I had an effect on so many people. As I met my friends they told me I was crazy, but the followed by saying that I was the one who made that all happen and that it was pretty amazing.

My Math Crisis

               So far this year I haven't had to many tough times having to do with my college experience. But I would say that the only thing that has really been a bit of a speed bump for me is my math class. I am in Math 100 which I thought would be a pretty good class for me because I am not good at math at all. But I soon realized that this class is still going to be a challenge for me. I thought I was doing pretty average in the class until I took the midterm. As I was taking the test my professor announced that there was five minutes left and I looked down and saw that I had about seven questions unanswered. I panicked and ended up getting a D on it. This brought my overall grade down to a D also. I already knew what my parents would say when they say this. But I told them before I started going to college hat I wasn't going to let this happen again so I was determined to change my grade.

                Now when this happened I thought to myself, "This has happened so many times to me with math classes, and I'm not letting it happen again." So after that day I have been studying harder. I also am getting some extra help from my professor and from a friend that is in the class. I am doing much better now and I can honestly say I am understanding the work much better than I ever did.

Hidden Study Spots

                This is a place that I have used to study at already in my time at SCSU. From the picture you may think I'm talking about the bagel wagon but I am actually talking about the walkway next to the outdoor tables. That walkway is pretty rarely used. From my experience it's not loud at all over there. I would sit there during my two hour break on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It is a great place to get some peace and get your homework done but still be outside.

                I guess there is two downsides to this spot though. One would have to be the obvious fact that it is an outdoor spot so it can only really be used in nice warm weather. But it's not a big deal for me because otherwise I just go into the student center and there is always an open table there. The other bad part about this spot is the fact that you are sitting on concrete. This only really matters if you are going to be sitting there for a long time because it can get pretty uncomfortable after a while. But I was okay with it most of the time and I was able to get most of my hw done there for the first month or so of school.

Computer Science

                In my computer science class I am feeling pretty intellectually stimulated. I think the reason for this is that I want to go into a career in computers. I have always found them very interesting in general. Now with this class that I am taking I am learning how to actually make simple programs that we all use every day on the internet. Also this is the first class that I have ever take that I can honestly say that I feel a great sense of accomplishment for completing the assignments. This sense of accomplishment comes to me because I can actually see something that I made from scratch working perfectly, and I know in my mind that if my program was part of a website then it would work perfectly. The class seemed difficult at first but now that I am really working hard in it I am learning a lot and doing very well in it. Designing each program and then writing the code to find out how to make just one button do so much is pretty challenging. I never really knew that so much happened inside the computer when you clicked a button.

                When I came into college I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go into a computer science major but now that I am taking this class the pure joy that I get out of it definitely out weights any second thoughts about the major. So in a sense this class really helped determine what my path through college will be and what my career path will be later in my life.  This class is much better than I ever expected and it is definitely a very intellectually stimulating class.

Stress? What Stress?

                This is a perfect week for me to write about stress relievers because I have a pretty busy week ahead of me. But I already knew this going into the week so I have been attempting to relieve all my stress and clear my mind. The only thing that I have been using this week so far is sitting down and making playlists on my computer. I love to listen to music and I make new playlists all the time. I find it very relaxing to sit down and listen to my library of 10,000 songs and try to make a playlist that fits many songs together well.

                Another big stress reliever for me is going mountain biking by myself in the woods. The woods are always so calm and they are a great place to just sit down and think. So I guess going on  hike alone would work for that one too. Also since it is starting to get colder out I always find going to a mountain and snowboarding down a very low populated slope very relaxing. It's just you and the white snow flying down the mountain, and at that point you have control over everything that happens next whether you know it or not.

                But if you're not into the whole sports and outdoor thing there is always a very easy one. I do this one probably more than any of the others. The reliever that I am talking about is when you are taking your shower just sit for a moment and let the water poor down on you. Clear your head and don’t think about anything. It is an amazingly relieving experience and it makes me feel like I am completely away from all the things I need to get done. So I would definitely recommend this one to anyone and everyone.

                So, those are my stress relievers hope that they can help someone in the future with their stress!

Grade Inflation Hurts

                Going off of the conversation that we had in class about grade inflation I was left with a different perspective on the question that Ilmar posed. The way that I interpreted his question was that it was asking if students put forth a good effort and still get something wrong is it right to give them a good grade. I answered it in the sense that it is wrong to give someone a grade that they do not deserve. I feel that if a teacher gives a student a grade they don’t deserve then it can really hurt the students in their future.

                If a student receives a  high grade just for trying hard even thought they got something wrong then that is going to teach them that they can just try hard every time and get a good grade. It teaches that it doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right all that matters is if you tried hard. That is definitely not the case in the real world so teaching this to students is really hurting them for their futures.

                As for the way that we were discussing the question in class I would have to agree with DJ the most because I feel that students should never receive a passing grade for just showing up and doing ONLY all that is asked of them. There is always a time when a student needs to go above and beyond for every class they take, and whether this means that they are going above the standards to get a better grade overall or if they are just trying to pass the class there is still a time for every student.

                SO overall I think that grade inflation is a bad idea with good intentions and it will honestly hurt students in the long run. I know that any company that sees that you attended a college that inflates grades will not look at you the same as someone who attended a school that didn’t.

Bowling...fun?!?

                The timing for the topic of doing something out of your comfort zone couldn't have been better. This past weekend I did something that I have never done before, and I hadn't done it before because it was out of my comfort zone entirely. So this past weekend I was bored sitting at home with my girlfriend when she asked if I wanted to go bowling. Now I have gone bowling back when I was VERY young and I hated it then. Since then I have never gone until this past weekend because I hated it so much and I was pretty afraid of wearing those nasty bowling shoes that were used by like millions of people.

                After some convincing my girlfriend had me driving the car towards the bowling alley and preparing myself to go through hell. When we finally got to pay and get to the lane with our nasty bowling shoes I was pretty nervous. But I wasn’t going to go back at that point so I prepared myself for the disgusting shoes and slipped them on. After the whole ordeal I actually had a pretty good amount of fun. To be honest I am actually considering joining a league this summer and making a team with my friends.

                So I am very glad that my girlfriend suggested that we should go there because without her I would have never gone back to the bowling alley and tried it again. I found something that I think I might really like and it will definitely be a fun and safe hobby for me to do with friends in the future.

MIDTERMS!!!

                Looking at my midterm grades I can say at this point I am not quite where I want to be. For all of my classes except for one I am doing pretty well in. There is still one class though where I am not dong as well as I should. It is probably because it is the subject I am worst at but I still think I need to work harder at it. But not including that class I am definitely doing well in my opinion so far.

                I think that my study habits have definitely helped me in achieving my grades thus far. I feel that I will probably need to study harder for that one class and probably even seek extra help which I'm not very comfortable with doing. But I know that I have to at this point because I am in college now and there is no second chances here.

                As for goals that I would like to set for myself for the remainder of the semester I have a few of them. One would be to definitely pass my lowest class right now and I mean easily pass it. I also would like to strive to bring my other grades from all B's to A's because I think it would be very beneficial for me to do this. It would help me get used to what I needed to do to receive good grades and classes in the future in my college career.

Narcissism?!? No way!

                After reading these articles I would have to say that I definitely agree with the fact that students are expecting o receive high grades on assignments for just doing the bare minimum. I can honestly say that I used to be that way in high school. I would do everything the assignment required me to do and hand it in. When I got the assignment back and it ended up being a lower grade I was confused and often talked to my teachers about the problem. Luckily for me from the start in college so far all of my professors have made all of their specific expectations very apparent to me so I know already that is I just do the bare minimum then the best mark I can receive is going to be a C. I think that when students begin new classes whether it is in college or in high school the teachers need to tell them exactly what to expect from them. That way if any student complains to the teacher then at least the teacher an say that he or she told the student their expectations.

                As for schools raising their grading criteria, essentially making it easier for students to receive high grades, I think it's horrible. It says that they are only trying to help their students so the when they graduate they will have a better chance at obtaining a good job. But in my opinion the schools are only hurting the students in the long run. If an employer sees that you went to a school that made their grading criteria easier it's going to seem like you are either a lazy person or you are not as intelligent because you weren't challenged enough by your school. I know that is what I would think as an employer.

                So overall i think that the teachers need o le their students know their expectations at the start of each semester and be very clear with them. Also schools shouldn't make grading more lenient for students because it really will hurt their future.

INQ Midterm Video

                So this video took me quite a while to put together, and I can definitely say it's the largest project I have ever created with windows movie maker. But overall I would say the experience was great because now I such a better understanding of what people think about time management but also how to use movie maker fluently. With this project I was able to look in depth at the amount of time that freshmen spend doing things like schoolwork every week. I can still say though that I believe that most freshmen are not managing their time wisely enough to succeed at this point.

                But anyways here is my video , it is also posted on the right side of my blog page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCecr0LoRz4

Being Bored really is good!

            For my free choice blog post this week I feel like talking about the article that we had to read this week about how being bored can increase your creativity. I know that when we discussed this article in class most students were saying that they don’t think that they are very creative when they are bored. Also students said that when they are bored they usually just sit down and do nothing. In my opinion in think that most of them weren’t realizing what the article actually meant.

            Personally I was able to connect to the article very easily because I feel bored all the time when I am driving from place to place. I am in the car for about eleven hours over the course of one week, and this is not counting the time it takes me to drive to and from work and also if I’m driving anywhere else. So I have a lot of time to be bored and because of all this time in think I have become a more creative person and I know more about myself from it.

            When I drive I have gotten to the point where I can let my mind completely wander and still pay close attention to my driving. So as my mind wanders I often reflect on my day or week. I also think about things I need to do and I think about the kind of person I really am. So instead of just sitting there and hating every second of all the driving I do, I have now turned that boredom into a much more productive experience. I actually almost look forward to driving now because I can just let go and feel relieved after thinking about all that is on my mind.

Peer Mentors, Pass or Fail...

                At first I didn’t really think much of the whole peer mentor idea in our class. But now that we have had a few sessions with our peer mentor Lee I definitely am a fan of it. I think that having a student’s input on a lot of the conversations we have definitely helps me as a freshman connect to the topic. If we are talking about something that I don’t really worry about it is nice to hear a first-hand experience from Lee to actually see how the topic could relate to me more.

            I feel that Lee definitely adds a more upbeat attitude to our Inquiry classes. She is always very positive and she helps keep the rest of the students in the class in a good mood. Also every class when we hear a response from Lee to any question we always seem to get some very valuable information from it. Not only are all of her responses very intellectual and well thought out, but they always seem to be connectable to all of our lives in college so far.

            The best thing about having a peer mentor is the sole fact that we as freshmen are now able to hear what college level thinking really sounds like in person. All of Lee’s responses seem to have a very high level of college thinking put into each of them. Every time I hear one it makes me pay much closer attention to what she is saying because I toot want to be able to think at that level at some point in my life. So overall I would say that having a peer mentor in the classroom is a big plus to the entire learning experience. The only critique I could give would be to actually give the peer mentor more time with the class by themselves.

Computers!!!

                Currently I am enrolled as an undecided student in SCSU. But honestly I do know what I want to major in. The reason I haven’t declared my major yet is because I would rather focus on passing all of the classes required by southern before I get into my major. I do intend on declaring my major probably within the first two semesters of my college career.

                But as for the major that I will be choosing soon, it will be Computer Science. I plan to choose this major for a few reasons. The first reason is that fact that my dad works at Yale New Haven Hospital as a computer tech, and I used to go to work with him and help him during the day and I loved it. I have always been fascinated with computers and technology in general so learning more about them definitely excites me. Also I can definitely see myself working with computers for the rest of my life because computers are the kind of thing that never gets old. There will always be new computers coming out with new features. So I will always have something new to look forward to. The last added plus is that fact that my dad tells me all the time that he sees new jobs that have “six figure salaries”, for starting workers, and I know that definitely makes me want to give it my best shot to get a piece of that kind of money.

A Perfect Post

This would be my guidelines for a very well put together blog post.

1. Interesting

2. Fluency/Clarity

3. Relevance

4. Short and to the point

A blog post needs many different things inserted into it for it to be a well written post. In my eyes the words that I outlined above are all the criteria you need to be able to produce a great blog post.

                The first word, interesting, has more than one reason for being important. The first is that your blog post needs to have a topic that is going to interest all types of readers. It needs to be about something that is interesting enough to make any random reader who stumbles across your blog to want to read it and be satisfied with the post. Also the other meaning of this word is that the post needs to hold the readers interest throughout the entire post. It needs to keep the readers’ attention only on the post.

                The second piece of important criteria for a good blog post is the fluency and clarity aspect of the post. A good post needs to be easy to understand while also having a certain flow or rhythm to the post. It should be easy for a reader to read your post and come away with a clear take on what you were trying to say in the post.

                The next criteria would have to be the relevance of your topic. Does you topic relate to something that is going on in you town/country? Or is it something that only pertains to you? A well written post will have some kind of relation to the world around it so that a reader who comes across the post can relate to it and feel connected.

                Last but not least is the phrase “short and to the point.” I feel that this is the most important thing to remember when writing a good blog post. If a blog post is pages and pages long I know that as a reader I would honestly probably skip reading it all together. But when a blog post is nice and short and includes the rest of my specified criteria then it really makes the whole experience of reading it a pleasant one.

                This is what my criteria of a perfect blog post will be and below I will be listing some bloggers that seem to show these criteria well.

Perfect Posts:

http://situationsstation.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-kings-event.html

http://andrewcasey592.blogspot.com/2010/10/art-of-eatting-on-run.html

Orientation is an Event...Right?

                This post is supposed to be about an event that we have attended thus far at SCSU. But unfortunately for me, I haven’t been able to attend any events besides my freshman orientation. So I guess I’ll be discussing that for this post.

            Now first off, when I heard that that orientation was going to be a two day ordeal, and that I would have to stay at SCSU the entire time, let’s just say I wasn’t ecstatic about it. I just didn’t want to waste my time, especially during summer, at the place where I was going to be at for the next four years anyway. I think a lot of other freshman had this same thought process too.

            But then that day actually came when I had to go. I went to SCSU that day with not the best attitude to kick it all off, but I was doing my best to be optimistic. We were all put into groups and we started off with getting to know everyone. This was boring but then we started to get into some more interesting activities like talking about what college was really going to be like verses the rumors that we all hear. When my orientation leaders explained a lot of this it made me feel so much better about actually starting college. But then before we knew it we had to go to another boring lecture from someone important in the SCSU staff. This was basically how the rest of the orientation went, and I honestly hated it.

            I talked to my cousin who is a junior at SCSU about her orientation and she said it was only one day of boring activities instead of this huge two day thing. So in my opinion I think that the freshman that came into SCSU this semester was forced to go through a very pointless orientation. It made me a tiny bit more confident about college but overall I took almost nothing from the experience. I really think that SCSU staff should rethink the whole idea of orientation and just use it to give incoming students the minimum information that they need and don’t try to stuff in all these meaningless lectures and speakers that the kids won’t care about or listen to.

My Midterm Plans

            So for my midterm project I have chosen to talk about time management and motivation. These definitely seem like the most important subjects that we have read about so far. I think that the questions that I plan to ask will give a very diverse set of results. It will be very interesting to find out what my fellow students have to say verses what some of the faculty have to say.

            I chose to ask a question about time management asking if you think that most freshmen are really managing their time to the fullest extent. Personally I thought that most were doing a good job of keeping their schedules in check. But after doing an exercise in class and attending college for a few weeks I’m starting to realize that many students seem to just be hanging on by a thread. I actually have found that almost every hour of my time is taken up by something that I am doing during the week, and most of those hours are spent doing productive things. But it seems that many students have a lot of time in their schedule that seems to be spent doing nothing or doing things that are not productive. So it should be pretty interesting to see what other students as well as faculty members have to say on the subject.

            The other question I will be exploring has to do with motivation. I chose this because to succeed in college I think that you need to be genuinely motivated to want to learn in order to graduate. It seems a lot different from say high school where you are motivated by your parents and teachers pushing you. In college there really isn’t anyone there to push you to do your best so most of the time it’s up to you. This makes me wonder if other students share the same thoughts about this. I know that I have somehow found a new love for learning in order to motivate myself. It almost feels like I’m a little kid just starting school again, eager to learn all that I can about the world. So I definitely can’t wait to hear about different motivators for other people.

            This project actually has me pretty excited about gathering this information. So with the help of the articles that we have read so far I believe I will be able to formulate a great video about motivation and time management.

Blogs i actually like?!?

                The two blogs that I found very interesting to me this week were The Paintball Blog and Single Tracks (a mountain biking blog). I found these blogs interesting because they both offered me a lot of knowledge on two of my favorite sports. They give well written posts about many different aspects of each sport. Some are teaching the reader things about the sport and some are just entertaining bits of information.

                The Paintball Blog is a blog that is written by many different people. They are professionals who know the sport of paintball very well. In the past I actually used this blog to learn new tips and tricks when I was on a sponsored paintball team. This blog definitely helped me progress as a player and it also has helpful hints for the more recreational paintballer.

                Single Tracks is a great blog that I just discovered today. It is on mountain biking and it has a great design to it. Mountain biking is another sport I love and this blog can basically tell you anything you want to know about it. It has a section for beginners and for choosing which products to buy. Also, I really like how this blog uses many pictures to help show what you are reading about. For some of the articles there is even a diagram to explain what is being said. This blog is a new discovery to me but I plan to refer to it often from now on.

                These two blogs are just as different as they are alike. They are blogs about two completely different sports. Also The Paintball Blog doesn’t really have pictures at all, where as Single Tracks has at least one picture per post. But the thing that makes them alike is the fact that they both offer serious information as well as entertaining information about each sport. I think that is what ultimately draws me to them. This will also draw other people who really aren’t into either of these sports. These posts are interesting and exciting to read, which will grab any reader’s attention.

Amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQWg6M2J10

Does this make me a Hypocrite?

                In my last post I talked about time management and how I feel that most people have their own schedule and they don’t plan to change it. This week talking about time management in class more and doing the activity on estimating our time spent doing things my opinion that everyone had their own plan that works changed. Out of 168 hours in a week many were having thirty to forty hours unaccounted for. This obviously means that either they really don’t know how long they spend time on activities, or their time isn’t being spent wisely. As for me I actually couldn’t account for only four hours of my week. So I know that I am doing fine but I definitely feel that maybe those articles could help other people.

                Managing your time is probably the most important thing in college with all the work and the rest of your life. Finding a schedule for you is so important and it needs to be done quickly before it’s too late. But apparently a lot of other students aren’t using all of their time wisely. Now this doesn’t mean that I am suddenly agreeing with the image of mapping out every hour of every day for you. Because I definitely don’t do that and my schedule works for me perfectly. But if students just sat down and thought for a moment about what they needed to do that day or for the week and they write some of the important points down I think that would help a lot of people who have a lot of wasted time in their week. For me writing all my assignments in a notebook works perfectly, and for everything else I set alarms sometimes to remind myself that I need to do something at that time.

                Every student can be successful, but they need a strong schedule to back them up. I felt that the students who have a lot of wasted time should take a look at those articles that we read last week if they hadn’t to get some ideas. The activity in class really opened my eyes to how other students manage their time, and it showed me that I’m doing a pretty good job for me so that definitely reassured me too.

My Schedule? or YOUR Schedule???

                So we are reading about all these different methods to manage our time and schedule in college. Well I do agree that everyone should have some type of plan from week to week on what they need to get done and when they can have fun. I also do believe that reading these articles will help some people who are having issues with managing their schedules now that we are all in college. But for me I can honestly say that these readings really won’t change the way I go about doing my work from week to week.

                I think that by now most people probably have some form of their own schedule that they follow for every day. Personally I have my day planned out before I even wake up. I don’t need to sit down and write everything that I will be doing down in a book. I’m sure many others would tell you that they either have a written schedule for themselves or they choose to keep it mentally. There probably a few students who don’t really have any schedule set in stone for themselves, but I can guarantee that if they needed to they all have the knowledge to create one.

                Overall, I’m just saying that reading these articles, watching the video, and taking the quiz may be somewhat helpful to other students. But I’m sure that most, including myself, will agree that we already have a plan and it works for us, so we don’t intend to change it anytime in the near future.

Outcasts United, By Warren St. John, a novel? or an essay?

           Outcasts United by Warren St. John was a very informative novel in my eyes. I realized, while discussing the book, with a friend that Warren St. John is a reporter for the New York Times. When I heard this the way the book was written made a lot more sense to me.

            I did enjoy the book but some of it seemed to go on and on about useless things. Like when he was telling the stories of each player and Luma they seemed to go on forever. I feel that St. John may have put in a little too much research into the book. If the book had contained a little bit less research about each character I would have enjoyed reading it more, and I would still have got the same feeling about each character. So I feel that Warren St. John should have tried to not allow his two main styles of writing clash together in this book.

            On the other hand, the book was very uplifting and inspiring to me on more than one level. The obvious one would be the fact that this story really shows you how happiness can be found in such simple things. Also that when people come together, no matter who they are, they can accomplish anything they put their minds to. But the other reason I was inspired by this book is because I play soccer myself. So I could connect to almost every soccer related situation in the book. I could picture myself in those kids’ places for just a second, and it really drew me into the book more.

            One question that I would have for Mr. Warren St. John would be did he think that it was really necessary to the book to add in so much background information on each character and why?

Change is Scary

       So I’m a commuter this year at southern, and I could go on and on about how finding a descent parking spot is my biggest challenge. But if I did that I’d be lying to everyone who reads this. Honestly, the biggest challenge for me is adjusting to a school where I know absolutely no one. My whole life I have been a shy person and I always depended on my friends to be there for me. I am still an independent person who can definitely hold his own but not having someone there to talk to about this new college experience is tough.


       People who know me will say that I am an outgoing and happy person. But what they don’t know is that the only reason I seem that way to them is because I am comfortable with them. Don’t get me wrong, I can easily become friends with just about anybody. But going out and talking to some random person is not my strong suit.

       Coming from a high school, where I was friends with just about everyone, to a college where I know absolutely no one is pretty scary. Even though I am sure I’ll make new friends over time, it is still somewhat of a lonely experience in the beginning. But I’m an optimist and I think that as this whole college experience progresses for me I will meet many new and interesting people and have the opportunity to build friendships with them.

       Before this semester started I was so worried that I wouldn’t have anyone to discuss homework or projects with. I had this vision of me just going to class everyday not talking to anyone and then going straight home to do my homework and get back to the life I’m used to. But I’m seeing that it doesn’t need to be like that at all.

There's Articles for Sucess?!?

       These articles seem to have a very common thread of telling the reader how to become successful at something, in my case college. They all make very important points that I strongly agree with. I definitely aim to plan out all of my college life as far ahead as I can. My goals have already been set by myself and my family; and I intend to meet those goals. As far as I’m concerned those goals are well within reach at the pace that I am going right now. These articles reinforce that thought so I will continue to map out my college experience, and then work as hard as I can on it.

       The articles have also helped me observe first hand that getting a higher education really is the most important aspect to being successful in your own life. A regular education can only get you so far whether it is in a big corporate company or a small business. These articles give the reader a sort of truth that only a firsthand experience can give. It is great because the topic that you are gaining information from is one that applies to every human being.

       If anything after reading the articles it just reinforces an idea that I have already had for myself in college. That idea is to be as successful as I can be, and to reach all the goals that have been set for me. They also show that to have an easier life in the future meeting my goals is definitely a big essential.

My thoughts on College...

        College means a lot to me at this point in my life. Yes it means all the usual things like me having a better chance at getting a better job in the future and lots of debts to pay back. But it also means a lot more to me right now. College is something that is going to put me on the level of adulthood that I want to be on. Being educated in an advanced way makes me feel better about myself. College is also helping me find my love for learning all over again. I realize that I, as a student, will be bombarded with mountains of work while in college. So I have almost forced myself to try to enjoy it again, like I was a little kid back in first grade just itching to learn the ABC’s for the first time. Sobasically i am expecting that college gives me more back then i have to give it.


       College has a strong effect on me on a social level. It has only been a couple days and I realize that I am going to make many new friends over the next four years. I have always been more of a shy person so college is a welcome change to that shyness. I am almost forced to make friends witch I am starting to like a lot.

       Lastly, college stands as a huge goal for me for more than one reason. My parents never went to a four year college and they both turned out very well off. This really gives me the confidence that if I can make it through a four year college then I will be able to do even better than they did. Also, as a personal goal I want to prove to myself that college really isn’t all that scary or hard. I want to pass every class that I take and prove to myself that I really can obtain a higher education. This is what college means to me.

All About Mike

Caring     

Sensible

Persistent

Athletic

A clip of me riding my bike:

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/126548/

Team Player

What these words mean to me...

These five words can give you an idea of how my mind and personality work together to create me. I’m usually the kind of person who cares more about other people than me. My extremely close family members are the ones to blame for that trait. The photo under the word caring shows just some of my big, loud, Italian family. They all care about each other so much that it really rubbed off on me and I now incorporate it into my social life as well.

     Alright, so next the next word is sensible; which is not to say I am a “worry wart” but just more of the one who knows when to turn on and off the crazy. My parents did a really good job at teaching me right and wrong so I can really tell when something is not the best idea. Friends tell me all the time that usually if I say something is a bad idea; it really is a bad idea. The photo I chose is one of the pranks that I actually approved from my friends, which we ended up going through with. By the way the prank was that we put my best friend’s moped on his bed which is on the second story of his house one night while he was at work.


     The next word holds a very important place in the definition of who I am. This is probably one of my more annoying traits. But anyway, usually when I come up with an idea or activity that I would like to do, I will make it happen no matter what. For example I came across a video of a giant slip n’ slide online and thought it looked like a lot of fun. So the next day I got some friends together and made one!


     The word athletic is more of a default label that I carry with me just because I like to participate in a few sports. Obviously from the picture you can tell that I enjoy to mountain bike. Some of the other sports that I play are soccer and paintball. I’m always riding my bike and I played soccer since I was three years old. Also paintball has brought me as far as gaining sponsorships and playing in tournaments against professional players. So I guess all that makes me pretty athletic but not in a jock type of way.


     This last picture is of last year’s varsity soccer team at Guilford High School. This shows how close of a team and how much of a team player I am. I am a team player for more than just sports though. I am always open to new things and suggestions when I am with a group of people. When it comes to family my parent’s suggestions of ways for us all to bond are always accepted by me.

Just another clip of me spending time with some of the people that matter the most to me:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=423627619156