Farewell Campus Safari's

For my final campus safari I decided to visit the Writing Center today. It’s located in Engleman A-012. I didn’t really go down there with any purpose, or question other than to find out information for my campus safari. But, with what I learned today I think I will be going down there again to get help with writing some of my papers. I’m usually a good writer when it comes to essays, but sometimes I get stuck in a rut when it comes to thinking of a thesis and how to really hook my reader. There are many tutors waiting to help you. You can meet with a tutor with a draft 100% ready for revising, or even no draft at all. I can tell that I’m going to be able to improve my writing skills after going down and meeting with a tutor more. I'm actually very happy that I picked this as my final safari, because I can now benefit from it.



 

 

Never let Success get to your Head, and Never let Failure get to your Heart.

When I sat here for a while and thought about it I realized what my greatest successes in this semester was just that I made it to the end alive. I always planned on going to college and becoming all that I can be, but I didn’t think it’d be this hard. I knew the work would be difficult, but I didn’t know that leaving my family and friends behind in little old Terryville would be this hard. I guess the easiest thing I did was move in, and just plan my future. I also think my greatest success is making it this far. After I moved in, and wasn’t happy living in a dorm room over an hour back at home, I didn’t picture myself making it to finals. I used to think of every excuse that I could so that I could just go home and not have to come back. Coming to college was such a great accomplishment because my family and I didn’t think I would be able to due to my pain syndrome still not being under control, and me always being sick and missing school. But I’m here, and I did make it to finals week of my first semester, and I think that’s my greatest accomplishment. That I made it here this far, and did pretty damn good as well. As far as my failures go, I guess that would be my procrastination. Although I did my work, holding off on it as long as possible was also part of getting it done. I always found an excuse to try and do other things before doing all my homework. At first, I was good at distracting myself with other things but then I would get too stressed if I waited until the last minute. I guess I can say that I got better with that, but it still is part of my problem. Another failure would be that I didn’t try as hard as I possibly could have. Seeing my midterm grades, and thinking about what my grades are going to be after finals, part of me wishes I just put in a little bit more effort. I did push myself, but I don’t think I really pushed myself as much as I could. And, I see that as a failure. I also didn’t remind myself how important it was that I went to every single class. It’s not that I just missed class because I didn’t go, whenever I did miss class it was because of my pain, but I wish that I pushed myself to go the days that I felt kinda bad, and truly stayed home when I was having a really bad day pain wise. All together I think my bads weigh out the good, so therefore I am happy with my performance during my first semester here at Southern. I plan on reminding myself of my failures, the rest of my time here at school so that I won’t have the same problem in the end.



Work in Progress

For my final project I definitely think that writing a 600-word blog would be easier for me instead of the video, especially because I haven’t had the absolute best luck with making videos. To start brainstorming I wrote down all the questions and started answering them to see which ones would be best to write about and answer. The questions that I thought I could really answer the most I put stars next too so that when it came time to write them in my blog I would be able to just go right to those questions. I’ve learned that when I’ve had time to really think about what I’m going to blog, and what pictures I’m going to use it makes it so easy to write. It feels like the 300+ words just came out of nowhere and it feels good to be productive like that. I always hated having to sit at my computer and think about what I was going to write because then it feels like it takes forever before you hit that 300 mark.  After I answered the questions I actually started writing it on Microsoft word now, so that I have plenty of time to think of anything else I want to add to it, and to have plenty of time to edit and revise it to the best of my abilities.  I think everyone who does this blog post will be successful in making it interesting and distinctive because they’re answering questions about themselves and you’ll be learning about what helped them, and in the end you’ll be learning more ideas for your learning styles and see if others study skills help you. I always found that reading books about someone’s life and what they’ve done and accomplished, more interesting than someone who just throws a story together. It shows that you can really do whatever you set your mind too. And, I’m curious to see if they took what I did out of our Inquiry class, so I’m really looking forward to reading peoples blogs.

 



 



Stop Thinking in Black and White

After reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp I definitely learned to look at life in a new perspective. I also believe that a lot of people would benefit from reading this book as well. While reading this I think that we learned that the definition of creativity can be based on many different things, I also think that living your life in Tharp’s perspective we will look at life in a more creative way and become greater creative thinkers. I think that creativity can be more important to some people such as engineers, people who have to design a whole building from scratch. Based off of what they’ve seen in the past and present, and thinking about what buildings would look like in the future. Society proclaims that you’re born with creativity, but I now see it differently after reading this book. For me, sitting there staring at a blank canvas is overwhelming because I’m looking at the bigger picture with what others will think and what the final outcome will look like. To others, it could be the next spot to create something spectacular. I think the easiest way to begin thinking more creatively would be if every day we took time out to draw or paint a picture. I remember being younger I would love to color and draw because it gave me the opportunity to think freely, and having no rules. I also remember that when I was in 6^th grade math my teacher told us that drawing the problem out, could really help you solve the problem, to this day I still draw out math problems to make them easier for me to solve. I think that as kids grow up, we should start teaching them that thinking freely is the easiest way to start to see the world in a more creative way.

Where to go when you need help.

Unfortunately because of my lovely kidney stones I wasn’t able to record my roommates for our third video project. Instead I had to do an all text video, although it was all text I think that this was probably the best video that I’ve made this semester. I think this video project assignment was an easier one because it dealt with what problems freshman can face their first year, and who wouldn’t know that better than a freshman. Freshman can be faced with so many different problems, so there were many different things you could do your video on. I chose two different problems and kind of put them together. A lot of times when there’s a coupled with only one of the two going into their freshman year for college, they fight a lot because they think the worst and think that the one going to college will cheat on the other one, or vice versa which creates a lot of stress, and then causes them to fight. I saw that first hand living with my roommate because her and her boyfriend fought the first two months of school because he didn’t trust her and thought that she was going to go out tonight and cheat on him. The fighting got so bad, that she ended up breaking up with him. After they took a break they realized that they really did love each other and got back together. I also used underage drinking as an example because a lot of freshman come into college and get so caught up in the partying that they lose sight for why they actually came to college. The excessive drinking in my video was what I said was fictional, because that’s not the case for me or my roommates. Also, a lot of times when someone is fighting with their significant other they use alcohol as an escape. So that’s what I did in my video. I used the fighting of my roommates relationship to lead them to turn to drinking to feel better. I then used the counseling services on campus as what she could do to get help.

 

http://www.southernct.edu/counseling/

 

Autonomy vs. Beneficence

Although I missed our class session where we learned about what autonomy means, I was still able to find out and learn to understand what it means. I found an article online Autonomy vs. Beneficence, and it states that autonomy is the “personal rule of the self that is free from both controlling interferences by others and from personal limitations that prevent meaningful choice.” Meaning that autonomy is about an individual’s independence. The article also states that beneficence is, “an action that is done to benefit others.” I learned that autonomy can mean many different things but the one that I understood the most was autonomy having to do with medicine, like in a hospital. It means that not only does autonomy allow patients to make their own decisions; doctors as well have to provide many different options for the patient to choose. Doctors also have to respect the choice of the patient no matter what that may be. Beneficence is something that definitely more understandable in a doctor/medical perspective. Doctors are expected to do whatever they can for their patients, doing so without causing harm. Doctors are supposed to do what they can to help their patients, but they don’t need to fully live up to the exact definition of beneficence, although the goal of medicine is the well-being of their patients. The article also explains that medicine is the most common way to compare the two, autonomy and beneficence because a doctor’s job is to take care of their patients and do what they can to benefit their health. And, patients have the autonomous decision to make independent choices for what their doctor does to help, and treat them. Meaning, as long as the patient makes an autonomous decision, the doctor’s duty is to respect and fulfill the patients decision.

http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/ethics/content%20pages/fast_fact_auton_bene.htm

 

A Little Bit of an Explanation.

I can definitely say from experience that kidney stones are the worst things to ever have happen to you. I didn’t even know what kidney stones were until my doctor told me in the emergency room that I had them and that’s why I was in so much pain. Like any other 18 year old with an iPhone I immediately started researching them and what caused them, and they weren’t kidding when they said it was something pretty serious. I’m usually the one who always gets sick so I thought I was on a roll, it being November and not getting sick my entire first semester of college. But, I should have known that I had something more serious coming my way and that I did. I unfortunately missed classes from November 20, until yesterday. Due to the heavy narcotic pain medication that I was on, I wasn’t able to drive or even begin all the work that I had missed. Now that I’m a little better, here are the blogging assignments that I wasn’t able to do until now.

 

Video Project 3

Then and Now

The activity that I chose to do was to take a family picture and study it, to see if it is indisputably similar to my life today, and to the person who I’ve become. I picked this picture because this is the last picture I see before I go to bed, and the first thing I see when I wake up. It was taken when I was about 2, making my mom only 18. Being a young mother is probably the hardest thing you’ll ever face in your life, especially having to do it on your own. Immediately, I noticed that my mom has both her arms around me, showing that I was her whole world and that is the same today. I’m my mom’s first born, and I can say without a doubt, that I am still her world. I talk to my mom on the phone at least twice a day, and text her all day, every day. She is my best friend. This picture was taken in our old house. My mom actually ended up renting an apartment after I was born for just us, and we ended up staying there for a while. Being able to support a child, and live on your own and only being 17, shows  how strong and determined my mom was to do what she could for me. Everything in the picture is still the same, my mom loves me more than life itself, and she still does anything she can for me. The only differences in the picture are clearly that my mom and I grew up, I’m now 18 and my mom is 34. We also don’t live in that same house anymore, and I also have a 12 year old sister. Unfortunately, my mom is still raising us by herself, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. My mom continuously shows me what it’s like to be strong, and that is why I’m sitting here writing this. I’m in school to better myself, so that when my mom is old and on her own, I will be able to take care of her the way she took care of me. I’m here to show my mom that she did a great job raising me, and that she led me on the right track because I’m in college and pursuing my career. This exercise really showed me how thankful I am for everything that my mom has done, and reminded me of how much harder I want to push myself to come out on top and accomplish my goals to benefit for me, my mother, and my sister.  

 

Let your faith be stronger than your fears.

Even though I’m only 18, I can honestly say that I’ve faced so many setbacks that I really shouldn’t have any fears. I watched my dad walk out on me and my mom at the age of 3, like it was nothing. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 13, and was informed of how my white blood cells were attacking my organs. I lost all feeling and movement in my left leg and spent months on crutches and then was later diagnosed with a pain syndrome at the age of 15. Obviously those are only a few of the many things that I’ve been through and overcame, but for the fact that I’m here, a freshman in college right now is a shock for me, and a huge shock for my family. After missing all the school that I did over the past two years, my teachers, principal, and family had been set on the fact that I was not going to graduate on time. And, that’s where my fears come in. I’m terrified of disappointing my family. Although my family tried to hide it, I could tell that they were extremely disappointed when they heard that I wasn’t going to graduate with my class due to my excessive absences. That honestly hurt me more than anything, so I set my mind to work and I worked my ass off, of course it all paid off in the end, because I did graduate on time but it’s the fact that I had for that moment disappointed my family that really killed me. I’m pushing myself so hard in college because at the end of the day, I want to be able to show my mom, grandma, and grandpa that I will do anything to make them proud. The feeling I get when I know that they’re upset with me is honestly the worst feeling in the world, I don’t even know how to describe it. My other fear would have to be that I’m not going to ever be able to be happy. As long as I have this pain syndrome, and my day to day life is affected because of my pain, I won’t ever truly be happy. And because I know that this pain syndrome is something you’re stuck with for the rest of your life, scares me more than anything.

Campus Safari, Career Services

For this week’s campus safari I visited the Career Services. They’re located on campus and the times are perfect, making them available to all students no matter what their schedule. There hours are, Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. If you are an undecided major, I would definitely recommend you visit the Career Services, they help you chose a major that is perfect for you based on what you like to do and where your strong suits are. They also offer counseling with a professional to help with many things that you’ll need as a college student such as resume writing, career options, job search strategies, and many other career related topics.

"Learn it and Use it for Life"

At first I wasn’t sure what reading The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp was going to be like because we definitely have had a different variety of reading assignments. After the first couple pages I realized that I was going to enjoy this book. I think one of the main reasons that I enjoyed this book is because it’s a free writing book, unlike Thriving in College and Mindset. This was Twyla telling her story, and her personal life goals and habits. I also really like the way that she wrote the book, the font was a reasonable size but she did something that other authors haven’t really ever done before. She would write the important words, in bold, usually bigger than the rest of the words on the page, and some in a different color as well. I found chapter two to be really interesting, it was about rituals of preparation. I think this chapter can apply to everyone because we all have our weird rituals when we wake up, and before we go to bed. On page 15, Twyla says, “We all have rituals in our day, whether we’re aware of them or not.” That is completely true because every morning I wake up, take my thyroid pill, eat breakfast, get dressed, do my hair and makeup, brush my teeth and then I’m on my way. Whether or not that’s the order you do that in, we all doing our morning rituals the same everyday which then forms muscle memory, meaning you don’t even have to think about it anymore, you just do it. I also like that throughout the book, there are exercises that you can do to really further your thinking about what she’s trying to prove and show you. That’s also something that many free writing books, don’t include. I think that really makes this book unique.

Majors Expo

I’ve completely looked passed the fact that I went to the Majors Expo on October 10, and that it was on the list for a campus safari option. I went there just to see what other majors have to offer, being a nursing major you have to be prepared for the competition and how much effort you have to put into it. But, then again you can put in endless amounts of work, have a high GPA and you could still be disappointed in the end. I guess what I’m getting at is that I want to keep my options open. I learned a lot about a lot of majors and all the different pre requisites you have to do, to even qualify. Another major I’ve been interested in after visiting the majors expo is psychology. I feel like it gave a lot of good information and help for those who are undecided.  

Halfway done

Although I did study for midterms, I guess I really have to get out of the high school mindset when it comes to tests. I’ve always had a problem telling myself that I don’t need to study that if I don’t already know all the material than I just won’t within the next day or two. And again, that got the best of me. After seeing my midterm grades, I was a little upset with my math grade but I know that I can bring my grade up by the end of the semester if I just continue to get help with what I’m struggling on. I also was really disappointed in my French grade, but I also realized that I need to ask for help with another language because that’s something that just doesn’t come easily. I actually have a meeting set up with my French teacher to improve my grade. All in all I wasn’t completely disappointed in my grades because I realized that I had a B in my anthropology class which I didn’t think was at all possible. I noticed that when I’m not as much interested in a class I just don’t work as hard in it, but I guess with what I am studying it paid off. But I’m going to continue to do the work and study to show that I can be successful in that class if I just set my mind to it. I’m choosing to not share my GPA right now because I know it would be greatly affected by my French grade and that’ll just set me back. I could also say that my grades do represent how much time and effort I’ve put into my work because honestly, I haven’t put that much time into actually studying for each class and taking the time to do all the homework. But I know now how I performed this half of the semester and plan on improving for the second half.

Failure to Complete Monday's Blog

This past weekend I spent most of my time in and out of the doctor’s office and hospital, between giving blood and getting all these tests done. I didn’t come back to school until Monday morning, and then after my last class I had to go home for another doctor’s appointment to inform me of the results from all the tests that I had to take. My doctor wrote me a note and excused me from all my classes on Monday so I didn’t get a time to really walk around campus and find a sculpture or piece of artwork because of how shitty I was feeling. And on my way to class Tuesday afternoon one of my close friends from home called me and told me that one of our friends was found dead. That was probably the worst thing I could have ever heard, I immediately drove straight home and was surrounded by all the people that I love as we asked ourselves why this had to happen to someone we all loved so much. I ended up driving back to school late Tuesday night, and haven’t left my room all day today. Although this isn’t an excuse to not get my blog done, I just don’t have the energy to walk around campus right now. So there goes assignment number one for this week.

Campus Safari; Office of Study Skills Enrichment

Once again, I fell back on assignments and forgot my last week’s campus safari so here it goes. Last week I stopped by The Office of Study Skills Enrichment, and I learned about all the things that they have to offer. This office can really help everyone here at Southern. They provide you with tips to help you deal with things we all deal with, my main challenge time management. I asked them how they thought I could improve my time management and they explained that I should work on scheduling everything in my assignment book. Plan out what days and what times I’m going to do my homework, other times when I’m going to study, and when I just want to relax. They also told me that once I work on follow this set schedule I will eventually get used to it, and it’s a great way to really manage your time efficiently. They also provide tips on better note taking skills and strategies for taking tests.

A Little Less Stress

There’s probably nothing I stress out about than taking tests. Whenever I study for tests and then I get the actual test in front of me, anxiety takes over and I just blank and forget everything I study, so me and tests don’t really get along. And I stress out even more when it comes to taking midterm and finals. Me and my roommate decided to relax we would get some food at Conn, and then just walk around. We usually always eat in our room, Easy Mac or Ramen but we thought to help relax we’d actually eat a real meal. After we ate, we just walked around campus, down to Davis and then back around past Morrill and the Student Center and then back to our room. Walking is something that really relaxes me and doing it with someone else also really helps me. When we came back to our room I found that I was actually ready to study for my tests and it was easier to concentrate when I had an open mind. Something I also found that helped relieve stress was just hanging out with some friends and talking about stuff that wasn’t school related. Stress is something that I deal with on a day to day basis with my back so I’m used to finding things that can help me relieve stress, but having to relieve stress at school, because of school isn’t really something that I found easy to do. Using my tens unit is also actually very relaxing, so I used it while we walked around again the other night. I never realized that just talking a stroll around campus would actually prepare me more for studying and to help relieve some stress. I took my Geography midterm today and after walking around last night and then studying, I felt really good about taking the test and new all of the information. I think that’s something I’m going to take into consideration when I prepare for finals as well.

West Hall, Our Dorm

Midterm Madness

When I first started college I had high hopes for myself based on getting work done and being able to get good grades. Then once school started I realized that I anticipated little work, and a lot of time, when actually it’s a lot of work and a little bit of time. I think that was the hardest thing getting used too. Once I was adjusted to school and the work load I was able to get a better control on all of my homework. Now that it’s midterms, looking back I realize that I didn’t really accomplish all of my set goals, but I did accomplish a good amount of them. My successes would have to be just being able to get the work done, no matter what. You have to set your time based on how well you’re going to get it done. I used to just do my homework the day before it was due, but I ran into some difficulties with that because there were always other things that I wanted to be doing than homework. Sometimes, I did pick anything except homework and other nights I would stay in my room and get my work done. Now that it’s midterms I started doing my homework in advance. When I go home on the weekends, I always try to do my blog assignment early, and whatever homework I’d have due the next Monday morning I would get done too so that I wouldn’t have to take any homework home with me. I started realizing that I learned the material more when I would do the homework early and then study it more a couple days before it was due. The tests became easier to take, and the material became easier to understand. When midterms are over I do plan on still doing my homework in advance because it really helps me. But, I’m also going to work on studying quite a bit more and putting more effort into that.

 

 

"Failure is Success, if we learn from it." -Malcom S. Forbes

In Mindset by Carol S. Dweck we learned about the two different mindsets, a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A growth mindset being the basic belief that basic qualities are things you can achieve through effort, and a fixed mindset being the belief that you have only a fixed amount of intelligence and cannot change that. In my opinion I think that you’re only setting yourself up to fail if you don’t have an open mind about working towards something that might take hard work, but you don’t give up and you can achieve it. Also I think that having a fixed mindset won’t let you grow as a person, and you won’t find the need to work as hard as you possibly can on something. Throughout high school I would say that I had a growth mindset up until my senior year. My junior year I told myself that at the end of the year I would have been on the honor roll all three terms, with nothing lower than an 85, and I did just that. I pushed myself as hard as I possibly could and even when I was going to physical therapy twice a week and that took up a lot of time, I was determined to find time to do my homework and study for tests and quizzes and I did achieve that. But, once I started my senior year my mindset changed completely. I was struggling in my math class, and because it’s been hard for all four years in high school, I just gave up. Even when I worked really hard in math and stayed after school to get extra help, my test scores just showed that I truly didn’t understand the material I decided that it wasn’t worth all the work I put into it to just continuously fail the tests. At the beginning of May, my principal sat me down and told me I wasn’t going to graduate if I didn’t pass my math class. I tried explaining to him that no matter what I did, I was still going to fail anyway. Finally, once I realized that I was on the fence for graduation I started making up all the homework that I chose to never hand in, and worked harder than I have ever possibly worked I ended up passing my math class. That right there just shows me that you’re setting yourself up to fail if you have a fixed mindset, and if you don’t believe that you can accomplish great things with dedication.  

"Success is on the other side of your comfort zone"

Although this might not be what someone looks at as “stepping out of you comfort zone,” for me I just wasn’t used to it. I think college in general is a big step away from something you’re used to for something new just because you got used to going to high school every day, relying on your parents, and just being able to see your best friends every day. Now, in college it’s a whole new ball game. You’re responsible for you, making sure to get all your work done on time, cleaning up after yourself in your dorm room, and just going to class in general. And now that I’m finally getting completely adjusted to being away from home I realized I started doing other things that I’m just not used too. When I was in high school, I could simply careless about homework. I didn’t see there to be any point because half of my teachers didn’t even look at it, I saw it as a complete waste of time. Well as senior year was flying by, so was I. I never did my homework, and the only reason I passed quizzes and tests was because I knew I had to really pay attention in class the day before. But other than that, I didn’t even put in any actual effort. That Kayla is gone. I would do homework when college first started but I would always procrastinate and put it off until the last minute. I now finally started doing my homework the exact day I got it, and I also started looking at the syllabus more and more and getting work that’s due next week done as well. I realized that being more responsible has really helped me, it relieved a lot of stress. Now when I’m home working on the weekends I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to fit in time to do my blog for INQ or any other classes I have homework for. Stepping outside of what I’m used to and actually doing my work in advance seems to have really helped myself as well because I’m seeing my grades improve. So I’m actually pretty glad that I pushed myself to start getting work done earlier and I plan on keeping that going the rest my time here at Southern.

You're not alone

For this week’s campus safari I decided to look into the counseling services so I visited the counseling department. They are located in Engleman B-219, you can contact them by phone or fax, the phone number is 1-(203)-392-475. They’re open Monday through Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm. I learned that there is always a counselor available every day for walk-ins and are also on call for phone consultations. The counseling services also provide a good amount of support groups to remind you that you’re not alone. The group topics are Grief, Women’s General Concerns, Healthy Relationships, Eating Disorders, Men’s General Concerns, and Graduation/Transition Stress. I personally think the Transition Stress is something that can help everyone because getting used to college isn’t easy and it’s definitely a long process and it just shows that there are other people who feel the way you feel even if you think you’re alone. I think this is something everyone should check out.

"Everyone should own this book." -Chip Heath & Dan Heath

I completely agree with the argument in Mindset about the two mindsets, growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Everyone has their own mindset some people do have a growth mindset and are open to new ideas and learning new things. I personally have a fixed mindset when it comes to school because I tell myself that I’m bad at math I always prepare to fail in that class. The other day I had a test and I said “oh why even really try because I’m just going to fail it anyways.” But I feel like that right there is just setting yourself up to fail. If you tell yourself that you’ll ace the test, you definitely have an open mind and you probably will ace that test. I think the 10,000 hours really relates to a growth mindset because people who have a growth mindset know that they’re going to have to work really hard to achieve something. And no matter how long or how hard they have to work that they’re going to be happy with the outcome. They’re responsible for how much time and effort they put into something knowing that you won’t really become a “master” at something until you really work those 10,000 hours. But, at the same time I think it also ties into a fixed mindset because you tell yourself, if you work 10,000 hours for something you will become a master at something. So once you put in the 10,000 hours and maybe at first you don’t succeed because you’ll give up because you told yourself “I only needed 10,000 hours, if I’m not good at it now I won’t be good at it at all.” Then you won’t put in maybe the extra couple hours that you needed and then you think you failed. I think mindsets also have a lot to do with motivation because if you’re not motivated to really work for something then you have a fixed mindset, and someone who has a growth mindset and strives for accomplishing things, they have a lot more motivation to get that accomplished.

 

 

Video Project

The reason I chose the topic Commuting vs. Living on Campus is because when I got accepted into Southern that was something I really debated whether I wanted to stay at home and go to school 2-3 times a week or live here, going to class pretty much everyday. I asked a lot of people what they thought I should do and with every single one of these responses were answers that I got. The whole living on campus was based off of being able to get used to the college life somewhat quicker with living here, and being able to get involved and not fully going into college alone because you'll have your roommates as well. Also I'd be saving myself a lot of money for gas by driving back and forth. But, then again some people also told me that I should commute, to start off my first year without the whole peer pressure atmosphere with the partying and being able to get a grip on your work life and school life. I finally thought long and hard and I did decide to live on campus. I decided based on knowing that when things got rough I'd always have my roommates shoulder to lean on and I'd never actually be alone. I also wanted to be able to get used to it for when I knew I absolutely wanted to live here my next few years in college. I also wanted to be somewhat prepared for the real world for once I do graduate college, I want to be able to get an apartment and live on my own and living on campus really teaches you that. It teaches you to be independent, and to take on your own responsibilites because no matter how close you and your roommate or roommates are, they're not going to pick up after you so you learn a sense of how to take care of yourself as well.

Meeting with our Professor

For this week’s campus safari I met with my INQ professor. Professor Guarino’s office is located in Englemen, D244 near the English department. Her office hours are Tuesday Thursday 8:35-9:35am or by appointment. The best way to make an appointment with her is to email her. I learned that even though our Inquiry class counts as a class, and we do get credits for it, it’s more of a class to just get you used to college and to ease your way into your freshman year. I think that’s a good idea because my friends who go to other colleges don’t have an actual “first year experience” class so they just immediately walk into college and get started without getting any help and really no guidance. I also learned that we won’t be taking any exams in this class so we don’t have to worry about a midterm and a final, although we will have to do video projects which get posted on our blogs.

Our First Video Project

For our first video project at first I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and just immediately started freaking out about it when I thought about the fact of having to do that on my own. I finally decided I’d think about it for a couple days and I finally was able to think about the question I was going to ask and who I was going to ask, but it still scared me more than anything. After meeting with Professor Guarino it made me feel more at ease with her really explaining what she was looking for and how we could set it up. I also watched a couple of the examples that our professor posted on her blog and those also really helped me get a complete idea of what was expected of us. I decided that since I live on campus that my question that I’m going to ask is why it’s more beneficial living on campus for freshman than commuting. I think that us living here really helps us get eased into college so that way we’re used to living for the next four years. So I’m really interested in what they think and why they think it’s more beneficial. For my two upperclassmen I plan on asking them what in their opinion they believe is better for freshman for commute, or live on campus. I have a feeling they’re going to say commute because they both commute. I also plan on asking one of my CCs the same question, what they think is more beneficial with freshman living on campus or commuting. I think this question is important because there are probably facts on which freshman do overall academically better, freshman who live on campus or freshman who commute. I think this will make an interesting video because it’s a question that incoming freshman ask themselves, and their parents all the time.

My Time

I really liked the Self-Study for time assignment because it broke down our days to where we had to record and it and it showed us where we all really spend our time. Because of the different medications that I’m on for my back and my leg, a lot of them have drowsy as a side effect so sleep was one of my main focuses on my chart. Not that I sleep all day, every day it’s just that some nights I have to go to bed earlier that other nights, and some days  I have to take pain medication during the day which also caused me to take a nap in between classes. I also noticed that I spent a lot of time driving back and forth to school because of all my doctor’s appointments. I had two doctor’s appointments last week and it takes me an hour to drive to school so back and forth that was 8 hours of my week that I spent just driving. I also noticed that although I spent a good amount of my time doing homework and studying, I realized that I could have probably spent a little more time on that. I think the reason I don’t spend as much time as I should on work is because I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. In between my classes I always tell myself in the morning that I’m going to get some homework done, but in the afternoon I always decide that there’s always something “more important” for me to do. Or that if I do all my homework at one time I’ll focus better on it all, which definitely isn’t true. From now on I’m going to plan an hour in between for me to actually get some work done that way I won’t have as much to do later on in the night. I’m also going to try to cut back on how much time I drive to and from school even though it’s a necessity for me.

Soccer Game

I really need to keep reminding myself about the campus safari assignments being due on Saturday’s because I always forget or I need to start doing them in advance. But my roommates and I and our friends went to the home soccer game on Wednesday, September 19, and it was a boys game. We couldn’t believe all the people that we there to support our team and it was a really good game. The boys defeated University of New Haven with the score of 2-0. On top of that win, the boys have won three other games and ended up tying in another game.

A for Effort

Today’s blogging assignment was to blog about who I thought should receive and A on their blog, and at first I was thinking sure, this will be easy. But again, I was wrong. I think this was a good assignment because it made us really think about what we think should be in a blog and what we thinks make them unique and it also made us take a minute and actually read and look at everyone’s blog. I read a bunch and that’s when it really hit me, I can’t pick one or two blogs that I thought received an A because I thought each blog was unique in their own ways. Especially with this being my first time actually ever having a blog I don’t know the dos and don’ts of blogs and I don’t know what makes blogs unique and interesting based on grading level. In my opinion I think as long as you do each assignment you should get a good grade because you’re doing the homework. But I also think that if you actually take the time out and make your blog look presentable than you should receive an A. I found all of the blogs unique in their own ways; I saw some that were set up so that you can just scroll right down and you have them all right in front of you. Then I also saw ones that you had to click on each post, which I thought was cool because those were really different from all the others. Some people probably think that length should be included in how you’re graded but I think that for a blog you should be able to keep it short and sweet, but also making sure you’re hitting all the necessary points. I also liked the blogs that included links for the points they were trying to make because then you can go and look at  what that website also said about the topic they’re talking about. I think as long as you hit all the points, you include a picture and make your blog your own I think you should receive an A.

 

College Survival Guide

Coming into college I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but after going to orientation and welcome weekend I was a little relieved after learning all the tips from my OA’s. One of the tips that I received that really made moving into college a lot easier was to find my roommates on facebook and twitter before moving in. I couldn’t believe how relieving it was to know that I wasn’t moving into a room with strangers, by the end of the summer I was actually moving into a room with my friends. When I first meet new people, I’m a very shy person and don’t really talk but being as me, Shelby, and Ashley talked pretty much all summer long so when I walked into our room I wasn’t worried about having to make friends with these people that I’ve never met before because we were already friends. The second I got here we all clicked, and even though we’ve only been at school a couple weeks we’ve gotten very close. Another tip that I was thankful for was all the help the Disability Resource Center gave me, because of my pain syndrome I have weekly meetings with Amy and she told me once I am able to connect with my professors it’ll be easier for me to talk to them about my disability. After giving them an overview of my pain syndrome and how I feel my first semester would go, it was a lot easier for me to talk to my professors about it. I learned that your professors do care about every single one of their students regardless of how many students they have. I also learned that your professors are there to see and help you do your best in college, but they also make sure that you take up the responsibilities you have in college. If you’re having a problem with understanding something you’re going over in class, although the professor is there for help, they aren’t going to keep you after class and make sure you’re aware of your decreasing grade. They’re going to make sure you make the adult decision in making an appointment with them and getting the help you need. So I guess that is also a good tip I was reminded of, that your professors aren’t like your high school teachers and that you actually need to stay aware of your grades.

 

 

Campus Safari #3

When I visited the health center, I was informed that one of the biggest health problems that college students suffer from is stress. I’m sure that some of you reading this are thinking that stress isn’t a big thing, and something that the health center wouldn’t even be involved in. But you’re wrong. Stress isn’t just the overwhelming feeling you get when you’re preparing for a midterm or a final. It affects people very differently; stress often causes people anxiety and can give them very bad anxiety attacks. Stress can also cause migraines, back pain, and can even make some people sick. Teenagers are more vulnerable to stress because of the overwhelming feeling of new demands and pressures. The transition from high school to college is one of the biggest stress factors on college students due to the increasing about of work load and all the new responsibilities you have to take on. Some people who often aren’t able to find ways to relieve stress, can develop depression, which is also a very serious health problem. The health center is located on Wintergreen Ave near West Campus. The health center is open Monday-Thursday 8am until 6pm and Friday 8am to 4pm.

My Everyday Struggle

 

My disability isn’t something I volunteer to talk about, although I will talk about it when I have too. But, talking about it helps me realize how strong I truly am. Two years ago I faced one of the worst things a 15 year old girl could imagine. During cheerleading practice I was tumbling, and unfortunately my hand slipped, and so did I. Three days later I went to the doctors and got x-rays on my back but, nothing severe showed. I was okay with the back pain, because it didn’t really affect me every day. Then, a month later I woke up and couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t even being to describe the sharp shooting pain in my back, and my entire left leg was numb. I spent a week in the hospital, had MRI after MRI and still, nothing too alarming ever showed up. Finally I got a nerve test and I got some answers, but not anything I really wanted to hear. I got diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, which is very hard for me to explain, but a shorter version is chronic pain due to dysfunction of the central nervous system, so I’m going to post a link of the actual definition. But getting diagnosed with that pain syndrome, meant that I could be on crutches for a very long time, or I could be up and walking again in a couple days. I got hit with the being on crutches for a while, and was out of school for 3 months. When I started getting stronger, my physical therapist finally let me try the walking bars with the harness, and stumble after stumble; I was finally walking without the crutches. It took a lot longer for me to get the feeling back in my leg than we thought it would, so I was out of school for a longer period of time. Once I was cleared by my newest and most frequent visited doctor, my pain management doctor I was able to go back to school. By then, I had been so far behind, but I wasn’t letting this awful setback completely ruin my life. I worked three times harder on my makeup work, and by the end of the year I actually was on the honor roll with honors, and received nothing lower than an 85. Looking back I realized that even though I missed so much school, I set my mind to make all that work up and, I was able to do that and then some. It taught me to never let my disability get the best of me. CRPS is a pain syndrome that once you’re diagnosed with it, you will suffer from it for the rest of your life. It does affect my learning, and it does affect my life everyday but it’s something that I will never let fully ruin me. Even if I have to work twice as hard as some people in college, I will never give up on myself.

 

 

                      http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/complex-regional-pain-syndrome/DS00265

 

Success is my only Option.

I would define the word successful as setting your mind to a goal, mine being to graduate college with my nursing degree, and doing whatever you have to, to accomplish that goal. In the reading of “Thriving in College and Beyond” chapter 3, successful is defined as the means to achieve a desired outcome. Success comes from the Latin root successus which literally means “to follow or come after.” It also tells you that by definition, success involves an order or sequence of actions that will lead to a desired outcome. That meaning the process starts with identifying an end, a goal and then doing whatever you have to, to reach that goal. It advises you that setting a goal is the first step in the process of becoming successful, because it gives you something to push forward to and it ensures that you will start off going in the right direction. To me, setting a goal and pushing forward isn’t the only thing to becoming successful. Obviously, graduating college is a great success but I think graduating and being remembered is actual success, and pushing through all of your hardships to make sure that your goal was achieved. Becoming a part of your school and joining clubs is important and is how I think you can be remembered more at your school, professors and administrators are more likely to remember you 10 years down the line if you were active in the school and participated in things. Other than being the kid who might go to class everyday sit in the back, do their homework every night and have an A average the entire semester. As good as getting the A every semester is, getting involved in your school and achieving your goals at the same time really shows everyone how successful you actually are. Also by setting goals, you show yourself and everyone else that you truly are determined to make sure that your dreams really do come true. And obviously, once your goal, or dream, or whatever you happen to be striving for is achieved, that is the ultimate form of success.

Work Out

One of the most popular places on campus for students is the fitness center. As like the rest of the staff and students on campus, the workers at the fitness center were so nice and eager to answer all of my questions. Most students pay for their membership on their hoot loot card and for the fall semester it costs 60$ and together for the fall and spring semesters it costs $120. They have a lot of different classes you can choose to participate in such as zumba, kickboxing, spins, and dance to name a few. Due to my pain syndrome I can’t really participate in programs like that, but I did do zumba at my gym before I got hurt and I really enjoyed it. The fitness center has a very reasonable hours as well to allow all the kids time to go. Monday through Thursday they’re open 7am-10pm, Friday 7am-8pm, Saturday 9:30am-4:30pm and on Sunday 2pm-7pm. Although I’m not able to really do anything at the fitness center, it definitely don’t seem like a bad place to get a job.

"Blogging is for Losers"

When I first read the syllabus and saw that we were going to have to blog 3 times a week, all that I could think of was that blogging is for losers. I always thought that blogging were for the kids in high school who always found something to complain about and put it on the internet for everyone to see. Man, was I wrong, I guess that’s why they tell you to never assume things. When I was researching about blogs I actually found a long list of celebrities who have blogs such as Pamela Anderson and Kim Kardashian. I noticed that some blogs are more informational such as the Wall Street Journal Blog, and the Army Live blog. But also, some blogs are just all about you; Kim Kardashian’s blog mainly showed pictures of her daily outfits, her favorite shoes, and all the magazine covers she was on. For me, I found blogs to be more interesting when they had pictures and video clips to watch. When I was looking at different blogs I actually got side tracked from writing this blog entry, to reading some of the ones I found. I also found many organized blogs to be appealing rather than just having things all over the place. One thing I didn’t like in some of the blogs I looked at was how lengthy one entry was. I feel like with blogging you should keep entries short and to the point. When I made my blog I wasn’t really looking for something specific, I just wanted something I thought looked nice. As a blogger, I hope to eventually be able to navigate through my blog without feeling like I have no idea what I’m doing. I also want to keep mine somewhat short, so that I can quickly catch my readers attention without them having to read through something so long.

Here is a link for the top 25 most famous blogs;

http://wpguerrilla.com/25-famous-blogs-that-use-wordpress/

The Start of a Whole New Experience

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College is the place you go to pursue further education and it builds you more as a person. College is a whole new experience of not only education, but also learning how to share a living space with someone else, or maybe even two people that chances are you don’t know. College also faces you with adult making decisions, when you're faced with the option of going out to a party with your friends or staying in your dorm alone to study for the test you have the following day. It teaches you to be independent because with living in a dorm you can't depend on your parents to clean your room, or to make your bed. You’re also faced with many responsibilities, your parents can’t call you out of class because you missed the bus or don’t feel well, in college, professors don’t care if you don’t show up to class because they’re getting paid to teach whether you’re there or not. You decide if you want to go to class or not, but if you don’t you’re also making the decision of missing work and losing points on your final grade. Also your parents aren’t in charge of checking your grades and setting up appointments if you need help, that’s your job in college now and you won’t be advised by administration all the time to check up and make sure you’re passing all your classes. In high school I didn’t really care about my attendance or how much classed I missed, and that’s a goal I have for myself. In college, I don’t plan on missing class unless it’s an emergency and something very serious. I also plan on focusing more on my school work than going out to parties every night. As a blogger, I hope to get better in navigating around my blog and do my best at writing these assignments so that other people find them interesting and want to read them.