advising

This week has been very stressful because it is the beginning of advisement for picking classes. I've never had to pick my classes alone before. Throughout middle school, classes were chosen for you. In highschool, we sat down Freshman year with our parents and guidance counselors and made a four year plan to fulfill our requirements. For first semester, we chose our classes in a meeting with a faculty member who basically told me what I needed to do. It's very stressful doing it by myself. I've spent a good amount of this week going on www.ratemyprofessors.com and trying to pick out good professors by other students comments. I also read through the course catalog and tried to learn what courses I should be taking for my major. Hopefully I'm on the right track. In FYE class, we went through what classes I need to be taking but I'm still unsure. I made an appointment with my advisor to meet next Tuesday so we can figure everything out. I learned that double majors don't get a degree in both! How upsetting is that. With double majors one primary major appears on your diploma while the other is just on your transcript. I learned that if I want to get a degree in both, I need to have 14 extra credits of Psychology. I want to do this. I am unsure of what classes to take and whether or not I can add on a 6th course to my schedule. I think I can handle it? I'm not sure. I've done really well this semester with all A's I'm pretty sure, but I don't know how different that will be when I start taking courses like law and psych and HISTORY. I'm terrible at History. What if I can't do it? I'm really hoping that everything works out. I talked around for an easy History professor. I'm usually not one to take the easy way out but considering it's a course that I'll never use again and that I don't even like, I thought it was practical. I asked around for really informative law and psych teachers who quiz a lot because I know that is what I need to succeed. I think I have found the right ones for me.

I started to consider taking Speech as well, but then I heard that it is on North Campus and I'm not sure that I want to walk there when it is freezing. But I'm unsure of what else I can take. So far I have history, psych, legal studies, speech, and critical writing. I am unsure whether or not I want to take one more. Even if I did take one more, I want it to count towards my major but I'm unsure of what classes I can take without taking legal studies or psych 101. It's all very confusing and I'm very happy that I have a good advisor. Truthfully, I'm also considering communications. I won't even get started on that problem.

Alone

Being an only child, I always felt the need to be with friends all of the time so that I filled that empty space in my life. My parents own a chain of drug stores, so I have always been out with friends and family for most of my life while my parents ran the business. Because of my past experiences, I never thought I would miss being alone. I wanted to go out and meet people. I'm always one to go out, and I was rarely alone in highschool, or so I thought. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very social person and I love being with others. But once in a while, it's just nice to be alone. I didn't realize how much "alone time" I had in my past years. When I would come home from school, I would have the house to myself until about 6:30 or 7 to get everything that I needed to done. Now, I'm in a triple with two other really social girls, so my room is always filled with people coming and going. Our hallway is extremely comfortable with one another so it's very common for people to just stop in randomly to chat. Being directly across from the laundry room, I get at least two people a week asking to just hang out in my room while their laundry finishes. Although I have met tons of really cool people this way, it gets old. I never thought I'd miss just sitting in bed and reading alone, or anything like that. I actually enjoy my walks to class in the morning because of the fact that it's just time to think. In college, my life is constantly in drive. I thought that I was busy in highschool with cheerleading, pole-vaulting, community service, and coaching all week, but I was wrong. Those events allowed for some free time which was nice. I think that that's one thing that people in college miss about driving, the freedom of being by yourself. Over the weekend I stayed at URI to visit my boyfriend, and I asked him if he missed the feeling of being alone too. He said that he did. His roommate has been in the hospital for the last month, so he's had a single. Even with this, the constant idea that you live in a dorm with a bunch of other people doesn't give you the accurrate alone time that you need. At first I didn't see why, but now I do. I'm sitting here right now with both of my roommates out for the night. Although I am alone, I can still hear the normal sounds of the boys in the room nextdoor playing halo, and the boys on the other side of me practicing for his acapello performance coming up, as he does every night. I can hear the rumbling of the washing machines, especially washer #18 which goes insane whenever it's down to the last 10 minutes. Lastly, I can hear all of the people waiting for the laundry to finish. So in a sense, I'm never really alone. That has been a huge change for me in college.

So I think I've come up with a solution to my math problem. In class yesterday I asked the tutor for help and I set up an appointment for tomorrow for her to tutor me. Hopefully this will put me on the right track. I'm pretty sure all I need is just a few explanations of things and will hopefully then be able to do it. It's really weird to be the person being tutored for math. I'm actually kind of nervous. I've never really had to sit down with a stranger and be taught math seperately from the class, it has always been my thing. If anything, I have been on the tutor side of the tutor-student situation. I'm actually really proud of myself for admitting that I need help in it, because I know that it wasn't easy to do. I understand that in writing I'm terrible, but math is what I pride myself on. Hopefully the tutoring session goes well. After this blog, I plan on sitting down to read the chapters and do exercises so that she has specific things to help me on.
I had an Italian test this morning. I was really nervous for it because it was so much information. I think I did okay, because I didn't really leave anything blank. It was one of those tests where you answered everything, but you still aren't sure. We'll see how it goes when I get it back. Yesterday, I spent seven hours in the library. It was actually really ironic because over the weekend I wrote a paper for lit about how I couldn't picture myself spending five hours in the library. Then, yesterday, I found myself bombarded with work. I have three papers due in the next week, two take home tests in math, and then that Italian test today. I was in such a rough spot. I workked tirelessly and accomplished a lot, but not enough for me to be put out of this misery. I still have a ton of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. I know that I can finish it all, it's just a matter of time management. It gets really hard when it comes to the weekend. For example, this weekend is wicked weekend at school. Friday is chameleon club, so that night is out for homework. Then Saturday I go over to URI to see my boyfriend, and feel terrible asking him if I can do homework that afternoon with him but I know that I need to. Sunday I come back and then I'm help running a program for CEN. That night I have practice. It's hard to time manage but I'm trying really hard to. Hopefully all keeps going well.

Frustrated.

I've been meaning to blog about something, but each time I sat down to blog I seemed to forget what it was. When I was just walking past CAS, I remembered so I ran into the library to get this out before I forget. I'm enrolled in a basic statistics class, which is necessary for both of my majors. Because it is required to pass before I graduate, I take the class very seriously. The class meets on Tuesdays and Fridays at 3:30-5. For the first week of classes, the professor let us out at 3:45. It was a fifteen minute class. I thought that this was because at the time all we were doing was going over a syllabus and other necessary things to start off the year. As classes went on, I realized that he did this every class. The latest we got out of Statistics was at 4. That means I only had at the most an hour of stats a week. We were given one test, which we all scored fairly well at. Even though he barely taught, the material was clear and we all understood it. Three weeks into the semester, the professor stopped showing up completely. For five classes in a row, which is almost three weeks, we would show up to class and find a note that said "Statistics-- class is cancelled." Because it was a late Friday afternoon class, attendance was down already. On weekends such as Columbus Day, there were only ten of us in the class. When the professor stopped showing up, the amount of people that came to check if we had class declined even more. I'm not a person to skip class for no reason. In fact I have yet to miss a class since I've been here at college. But how is a person suppose to stay motivated when the professor doesn't even show up himself? If the professor shows an attitude of blatant carelessness, then the students will exhibit it as well. I've never been the one to cut class, but his lack of attendance made me consider it. I think the reason that I have this view is because of my past experiences. I was very sick senior year, and missed weeks on end of school. I did a great amount of my work from a hospital bed, turning in assignments via email. Because of this, I don't see skipping class as practical. Senior year I realized how hard it is to do work without being in class, so why would I put myself in that position again? Although I pulled off a 3.6 GPA for senior year, I would never voluntarily go through what I had to do again.

So last week, the remaining faithful students showed up to class to find a new professor. She stated that she was our substitute and possibly our new professor. She looked at my notes, and tried to evalute what we had learned. Unlike our last professor, she taught entirely out of the book. Not once did we touch the book with our last professor. According to Professor #2, we had dabbled in chapters 1-3 so far. After she gave us her general information, she started her lecture. Her teaching style is completely different. She lectures and is not as involved with us as our last professor. Even the notation for writing the problems is different. She was using words that none of us have ever heard of in our life. The only person answering her questions was our tutor that sits in on our class, which was unfair because this girl is a senior who is now in some sort of advanced statistics class. Never being the one to just sit and be quiet when something was wrong, all of the other students kept nudging me to say something to her. So, I raised my hand and explained that we had no idea what her notation was, and no idea what she was talking about. After that, she slowed down and tried to explain it more, but it turned into basically a lecture on 3 chapters in an hour. With her in depth teaching method, none of us understood still. It was really frustrating. I'm very good at math and am very confused in the class right now. When we left the class at 5:05 this time, I realized that was a general consensus. We all prayed that she wouldn't be back next week and that we would have our old professor again. Even though he never showed up, we understood the material and were able to take tests on it. When we got back the next week, she was there again, but this time as our new professor.

Personally, I don't think it's fair. We have spend two months practicing a certain teaching method, and are now being expected to do chapter four statistics in a notation we have never seen. I don't think that it is possible for us to just pick up where we left off. To put it into perspective, it is like saying "Oh, you took two months of Geometry, please solve this chapter five Pre-Calc problem." It seems like everything is really that unrelated. We have only had two classes, but were just given a take home test. She told us that our original grades were lost. This got me really mad, I worked hard for that grade and I studied! I took my time to help tutor the others in the class who didn't understand it. So I raised my hand. I asked if we had our tests, if she would accept that grade. She agreed. I also asked if we tried the take home test and did better if that could be used. She agreed. I was happy with that with high hopes that I could hopefully do well on the test and score an even higher grade. I read through the test when I got back to the room and don't understand a word on it. It's really hard! So now, I'm confused and annoyed. The students should not be punished for this. I think that if we had her from the beginning, I would be okay with her. But as of now, I don't approve becaue I'm not happy with how I don't get it. I'm trying so hard but just failing when I try. It's very frustrating.

This week has been so crazy because of Spirit Week. Being a cheerleader, I'm required to attend every event. I feel like I've been running around all week in my cheerleading stuff. In order to spread school spirit, we're also required to bring the spirit into our dorms. I've been working tirelessly to hang signs that say "wear blue and gold!" or "support your school at the commons at 12!" The week has seemed to last forever. Today begins family weekend which runs at the same time as homecoming weekend. Tonight is an event called Midnight Madness. I'm really nervous for this event because it's basically a debut for the cheerleaders. Even writing about it makes me have butterflies in my stomach. I'm nervous that I'm going to drop my flyer, or even trip going from stunt to stunt. The worst nightmare is that I'd forget everything about my routine. Hopefully everything goes okay.

On top of cheerleading, I've been working over-time at work. I'm actually writing this blog entry from my desk at the Admissions Office right now. I really can't complain, because I sit here with my friends, gossip, and do my homework. It really isn't that bad, but at the same time it's time consuming. For example, the other day in work I had a million things to do for homework, but didn't have time to run to the dorm to get my things before work. Therefore, I was stuck at work with no way to get anything done. I ended up using the easy-bake oven to cook a cake with my friend Ashley, and then ate it with our bosses. It was fun, but at the same time frustrating because I know that I have things to do. On the contrary, it does provide a nice escape from schoolwork and gives me a chance to leave the room and my books for a while. That part of it is nice. The most frustrating thing about work is people that don't realize that applications require full addresses. When students write "Port Jeff. Sta." it's really annoying to have to search online to find out they really mean "Port Jefferson Station." More files are here, time to get back to work. :)

No Limitations

Truthfully, I couldn't think of anything to write about for today. So, I decided to follow a blog prompt that my professor sent us via email. I decided to respond to the question: Describe a moment when you feel as though you said or did something"smart" since you've been here at RWU (in class, out of class, whatever). I'mlooking for a moment when you did or said something or accomplished somethingabout which you are proud or about which you surprised yourself. Then explainwhy this was an important moment for you.

I really liked this question because it made me think. The one thing that stood out in my mind was that the way I am handling coursework here at college. During the last two months of school, I've been piled with readings from books and texts from all directions. I am amazed that I have yet to skip out on one reading. I have gone to every class prepared with all my reading done. I have yet to forget about an assignment, and I go to the writing center for every paper. I'm very proud with how I am adjusting into the college life. One of the seniors on the cheerleading team asked me how school was going. I told her this, and she replied that it won't stay that way. Being an A student herself, she said that the reading gets to be too much. At times you need to figure out which ones to do, and which ones you can get away with not doing. Rebekah Nathan had this same view in her book "My Freshman Year." What I don't understand is when do I decide that something is not possible? When do I draw the line? Over the last few months I've been very busy with everything, but manage to fit reading between practices, clubs, dinner, and sleep. Somehow, it all works out. I think that if I start to skip out on the work, it will only make me feel lost and confused. Why do this to myself? I want to do well in college. In highschool, I wasn't a fantastic student-- A's and B's with a GPA of about 3.5. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. College just seems so different. I have the mentality that this is a competition and who tries their best and gives their all will succeed. This is why I've continued to do all of the readings thus far. I was amazed that on the first week of classes, kids were already behind in reading a book for Human Behavior. Given the book was terrible, it was truly unbelievable that people were already slacking off. I think that I probably view college with more respect than other students because I know that not all people get the oppurtunity. My father cruised into college and medical school with perfect SAT scores and above a 4.0 GPA. On the other hand, my mother couldn't afford college, so she worked really hard her entire life to make a living for herself. She was always sure to stress on me that this is such an oppurtunity, and she's so proud that I have the chance to take it. I see college kind of like an internship. I'm here to learn, and I'm here on my free will. I want to be here so that I can figure things out, and I'm truly lucky to have been "hired."

Another thing that really affects my view of college is my best friend. With a learning disability, she has always had a really hard time going through math courses and anything that involves correct spelling of words based on pronunciation. She attends UNE now, and is working her butt off to be where she is. She's proven everybody who didn't believe she could do it wrong. She made it into the advanced Occupational Therapy program, and although she is in basic math, she plans on working all summer by taking another course of math to improve her skills. Currently in the basic math, she is at the top of her class. Her hard work and drive through college motivates me to succeed. She shows me that not everyone has the oppurtunity, and while I'm here I need to embrace it and give it my best. I'm really grateful for that. The other day she said something that really got me thinking. During a phone conversation she goes: "So, I'm going to be a doctor and you're going to be a lawyer. Can you believe it? We're here, and we're going to be successful. We're going to do it." Of course, then we went on to talk about how we will be shopping for cute suits together and then reminisced about how at one time we both wanted to be astronauts. It's crazy how things change. Listening to her was awesome because it was really amazing to put it in that kind of perspective. I really enjoyed hearing that because it reinforced that I can do it, and I can make the most of my oppurtunity here in college.

diversity.

Yesterday in class we focused on the topic of diversity, which I had commented on in my last few blogs. I noticed something really obvious over the weekend and was contemplating why it happened. Friday night, three laptops and a wallet was stolen from the Cedar dorms. The wallet was stolen out of my room, but wasn't mine. It was my friend's. When everyone in Cedar heard about this, the universal reaction was "it must have been those black guys." I thought this was really odd, because I know that everyone isn't a racist as they came off. It was true that a group of about seven black men came into the dorms on Friday night, but I was wondering why fingers were being pointed directly at them. I have met plenty of white men and women who have stolen things from other people, so why is it automatically them? On the ride back from cheerleading I started to talk about this with the captain that was driving me. She said that it's probably not because of their specific race color, but only because this University is predominantly white. When a diverse group of people come in to the building, it is obvious that they probably do not go here. This is why the people had this general consensus. This situation made me think of Nathan's book and her observances of diversity. When the other races walked in, we all felt uncomfortable because that was not the social norm in our school. I don't think that it is entirely about race, though. If a group of 65 year old men came into the dorm, the residents would all be uncomfortable as well. It is just a matter of what we're use to seeing. Just to let you know, the wallet was actually found next to a dumpster in Warren. How it got there, we have no idea, but she's just happy to have it back.

It seems like my core classes are connecting in such a great way. Once again, I'm talking about diversity in Human Behavior. Yesterday before lit, we talked about what constitues being a minority. For example, where do we draw the line? If you're born in America and are third generation Asain, are you a minority? We had a really great discussion about what we think it means. Our answer came out to be that Americans judge on outward appearance. If you look foreign, you're considered a minority. But then we got onto the topic of why aren't white people minorities? We come from other countries as well. For example, I'm very Swedish. What doesn't make me a minority? And what about Italians? You can tell that a person is an Italian, but yet, we still don't consider them minorities. This got into a really heated discussion. As soon as we thought that we came to a tentative answer on outward appearances, our professor posed another question, what about Albino African Americans? What are they? This discussion made me realize that outward appearances are a main reason for segregation in the United States. They provide a sense of comfort among people like you, but a distance between you and others not like you. This was really interesting to think about.

My Freshman Year

Today, my 8am class got cancelled so Lit was the only one that I had. In lit class we reflected on a book that we're all reading called "My Freshman Year" from Rebekah Nathan. It really interests me. As an experiment to find out what college is like, Nathan reapllys to the University that she is a professor at, but as a student. Today in class we were talking about her observations in the cafeteria of who people eat with. Many of my classmates disagreed with her, but I completely agree with Nathan. My highschool was very much like the college that I attend now in terms of diversity. The highschool was actually 98% white. In my graduating class, we had three students of Asain descent, and one from Indian descent. One of the Asain students happened to be one of my best friends. It always amazed me how we'd be walking in the hallway and she would know every other Asain-American student that walked by. I would ask her how she knew them, and she'd reply that it was something that I couldn't understand. She explained it as having something in common with another person. Because they shared the same background and heritage, it was easier to get to know one-another. Also, in a school of primarily white people, it was easy to point eachother out. Another time, she explained it to me through something that I could understand easier. She told me that it would be like me going into a place and finding out someone else is a cheerleading coach. I would be ten times more likely to walk up to them and start a conversation than the random football player next to them because I already had something in common with them. I suppose that this is the same reason that minority students are found eating together in Nathan's book. When coming into college, everybody wants to find people that they share common interests with. I know for me, I automatically found myself with a group of girls who wanted to try out for the cheerleading team. It is just a natural way of making friends. I don't think that it is a problem with racism, but rather it is more comfortable to find people who are more like you. And obviously, I have friends that aren't cheerleaders as well. It's just that eating is a thing that we find time to do between practice, the gym and games. It fits into our schedule that way. If the friends get involved in the same activities, they are more likely to budget their time together so that they can fidn time to eat with oneanother. Because of this, I think that Nathan's results were very accurate.

SOAR/interview

So when I returned Monday from New Hampshire, I was already busy with things to do on campus. I rode back down here with my friend Ashley. Her mom offered to drive us down considering my mother had picked us up. Ashley and I both work in the admissions office at twelve, so we arrived back here around 11:15. We got settled again into the dorms and unloaded the five cases of water that Ash decided to bring from home, then were off to work. Following work I had an assignment to do. The assignment was really interesting and got me thinking. I was asked to interview someone in my major who was a senior. When I was first assigned this, I had many different thoughts about it. First off, at the time, I didn't have a major. My first concern was "Senior's aren't undeclared, what do I do?". My professor said to go towards whastever I was leaning towards. So, during that week, I found seniors in all different academic areas. I found one in classical languages and philosophy, one in Psychology, one in Education, one in Law and Psychology, and another one in Engineering. By the end of the week, I not only decided on a person, but I decided on a major as well. I picked the law and psych student. This project ended up being really interesting for me because I had just declared this major. The interview actually got me really excited to start taking classes in this major! I had never really felt like that before about specific areas of study. I was really happy with my choice.

I am part of the SOAR leadership program. Last night, we had our weekly meeting. The meeting was set up really differently because the topic was dealing with stress. We talked about the stressful situations in college and how to deal with them. Going into the meeting, I didn't even know that I was stressed. Coming out of it, I was much more aware about the little things that are bothering me. For example, advisement is coming up. I realized how stressed I am about picking beneficial classes and getting on the right track. I'm also pretty stressed out about tests and other assignments to do with classes. This meeting really helped all of us to realize what bothers us and tried to put that in order. I work in the admissions office, so this was pretty convenient for me. I took out the course catalog and the legal studies/psych fast facts sheet and reccommended courses and made a plan of what I think would be the best for me to take. After doing that, I felt much more organized and focused. Getting that off my back allowed me to focus more on schoolwork and the other activities that I am involved in. Another huge stressor right now is cheerleading. Because of midnight madness, we have practice almost every day for about three hours. I am so exhausted and the whole team feels like we are each running on empty. As much as I am excited for next weekend, I'll be happy when these long practices are over. I'm not exactly sure there is a way that I can fix that stressor now.

realizations.

This past weekend was Columbus Day Weekend. I went home for the first time. It was AWESOME. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Being home made me think of a lot of things. Living in New Hampshire, fall is always annoying for us because flocks of people come north to see our foliage. Growing up there, I would be like "What's the big deal? It's leaves changing color." When fall came the normal stressors of longer lines at restaurants, traffic, and never-ending raking is usually what came to mind. When visiting this past weekend, I realized why people come to New Hampshire to see such sights. I have never realized how gorgeous it actually is. My boyfriend and I spent most of Saturday driving around looking at how gorgeous our town is in the fall. We have lived in NH for most of our lives, and never realized it. It was really cool to experience this. It also made me think of how different fall at home is from fall at college. Fall in NH is like nowhere else. Fall in NH is apple picking, pies, apple cider, pumpkins, hayrides, town fairs, foliage, and cozy fireplaces. For NH, fall is our Christmas. It entials certain events that most, if not all, residents take part in. At college, it doesn't even seem like it's fall at all. This might be because of the setting. I'm on the ocean, which would never happen at home during this season. The leaves barely change. Sitting here in the library right now, I'm looking out the window that overlooks campus and can see one truee that is starting to change to red, that's all. Due to the weather, passerbys are in shorts and t-shirts. I didn't know how much I missed the traditions of home until I was there again. I realized how much I miss the little things like getting out of bed without climbing down on my desk, showering without shoes, having my own bathroom, sleeping in a queen size bed, and eating home-cooked meals! Another prevalent thing was sitting in my bed with wireless internet! I also missed the freedom of driving from place to place. Although I hate to admit it, I also really missed cooking. Over the weekend, I made three pies, a chicken dinner, and cheesy potatoes. I think that I satisfied my need to cook for a while now.


Although it has only been a month, some things changed. When I left for college, the town was doing construction on what was to be a new shopping center. When I got home it was built! I also noticed small things, like someone on one of the side roads that I take painted a blue stripe on his white car that is always in the street. I also noticed how clean my house is without me. You could still see the vaccuum marks on the rugs from the housekeeper. She must be loving that I'm not home to mess everything up! All of these observations taught me lessons about how much I take for granted. This includes friendships, nature, family, and the small things that I mentioned before. It was really eye-opening to see how lucky I am. The little things that I take for granted make such a difference in day to day life. I'm positive that I'm going to be more conscious of my surroundings and experiences from now on. On the ride back, I began to realize how lucky I am at school because of this. I have a great job, great friends, good clubs, and the oppurtunity to participate on a team. I am very lucky.

Speaking of luck, I just received an email saying that I am nominated to meet with the Vice President of the University for breakfast on Wednesday! They chose six student-workers on campus to meet with her in a conference to speak about balancing work and school. Unfortunately, I have class during the time of the meeting so I cannot attend. I really wish I was able to use this experience but my professor requires the students to attend every class unless they are required to take the final. :( Oh well. But this got me thinking, why me? In order to answer the questions "Who Am I?" and "What Do I Know?", I think that I need to figure out what sets me apart for oppurtunities like this? Did I portray myself as being good at balancing work and school? Or did I somehow imply that I cannot handle work and school together? That is going to be my goal so that I can accurately answer these questions about myself.

double majoring!

So yesterday I declared my major! I know, it seems random, but it's not. I have been seriously considering psychology ever since I took it in high school and loved it. I have also been considering law since I was very young. So, over the weekend I set up a meeting with a law professor to ask further questions about mediation and arbitration, because both seemed really interesting to me. After talking with the Professor for about an hour, we collectively came to the conclusion that I really have a passion for legal studies and psychology. She then asked me the defining question: "Would you like to change your major now? Or later?' We went through the pro's and con's of choosing now. Overall, the pro's were in my favor. If I declare now, I can start taking courses in legal studies next semester. Because I am certain that I love Psychology, even if legal studies doesn't work out I certainly have a backfall. Another positive to declaring now was that mediation and arbitration courses are hard to get into. Because they are so new, the mostly allow legal studies majors to be involved in them instead of outside majors. This puts me at a greater chance to get into those courses so that I can make sure that I love them. The professor helped me fill out my paperwork and declare my double major. She also decided that she is going to be my advisor. I signed her over to do that, and handed in the paper to the registrar. I'm really happy with my choice! My new advisor even told me that she is friends with a ton of people in Bristol Mediation and the Providence court system so that she can probably help me find an internship or volunteer work to do over the summer or breaks. I feel like she is really going out of her limit for me and I truly appreciate that. It feels to nice to know that I have an aim instead of just taking classes with no idea of what to do. Obviously, I'm nervous that I won't like it. But I feel as if I have enough support and I have the time to try things out. When thinking back on my accomplishments, I have never been 100% certain that something was right for me. I have been known to go out on a limb, try it, and see how it works out. Even with the idea of coming to Roger Williams, I was so skeptical. Northeastern was my first choice but I was weightlisted until next semester. Roger Williams seemed okay, but not great. Now that I'm here, I love it. I'm hoping that once I really start getting into this I'll lose my skepticism and it'll all work out. Out of all the majors, this seems most fitting. Let's hope for the best!

I called my parents right after the meeting with my new advisor. They were really surprised, to say the least, but really proud and think that it'll be a great fit for me. My dad's first comment, of course, was "So this involves eight years of schooling? Law school too?" Financial issues aside, he was really happy for me. The registrar even gave me a high five! :)

As a response to "MM"'s post, I mostly agree with how students write. That process describes the student who has many other classes and is always on a time crunch. Truly, I think how you write the paper depends on the situation. I know, if I don't have much to do at night I will go to the library and write a paper which isn't due until next week. I like getting things done just in case fun events come up that I want to go to. I think that it is a logical way to do this. So the only thing I disagree with is that sentence that says "the day before" or "the night before". That's not always true. Although the process is the same with the reflection on the paper and trying to write it in one sitting, the time slot can be altered. I know that I have been known to do that for many papers, but with Expo writing it seems to be really different. For expo, we are required to do drafts. On my last paper, I went above the requirements and wrote six or seven different drafts, all corrected by tutors and proffessors. If the stages are required, the process becomes very different. I believe in that case, the process is more like:
-- get assignment, confused about material
-- teacher clarifies in class about what the assignment means
-- read the reaing that corresponds to the assignment
-- teacher goes over it more
-- student starts to see how it connects
-- writes drafts, gets all corrected
-- two or three days before due date, the student writes the second to final and final draft
-- paper is turned in complete and student is confident about how the grading will turn out.
This process, to tell you the truth, I have only used in expo writing. I really should think about doing this with all my papers but it's so time consuming!

Also, I got that paper back on the banking concept of education. I got an A :) The professor loved it. We had a minor discussion on how it would make the world a better place today in class. He loved the idea. Although the professor usually does sit in the seats with us, it seemed to me that he was letting the class lead the discussion much more. Walking out of the class, students comments were "that was fun" and "I liked that class." I was really happy that professor liked it. Truthfully, I was afraid that he'd get defensive in thinking that I was attacking teaching methods, which apply sometimes to him. Thankfully not.

leadership

A few weeks ago, I received an email saying that I was nominated to join a leadership program on campus. I filled out the application, and was then chosen to be in the program, called SOAR. This past weekend, I went on a mandatory retreat to Chester, Connecticut. It was so much fun! We bonded as a group by doing a ton of team-building games. Between those, we had hour long sessions outlining steps on how to become a good leader. I am so happy that I am in this program. The retreat allowed me to meet tons of people who share the same values and activities that I do. It was great. We stayed up until 3:30 am playing my new favorite game called Mafia. It was so much fun.
I'm really happy about this program because I feel that I can use the skills that I learn in my everyday experiences.
By being part of SOAR, I hope to learn how to become a stronger leader. Although I have been in leadership positions in the past, I still feel as if I still need more guidance as to how to effectively direct and motivate others. In order to do this, I believe it is necessary to find out more about myself. This is important because then I will be able to relate to others more efficiently. As an effect of getting to know myself and my values, I will be more apt to join organizations that involve my beliefs. I hope that with all this, I will become a better role model and leader throughout the campus community and other organizations in the future.


Leadership is a valuable skill to possess in any stage of your life. As a college student, knowing more about leadership will help me to succeed in the organizations that I am already involved in, along with the organizations that I will get involved in over the years. Being part of IRHA, CEN, working in admissions, and participating on the cheerleading team, I hope to eventually hold leadership positions in those areas so that I can contribute positively to the campus community. I also hope to eventually hold a position on Student Senate. By making me more confident in my leadership skills, SOAR will help me to achieve these goals. Leadership is a skill that once learned, is possessed for life. SOAR will give me the self-assurance and skills that I need to succeed in my future career. Even though I am undeclared for my major, I know that most, if not all, jobs seek out individuals with leadership potential. I believe the skills taught in SOAR will help me to reach my goals as an individual by further instilling self-confidence and bringing out the leader in me.

Community

Okay so in my last blog, Professor Michaud asked if I would post my paper, so here it is :)


In the novel, “The Sane Society”, Erich Fromm writes of his study of contemporary capitalist societies, primarily the United States. Unlike Freud, Fromm believed that social factors were important in the development and sanity of a person. Fromm believed that humans have the ability to think rationally and therefore make decisions based on their thought, unlike Freud who believed that they merely followed sex drive. After researching the way people interact and the influences on their behavior, Fromm came to the conclusion that most societies cause problems for the members living in them. The author states that a country becomes insane when its inhabitants fail to meet their human needs productively. Fromm outlines these basic human needs as relatedness vs. narcissism, transcendence, rootedness, sense of identity, and the need for a frame of orientation and devotion. For the remainder of the novel, Fromm provides the reader with problems that need to be corrected to enhance the productive satisfaction of human needs, for example, the education system. One productive way to change the system to enhance the productive satisfaction of human needs would be to eliminate the banking concept of education.
The classroom environment has remained the same for many years. In most cases, there is one dominant individual, being the teacher, who lectures the students. Paulo Freire, an education reformer, describes this experience as the “Banking Concept of Education.” In his perspective, he states that the students act as empty jars with open lids, ready for knowledge to be poured into them. The teachers on the other hand, act as full jars which then pour their acquired knowledge into the student. Freire further describes this as “banking” because the teacher uses knowledge as if it was a bank deposit. When exam time comes, the student then makes “withdrawals” which prove to the teacher that he or she has learned the information. Although this concept has lead to many achievements and advances in society, it has not necessarily made the United States a sane place to live.
The Banking Concept of Education finds its first flaw in the way that the information is taught. The task of the teacher is to fill the students with information. This process usually involves memorization and repetition. Because of this, students are too busy worrying about memorizing the definition of words that they forget to apply the material to their lives. Although the students have the capacity to retain some information, there comes a point where the jar is “too full” to retain anything else. Subsequently, the student is at a loss of valuable information. When being dictated by a teacher, the student feels inferior. His or her subordination does not allow critical thinking or creativity. Additionally, when a teacher presents a lecture on a subject, the teacher usually will present a bias on the given topic. Again, this action limits the student’s independent thinking and therefore does not challenge the individual to be creative.
On the contrary, class discussions fulfill many of the basic human needs outlined by Fromm. The idea of communication is the key to sanity in the education system. First off, discussions allow for relatedness. Fromm states that with everything that goes on, man is torn away from nature. To achieve a union with the world once again, man must transcend separation by becoming part of something bigger than himself. Discussions allow for transcendence through brotherly love, which is defined as productive love towards equals. Transcendence is also evident in discussion because it involves the action of sharing. Sharing expresses integrity, but at the same time shows separation and independence. By working together with the teacher, the students can create their own identity and beliefs by not being persuaded in any other way. The Banking Concept of Education involves transcendence only in a destructive way, domination. The teacher dominates over the students which causes both participants to lose their freedom and integrity. The students are then divided amongst themselves by Grade Point Average and academic standing to further dominate over one-another. This leads to a lack of inner strength and lack of self-reliance. This idea also promotes competition between one another, which leaves no room for positive transcendence in love. Eventually, the Banking Concept of Education will lead to defeat because of the inherent dependence on others.
Communication within the classroom also fulfills the need to transcend. Fromm states that humans have a dire need to become more. The most appropriate way to do this is through creativeness. Although this is mostly accomplished through marriage and birth, it is also possible in the classroom. Creativeness in society also fulfills the need to become more. Through discussions, students are more apt to create an idea on a particular topic. These ideas will eventually lead to values and beliefs. It is the values and beliefs of a person that make each person an individual. A person shows creativity through individuality, therefore fulfilling the need to transcend.
By eliminating the Banking Concept of Education, students will have a greater chance at developing their own identity. According to Fromm, individuality is important because it satisfies his or her need to transcend. Through conversation and working together with the teacher, the class experiences a greater sense of confidence. With confidence, the students are able to clearly express their personal values and beliefs. This can lead to arguments and discussions that further challenge the student to find out who they are, what they know, and how they know it. Through this, the students are able to voice their beliefs and values, giving them a sense of identity.
Therefore, eliminating the Banking Concept of Education would enhance the productive satisfaction of human needs, leading to a saner society in the United States. By targeting the youth, there is a greater chance that they will develop bringing about saner ideals and values for their offspring. Most valuable education is taught by example. With setting the example of equality, the teachers will be teaching the students a valuable lesson that will lead to creativity and self-confidence.
I believe that this change will truly help society as a whole. One way that I could bring about this change is to suggest it to the school board. I know that many teachers are adamant about their way of teaching, but I believe that if they saw the alternatives to the lecture they would be more accepting of different ideals. I believe that even if teachers participated in discussions once in a while, not necessarily every class, the students would more likely be saner and lead saner lives. Eventually, this will lead to a saner society. One rational way that I can bring about this change would be to involve the class in discussions during presentations. This way, students are more engaged in the information I am presenting along with the other benefits that follow with it. Overall, I can help to make my life saner by using communication to challenge my beliefs, allowing me to transcend, relate, and develop my identity. By eliminating the Banking Concept of Education, all students and teachers can lead saner lives by productively meeting their needs as human beings.


One thing that I wish that I did more was incorporate Freire's points and perspective. Because this paper was based around my thoughts and MY ideas, it was hard to put too much emphasis on him. Although I stated that my concepts came directly from Freire's argument, a lot of them actually came from personal experience. In Literature class the other day, we had a completely open discussion about what we want changed, what we liked about the class, what wasn't beneficial, and who should have what role. This shocked me. I have never been put into a class environment which allowed so much freedom and yet so much responsibility. I loved it. Through this discussion, the class came together to eliminate the banking concept. By working together, we established rules, expectations and an entirely different form of sctructure. It was awesome to be able to do this. This is a prime example of students exercising their right to become leaders to further better themselves and others. The need of strong leaders is prevalent in everyday society. Being able to take initiative to help change the class exercised important values that all students should have. I was amazed that this professor gave us so much freedom. Immediately after class I called my boyfriend saying: You'll never guess what our last professor just let us do. Whoever I told, the general consensus was "I wish my teachers did that! I would get so much more out of the class!" Although this has many positives, our professor was afraid that without this structure, the students would fall behind. I don't believe that this is true. Because of the new community, I don't look at my unfinished schoolwork as "oh well, I let myself down." That has now formed into the fact that I'm letting down my teacher, myself, AND my peers. This new community is kind of like working on a group project. If you don't do the work, you feel so guilty for letting down the people who actually did. With the community, I feel like the students have a bond with the teacher that actually makes them MORE likely to do the work.