“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” -James Dean

Final Assessment: 

           Thinking back to the first day of class, I was very skeptical about what this class would be about. As weeks past I cam to realize that our Inquiry class was to help us, freshmen, adjust to the college life. Overall I thought our class was a success, we had a lot of great and intellectual discussions about the articles we were assigned. In the beginning we were a little slow on learning what a good inquiry question is or what a professor looks for in a response. We were taught how to use higher level of thinking, how to manage our time properly, and new technology techniques.

            Each class we usually had a few selected articles that we needed to read. At first I just read through each article on the computer and tried to remember as much as I could for each class. As time went on I learned that the best way to retain this information was to print out each article and highlight all the main points. This helped me participate in class discussions. It also helped me realize that in my other classes the key to retaining as much as I could was to take notes and highlight anything that was important to that topic. These tips helped me in most of my classes to get the grades I was reaching for.

In our class we had the privilege of having a peer mentor, Lee Tripler. Lee participated in our discussions; we were all amazed after she would give her opinion because we were able to differentiate between a senior and a freshman. I was eager to learn and open my mind so I could respond to a certain topic in that way. I was able to experience what is needed to fully answer a question or give my opinion on something. In the beginning of the year my responses would have been short and sweet. However, now I would feel pretty comfortable answering a question and responding in a college level.

It was very difficult for me to transition from high school to college life. In high school I lived at home with my parents and had rules and set time for schoolwork and my social life. When coming to college all of that changed. I was living with two people I have never met before and had no rules to abide by. I was independent and had to set a schedule for myself. This class has helped me with my time management immensely. When we were given the videos to work on I had to space out my time, because there was no way I could do it the night before. I took weeks to work on my videos, I would work on them a little bit each day, and in no time they were finished to perfection! Now I have a grasp on what I need to do to manage my time.

This class was based off of technology that I have never used before. At first I was intimidated by all the online articles, blogs, and videos we were exposed to. When we first started the blog I was very confused on how it worked. I did not really know how to set it up, and was not given much direction. This helped me tremendously because I had to learn to figure this out on my own and helped me become more familiar with my computer. Now I have set up my own personal blog, for my own enjoyment. I post pictures and stories about my day. It is nice to have something to just express my feelings and myself.

I had just gotten my computer before school started, and have never really used a Mac before. Not only did I never use iMovie before, I have never made a movie. Making these two movies was a new experience for me. Although, by making the videos I had the chance to explore my computer and learn the different techniques to use in making a movie.

Overall my first semester experience as a freshman at Southern Connecticut State University has been a successful one. I have learned many new things not only in my Inquiry class, but all of my other classes. I was challenged to do things I have never done and think about things in a different manner. I expect to have a great future here at Southern and will continue to use what I have learned in my everyday life. 

"Now that, that don't kill me, will only make me stronger" -Kanye West

This semester has gone by so quickly, and I cannot believe that my first year of being in college is almost over. When I look back on this semester I have had some successes and failures. I think each are expected my first semester of college. This was a new place for me and I needed to learn for myself and test out different things each step of the way.

Some failures or weaknesses that I had this semester were that I did not have good time management and study habits. My first exam in my biology class I did not do very well in. this was because I thought I knew all the information and did not need to study before my exam. This is the same problem I had in my psychology class and my western civilization class. I would not review my notes or read through the selected chapters before the exams because I thought that everything that was going to be on the test were basic knowledge. It caused me to do poorly on a few exams. I do not have a lot of self -discipline. So I would rather hang out with my friends than get my work done. This is also a weakness because I need to learn that my schoolwork needs to come before my social life.

Despite my few failures and weaknesses, I have had plenty of successes this semester. I have never been good in writing and never really enjoyed it, but in my English class this semester, I did excellent on all my papers and did not mind writing any of them. This is definitely a success because it gave be a more positive attitude towards writing. I now know that if I am writing about something I am interested in I will have a pleasurable time writing about it. Another success that I had this semester is that in Inquiry class, I really impressed myself with the videos I created. I have never used imovie before I was nervous at first because of my inexperience with it. However, my end result for both of the videos I made were definitely a success. I had fun making each video and am happy to now have this new skill of using imovie. 

What Inspires Me

This is my final video!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

 I liked that we were placed within a learning community for our Inquiry and English class. This was a great way to make new friends. Since we share two of the same classes it is easier for everyone to get to know each other. Our class is pretty small so we are able to really connect with each other. Our English and Inquiry class is right after each other so it is nice to have everyone together walking to class, or if we get out early just all hang out together. It makes it easier to talk to each other about not only the two classes we are together for but also other classes that we should or should not take each semester. I will definitely miss our class next semester. We have all really grown close and share a lot of the same views on our classes. We are all comfortable with each other, and thanks to our peer mentor, Lee, we know that none of us will judge each other. We were able to say what we needed to say in class without being critiqued. Most of us showed our videos we made for our Inquiry class and we gave each other constructive criticism. No one got mad or jealous of anyone else. We are all happy for each other and formed a nice group.

                                     

“I'm here to handle the job that is at hand. Who knows what the future will bring?” -Rep. Leonard Bentz

My ideal life after college would be getting a goo job in my field and being able to excel in it. I want to be a speech pathologist in an elementary school, so my goal is to be able to achieve that right after I graduate. Ideally I would be able to get my own house or apartment and be financially set. I lived in Watertown, Connecticut and would like to get a job at the elementary school there, John Trumbull Primary School. I love to help people especially little kids. They are so enthusiastic about everything and when they learn something new or overcome an obstacle they are so exultant. This is what got me interested in speech pathology, because I knew I wanted to work with little kids and help them with something, other than being a school teacher. So after I graduate I know I want to get a job in this field right away.

In addition to being a speech pathologist, I would love to choreograph at a dance studio. My sister owns her own dance studio and for a part time job, I would love to teach a few classes for her. Again I would like to work with the littler kids. I began dancing when I was only two years old, and have been dancing ever since. I think it is important to follow through with my dancing because it is such an important aspect of my life. By choreographing at a dance studio part time I will be able to keep that joy and inspiration of dance in my life. 

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice." ~Meister Eckhart

One of my favorite things to do is eat. I love trying new foods and seeing differences in other cultures’ food. But when it comes down to it I just love having a home cooked meal while being surrounded by my family! I have always loved Thanksgiving for a few reasons. One is just being able to spend time with my family. It is a relaxing day that does not involve much preparation, no presents or surprises, just family enjoying each other’s company. However, the best part of Thanksgiving is all the delicious food and magnificent smells that I encounter that day.

I go to my aunts’ house for the day in Torrington. As soon as a walk in the door I am paralyzed by all the magnificent smells of each food. The smell of the moist gravy and turkey baking, the burn of the spicy hot stuffed peppers, and the freshly made corn muffins cooling after just coming out of the oven. All these smells are heavenly. At each chair there is a hand made turkey picture with each persons name on it, when we find our name we sit down and wait for everything to be ready. While we wait everyone talks about how everything is going in their life, usually the cousins are asked about school and grades, while the adults talk about work. When everything was out it was time to start dishing up the food. I took a little bit of everything; I even tried a hot stuffed pepper! Everything was so scrumptious, even when I was full I wanted to eat more! My favorite dish at Thanksgiving is the sweet potatoes. The sweetness from the brown sugar on top of the perfectly cooked potatoes makes my mouth water.

This year I was especially excited for Thanksgiving dinner. It was because I have not had a home cooked meal in a while. Because I live on campus I eat at Connecticut Hall everyday, I get the same chicken nuggets and French fries every time. I know that is not the healthiest choice, but it is definitely delicious! Although I do love the chicken and fries, nothing compares to a home cooked meal. I think it is the perfect dish, and I cannot get enough of it! Each of the dishes are delightful, and my Thanksgiving was the best yet!   

What Inspires Me

This is my second draft of my video. I'm not quite sure what I want to add to make it longer, so any suggestions are great appreciated! Also any feed back on what I can change to make my video better will be awesome! Thank you!

“Life is my college” -Unknown

A difficult situation I have been in this semester is getting use to living on campus. I have never been away from home for a long period of time; so living on campus has been quite a change for me. I have handled it a bunch of different ways. One way is that I go home every weekend. This is because, since I am the baby of the family, it is weird for my parents to have the house all to their self. I like going home because it is like having a vacation from school. This helped me ease into getting use to living away. At first I would leave Thursday and come back Sunday night, but now I come home on Friday and come back Saturday night. I am now comfortable with staying at school. I was lucky enough to get a great roommate and have not had any problems so far. We have a lot of fun together and have very similar personalities. We get along magnificently, which makes my experience so much better. Another way I got use to living on campus is making my room feel like home. I brought a bunch of things from my room and house to remind me of home. It is nice to have a few things that remind me of home. I picked going to Southern Connecticut State University because it is only less than an hour away from my house so it is easy for me to come home whenever I want. 

"The best example of leadership is leadership by example." ~Jerry McClain

         In high school I was very involved in extracurricular activities. I was the vice president of my class my junior and senior year. I also took part in LINK Crew, upper classmen who help the incoming freshmen get use to being in high school. I was involved in this organization all four years of high school. During my senior year I was elected to be the co-commissioner along with another student. This was the time in my life where I was a true leader. There was a specific time when we had to organize a haunted house in just a few weeks. I had to step up and lead about thirty people and arrange a great program. I split the group up into four different groups each specializing in a certain activity. When the day finally came I led the set up and everyone came to me with questions or concerns. During the haunted house I was very proud of the turn out. Every freshman that showed up loved what we did for them and had such a fun time. By then of the night I felt very accomplished in everything that happened. Even though it was very stressful throughout the planning process we all had so much fun!

      Throughout the year we put on a different activity every month. And when the year was over we were complimented on how hard we worked and what an amazing year we had. It felt wonderful to get such an admiring comment. Even a few of the freshmen asked how they could become a part of LINK Crew. This meant that they had fun at the events we put on and wanted to be apart of it.

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean

In my Psychology class, I fell intellectually stimulated. Each class we talk about ourselves. The professor wants us to learn about each of us rather than what the book has to say about us.

One week’s class was very interesting to me. It gave me a lot of ideas that I have never thought about before. In the beginning of class when Professor Fontaine told us we were going to meet someone very important, I was excited to see who the guest would be. I was wondering why they were so special to him and what they would talk about or if they would touch me in some way. When he had us first close our eyes and relax I thought he was going to hypnotize us, but he just introduced us to the special person, ourselves. After he told us the person we were going to meet today was ourselves, I didn’t have any reaction. I wasn’t disappointed that I there wasn’t an actual person coming into our class, but I wasn’t excited that I got to meet myself. I think this means that I know a little bit about myself and I am okay with the person that I am now, but I am still trying to find a little part of me that has not yet been revealed. I liked this exercise it made me relax and feel comfortable being with myself. My reaction was completely different from that on the first day of class when Professor Fontaine had us just sit in silence not knowing what was going on.

Another interesting thing we talked about in class what that even though we plan for the future, the future is really the presence. This is interesting to me because in my inquiry class I am doing a project on self-discipline. For this project I need to interview different people and one of the questions I am asking is, ‘Are you living in the moment or are you working hard now for your future?’ I was a little skeptical on asking this question after we had our class because I learned that what each person is doing now is leading them to their “future” but in reality there is never really a future, only a presence. I decided to keep the question because most people do not realize that statement and would not understand without taking this class.

“In the end we retain from our studies only that which we practically apply.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I do all my studying in my room. I am unsure of any outside places to study other than the library. However, I have not been there to study yet. In the dorm we have nice desks where I keep all my books and stay organized from each class. This is where I like to study because it is my own and I am able to find everything I need right away. I do not have to worry about forgetting anything, because I am right here and have everything I need. At my desk I have an organizer where I keep my pens, pencils, highlighters, and sticky notes. This helps me stay organized so when I am looking for something specific to help me study it is right in my reach. I use the drawer in my desk to keep all my notebooks and folders orderly. I have three piles of them one for my Monday/ Wednesday classes, another for my Tuesday/ Thursday classes, and the last pile for all my miscellaneous notebooks and papers I have. This keeps me ready and in line for each class.

The reason I like to study at my desk is because it helps me focus on what I need to do. I have all the resources I need, my books, notes, and my computer to look up questions I have. It makes me think of being in an actual classroom, since I am sitting at a desk. It is where I keep my center of attention while I am studying and doing my homework. 

dance away the pain

Usually when I am stressed I find something to do to get my mind off of whatever it is I am stressed about. This week I danced to help relieve my stress. When I dance I forget about everything else that is going on in my life at the moment and put all my emotions into my performance. Whether I am happy, sad, angry, or stressed I use that energy to perform to the best of my ability.

Whenever I come up with a dance that is impressive to others I find that it was during a time I had a strong emotion. I can create a piece of art that is expressive in my own way and others may also relate to what I am feeling.

My advise to people who are stressed is to find something that you love to do and use your anxiety and put your heart and soul into it. I find that when you find something you love you should pursue it. When you come across that special hobby you have, even if you are not good at it, use it to your advantage. Being stressed is a lot of pressure and by using your negative energy you can create something beautiful. 

Grade Inflation

I don't think grade inflation is a good thing to have in schools. There are too many kids that work hard that deserve an A in a class. Others that try their hardest will get the grade they deserve. If you don't get something then you will be able to ask the teacher and they will see how hard you are working. Therefore giving you the grade you deserve. If I was in a class and worked my hardest, and got an A, and if a friend in that same class did enough to get by, and because of grade inflation got an A. This would make me very angry because I did the work I needed, while others just got by but got the same grade. Grade inflation is not a fair way to show how well students are doing in a class. I believe that if you work your hardest you will get the grade you deserve.

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." -St. Augustine

This week my friend, Rachel, and I went to my friends’ college, Bryant University, to visit. This was a new experience for me because I am not use to going away for the weekend with just a friend. My parents are pretty strict and would never usually let me go anywhere without them or knowing exactly what I am doing. I am the youngest in my family so they are they still think I am just a little girl. My father is a police officer and only thinks of the negative things that can happen. Since my dad tells me all the things that go on, I have always been a “worry wart”. So I was a little nervous for us to drive two and a half hours on our own to get there. Neither of us knew where we were going exactly, although we had our GPS, we were not familiar with the area. I was also a little nervous because I have never driven with Rachel before and one of my biggest fears is being in a car accident.

All my nerves were subsided when we finally got there. We had no problems getting there and I was completely comfortable with Rachel’s driving. The weekend was a lot of fun! We were reunited with a few of our high school friends that we have not seen in a while. We also made many more new friends, and had the best time ever! My parents saw how responsible I was that weekend and now this weekend they are letting me go to Uconn. I am very responsible and know I will be fine I am really into competitive dancing, so during February to April most weekends I would have a dance competition and would be with my family. Going to different places each weekend has really opened me socially. I feel like I have more freedom and finally feel like an adult. I am glad I had this experience and know I will have a lot more like this. 

"Education is... hanging around until you've caught on" -Robert Frost

I was lucky enough to only have two midterms, including our Inquiry video project. My other midterm was in my western civilization class, although I did not do too well on that. Since my grade on my exam was not as good as I wanted it to be my grade in the class is not up to my expectations. I have a C+, which is passing, but I am not satisfied with this. My grades on my quizzes are excellent, but the exam messed everything up. I understand that I did not study as much as I should have and my grade is the result of that. However, I have A’s in English and Inquiry, which I am very happy with. I know I have been working hard with all the assignments in these classes and my grade reflects my efforts.

I am not good at taking tests and that is definitely a downfall I have. When I have to write a paper or do some type of project I get more into my work and put more effort into the work. I get very nervous when I have to take tests and quizzes, and I freeze and forget some of the material. What I need to work on is studying harder and longer. I get bored easily and get distracted during the time I set for studying. Since I know my grades I know what classes I really need to work harder in. I am now willing to set aside more time for studying rather than socializing. By doing this I will get the grades that I want.

Getting the Grade

 

The grade inflation that is going on in different school is unjust. If there are students from different schools who have the same grades without inflation, it is not fair to the student who is working just as hard but does not go to a school with grade inflation.

I believe that high school and college students are studying less, because having a high school or a college diploma means nothing today. Since it is like that, I feel students aren’t applying themselves because it has become a necessity to finish high school and college. When you go beyond getting a bachelors degree and going to get your masters or doctorate, is what jobs really look at. I think that is one reason that students’ grades have been decreasing in American education.

I know from my own experience I am putting the same amount of effort into my college work as I did for my high school work. I took mostly honors classes in high school and now I feel that my classes now are just a little bit more complicated than that. I know that when it comes down to it I will apply myself and get the grades I want.

"The first and best victory is to conquer self." — Plato

For my video I focused on self-discipline. I wanted to research this topic because I do not have self-discipline, and I wanted to see if other college students are really buckling down or if they are not being completely focused. I have learned that if you have self-discipline you are able to focus better and you can achieve your goals faster.

"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams." -Unknown

In one of my older posts I talked about the dance club, the Symphonic Pulse Dance Company. This dance company interested me because I have danced my entire life and not dancing for the majority of the week was devastating. When I found out I missed the Southern Connecticut State University Dance Team, I was upset, but then I saw the signs for this new dance club. I decided to go to the auditions to see if it was something I would be interested in; well I knew I would be, I was going to be dancing! I made it onto the company and started about two weeks ago.

At first I was worried because my sister has always been my dance teacher and she has a very unique style of teaching. I was worried that I would not be able to catch on to the choreography as I normally do. We started learning a dance to Thriller; it was different for me at first because the dance is inspired by African dancing. I have never taken any classes in this subject before, so I was a little bit intimidated. We still have not finished learning that dance yet but I feel comfortable with the choreography and am willing to work hard on things I do not get right away.

For the homecoming parade this weekend we are performing to Fame. This dance is more my style of dancing, it is a jazz piece that is a lot of fun! We are starting off the dance with a little bit of acting and free style. I was super excited when I they explained this to us because I can put a little of my own personal style into the dance. I am excited to perform this at the parade because it will be our first performance with everyone on the SPDC team! 

"Every kid needs a mentor. Everybody needs a mentor." -Donovan Bailey

Our class has just recently got a peer mentor, Lee. Lee is a very real person, she tells it like it is, and that’s what I like most about her. She is an inspiration to me; she has gone through so much in her life but turned her life around and is now going to graduate college. Shows us that we can do whatever we want if we have determination. She has definitely brought a positive outlook to our class. One class we did a laughing exercise that made us give off positive energy by laughing.

Lee wants us to learn about ourselves and gives us activities to do that help us with that such as writing our priorities and an ‘I am” poem. Some of us had a hard time with these activities because we do not know ourselves that much. We are still searching for who we really are.

It is nice to have a peer mentor because we are able to relate to them, because they are students here at Southern Connecticut State University just like us. Having Lee in our class adds more college level thinking and responses. She is always willing to give her opinion and express herself. I have learned a lot from Lee. She has taught that I should use more creative thinking rather than having such an original answer. That I should think outside the box. 

"Speech-Language Pathology- because silence isn't always golden." -Unknown

I am majoring in communication disorders. I have wanted to do this for a while. One day I sat down with my sister and we had a talk about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I told her that I wanted to work with children and help them in some way, but I did not want to be a teacher. I knew I wanted to work with kids because at my sister’s dance studio, I help her with the little kids and their enthusiasm is outrageous. They have so much energy and are so funny and great to be around. So knowing that I am able to help a little kid is just a great feeling! My sister introduced me to the idea of becoming a speech pathologist, and instantly I was hooked. She had majored in it when she went to Southern Connecticut State University, but ended up changing her major to psychology. She told me that she regrets her decision and wishes she had stuck to communication disorders.

What made me most interested in being a speech pathologist is being able to help people. I want to work in an elementary school and work with little kids. There is a lot of need for speech pathologists, and would be easy to get a job right out of college. A friend of my family’s is a speech pathologist at our junior high school, and she told me that I am in the right field and that she loves what she does, and knows I will love it too.

I am excited to start taking classes that I have to for this major, and I can not wait to start what I will hopefully be doing for the rest of my life!