Final assessment

            I remember the day I enrolled as a student at Southern Connecticut State University. My high school offered an opportunity for on the spot admission. I met with a representative from Southern and they either accepted me or rejected me right then and there. This decision depended on if I was the type of student that met the schools requirements. Well, as it turned out, I was the type of student that the representative from Southern thought would be a good fit for the University. That was one of the most nerve racking days of my high school career. Now here I stand, a freshman at Southern just finishing up my first semester.
       Since my arrival at Southern Connecticut State University I have had some positive experiences throughout my first semester and some negative ones as well. At first, I was unsure of what to think of the English and Inquiry classes being combined. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get along with the group of people that were in both classes. As it turned out, I have developed some great relationships with the students in these classes, that will continue now that the classes are completed. It also made me more comfortable as a public speaker because we all became very comfortable with each other and that made it easy to present in front of a group.
       Another experience that I had that was helpful but difficult for me was the Campus Safarais. With my class work from my other classes it was hard to get to all sixteen assignments on time. The Campus Safaris did help me get to know the campus better and to experience parts of the school campus that I might not have known about. Going to a SCSU football game was a lot of fun and I got to meet new people and a free foam finger!! GO OWLS!!!
       My blogs helped me in different ways. At first, I hated the idea of posting a blog to write about things that I never found important. Having to actually write them made me reflect on the importance of the topics that were assigned. Now that I am finished with my blog, I can look back and see how much I have grown and improved.
       I tried to start off using Windows Movie Maker and I gave up. It was difficult and confusing. When Jennifer presented the I MOVIE to the class, I decided to give that a try. I became really comfortable using it and I enjoyed making all three of the movies that I had to make this semester. My favorite was my negotiator movie.
       One thing I had trouble with starting college was following the syllabuses given to me by each professor. Unlike high school some teachers don’t tell you when assignments are due of ever the day of tests and quizzes. I got a wake up call the first time I was supposed to read an assignment in inquiry and I hadn’t known because I didn’t check the syllabus. The next day when the class was having a discussion on the reading and I had no idea what they were talking about, I got a wake up call. That day I took each of my syllabuses and wrote down in my planner the dates of my assignments, tests and quizzes.
       Since I’ve had a taste of college life I’ve come to find that I don’t really know who I am yet. I may present myself differently but when it comes down to it this semester I already have discovered some things that I never thought I’d be doing. Things such as being so open to new people, being able to create my own movie, and managing my time so well. I’ve changed a lot since August. Inquiry has made me a more rounded person not only in the class room but in real life too. I now listen to both sides of the story and try to look at the whole picture rather then just having my own small perspective and my own bias opinion. I know that I’m on the right path by attending Southern Connecticut State University. I feel like I’m making my mother proud being her first child to attend college. Inquiry has taught me a lot of things to steer me towards a successful future.

FINAL *i have a dream

CLICK TO WATCH MY VIDEO

success vs failure

Failures: I think my biggest failure of this semester was when I first came to Southern Connecticut. I freaked out and made myself a nervous wreck. I didn’t take tests as well as I know how to and I just completely overwhelmed myself. My high school had prepared me for college but when I got here I lost my mind, everything I was taught in the past four years had just gone out the window. I think if I wasn’t so nervous the first couple weeks I would have ended up doing a little bit better this semester.

Weakness: My number one weakness was probably the campus safaris. I’m still not finished with them and its really bothering me that I might not be able to finish them all in time. I thought it was hard to complete all of the sixteen items on the list.

Successes: My biggest success was imovie. I never thought I’d be able to use technology in such a fun way and its amazing to see what the video comes out to look like in the end. Another success that I found myself accomplishing this semester was speaking. I am much more comfortable speaking in front of my class and doing presentations. I thank my inquiry class for this because it all started when I was able to let everyone see me being silly in the first group video that we did. I look at this semester successfully as a whole because I worked hard through all the obstacles and challenges thrown my way and it all showed in the end. I am open to new things, my study habits are better and I’m learning to adapt quicker to change.

A dream with a finish line

Goals. Throughout my life I have made many goals, some I achieved and some I didn’t. A goal can also be thought upon as a dream with a finish line. I think success comes from having goals and then working to accomplish them. I’ve made some goals for myself for next semester that I plan on sticking to.

My academic goals have two elements to them. One is to stay more organized. I am the type of person to keep everything clean and put together but once I let a couple things get out of place it seems everything comes out of place and I’m left with a mess of papers, pens and notebooks. Therefore I plan on keeping everything neat without letting anything get out of place and hopefully that helps me to stay organized. The second academic goal I have is to raise my GPA higher then it was this semester. I’m not saying that I didn’t do well this semester because I have been trying very hard but it would just be nice to know that I have the ability to strive for that and actually be able to obtain the GPA I’m looking for.

Personally my goal for next semester is to start going to the zumba and kick boxing classes that they have every night in the gym at the student center. I went to a couple in the beginning of the semester but my friends weren’t as into it as I was and they stopped going. Once they stopped I didn’t want to go alone so I stopped going. I regret that and plan to start again as soon as next semester hits.

Last but not least I have a very important social goal for myself next semester. My roomate left this semester because she was homesick. I live by myself now because she just couldn’t take being away from home. Her and I first met on move in day and we got along really well but towards the middle of the semester we started having problems. A different girl is assigned to my room next semester and I am making it a goal of mine to try really hard to get to know he and try my best to get along with her. I think I need to be more accepting of how she feels and I learned this because my roomate was not accepting with how I was feeling.

*My new roommate Shelby!

Hopefully I can accomplish my goals. I won’t stop for anything because success doesn’t just happen you have to make it happen.

this semester!

I believe my english/Inq class is very special. At the begining of the semester I don't think any of us had ever met before and yet we came together as if we've known eachother for years. We've spent countless hours doing the same assignments and working on the same papers. During Lee time we talk about things that we normally wouldn't have said if Lee wasn't asking us. I've learned a lot from each and every person in that class. I've learned to interact with different personalities and I've gotten close to some people that I wouldn't have expected to be close with. Also we all had to learn how to cope with being thrown into a real world experience for a couple of hours and that is probably one thing I will never forget. That day my class and I saw what it was like to be thrown into a succeed of fail enviornment. We shared some funny laughs and we all had butterflies in our stomachs when we weren't sure if we'd finish on time. I'm going to miss a lot about this class. I'm going to miss the people but i'm especially going to miss our talks. In that class we can be silly but at the same time we can be serious and thats what I love about it. I'm happy I had the opportunity to meet such awesome people this semester and thanks for such a fun time class! :)

`*Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today

"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence"

It is a mystery what my life will be like after college. Of course I can plan and prepare but I will never actually know until I get there. Right now I am majoring in psychology and  minoring in criminal justice hopefully this will take me somewhere far. After college I plan to become a cop working my way up to becoming a hostage negotiator. I relalize that this will take many years and a lot of hard work. Becoming successful is one of the most important things to me. I always want to be able to be independent and to be able to support myself. Even now I feel as if I'm too old to ask my parents for money. My ideal life after college will to eventually be able to own a house on the water. I want to live somewhere warm because I honestly can't stand the cold. I plan to be married and have two kids and hopefully if i'm lucky retire early. I realize that most of the things I want in my life aren't just going to come to me. It's going to take a lot of work mixed with failure and success. Ideally the most important thing to me is to have my own family, one that is happy and healthy. I am looking forward to what the future beholds.