5B Time

I was surprised with how much work I actually did. I did not think I did as much homework as I actually do, even though it was not in the 30-40 hour mark. Personally, I feel that the 30-40 hour amount is too much for me. I am a person who likes to get work done quickly and well, not dragging it out and taking forever to do one problem. The same goes for studying. I like to pin point what I know and focus my studying on what I do not. 

I spent the majority of the time sleeping, which was not surprising. I try to go to bed early so I am not falling asleep in my early classes. I also spent a lot of time (more than I thought) in class and doing homework. The majority of my weekend was spent socializing, which time was not bad because I got all my work done and I could spend time with my boyfriend. I don't to see him during the week, so I make sure I have my homework done before Friday night or, if it's simple, that I can do it Sunday night. 

I also noticed that I spent a lot of time watching movies and going on my phone. If I cut down the amount of time doing that, I can spend more time focused on school work and socializing with friends. Personally, I like my schedule. I do need to cut down the time I spend on my phone and on technology and switch in school work instead, but other than that, my schedule works out well for me. I'm going to have to change my schedule again during the second semester, as I am going to try and find a job, but I feel that after the first semester I will have a pretty good feel to how to juggle work, school work, and a social life.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&q=cool+clocks&revid=1103108200&sa=X&ei=uZRDUqCxDOeV7Abtm4DgBA&ved=0CDYQ1QIoAg#biv=i%7C1%3Bd%7CDpHdKFR-RmbAoM%3A

5A First Weeks

One of the greatest accomplishments I have had so far was getting a 93 on my math test. I had always been awful in math, usually failing or getting low 70s, so this was a great confidence booster. Even though I did well in math, I struggled in history. This was surprising, as history has always been my strongest subject. On the first quiz, I got a 75. I was angry with myself, but it made me realize that I had to study more. I also learned to change my study technique, which will hopefully help on the next quiz. Something else that was surprising was my English class. It is astoundingly easy, and is extremely frustrating. We are learning things that I learned in sophomore year of high school, so the class seems like a waste of time. What is most surprising about that class is that I am the only freshman in it. I wish I had been placed into a higher English, but when I pick my schedule it will be easier. 

When college started, I decided that I had to change my study techniques. In high school, I never studied. I would glance at my notes before the class started and that would be enough for me to get a good grade on the test. Now, however, I realize that I must actually take time to review notes and do practice problems in order to do well on a test or quiz. This is hard to adapt to, as I never set aside time to study before. I do believe that creating a time to study will be beneficial for my grades and my confidence with the class work and tests.

https://www.google.com/search?q=studying&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=miJDUratIvGj4APsroCIAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672&dpr=2#biv=i%7C7%3Bd%7CMhhRJNCb6p9YOM%3A

5I, 3 Being Healthy

This was taken by me on September 24, 2013

Having a personal connection to depression, I asked about how depression can influence a college freshman's experience. I found out that depression can harm your sleeping, eating, and personal hygiene habits. When you are depressed, your sleeping patterns suffer and you get much less sleep than a non depressed person would. Because of this, your grades suffer and your alertness drops. You also eat less, making it difficult to concentrate as your body is not receiving the correct amount of sustenance it needs. People with depression also do not care about their appearance. There is the saying to dress to impress, and people who dress well usually have a higher self confidence level than those who do not. When you are depressed, this level is at an all time low and you do not care about how you look.

Those suffering from depression should try, as hard as it may seem, to focus on the positive aspects in life and seek help at the Health Center. There are also counseling services on campus that are available if talking with someone would help. If anything, there are numbers you can call for help, such as CCMC, (860)545-9000, and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-8255. 

5V This class has strange words

To me, an agency is a company that services another or someone. For awhile I was interested in modeling or acting, so I looked into the various agencies in my area. 

Two words that I've had to look up so far this week are fief and reciprocity. They were both used in my history class today and were important to the lesson, but I did not know what they meant. After going to dictionary.com, I discovered that a fief was a territory held in fee, which helped the lesson make more sense. The professor described reciprocity as basically treat others how you would want to be treated. This made sense, as we are learning about Confucianism and his beliefs of filial piety and humaneness. 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Fief?s=t

4I Chinese History

To me, delayed gratification means being able to wait for something important. Delayed gratification is important, because it teaches you to feel the importance of the thing you are waiting for. If you got it as soon as you wanted it, it would not have the same importance.

Two words that helped me in history class this week were concubine and eunuch. A concubine is a woman who lives with and is connected to a man but is not his wife. In the stories we learned about in class, a king had many concubines as well as his wife. Another word that helped me in class was eunuch. A eunuch is a male who serves the royal women who is castrated. One of the main characters of a story that we learned was a eunuch, and he was not able to become emperor because he could not have children.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&q=ancient+chinese+king&spell=1&sa=X&ei=8XA7UubFI7Oq4AOgt4GwBg&ved=0CDQQvwUoAA&dpr=2&biw=768&bih=928#biv=i%7C14%3Bd%7C7PNvtuOcda8UdM%3A

4A Patience is Key

Something that I had waited awhile for was my tattoo of a heart that is on the inside of my left wrist. I had been waiting to get it for five years, and I still cannot believe that it is real as I only got it three weeks go. I used to draw it with pen everyday until my mom told me to wash it off. My parents still haven't seen it, so their reaction should be an interesting one. 

I wanted this particular tattoo for multiple meanings. I drew it when my life turned sour as a reminder that I am loved and I am not nothing. It grew to mean more as my love life blossomed. My boyfriend was the one who actually bought my tattoo for me. He knew how important it was to me, and occasionally was the one who drew it for me. It was definitely worth waiting for, as it holds so much meaning and symbolizes something important to me. 

I do believe that Americans are too fast paced. We need to slow down and realize what is truly important in life. We, as a society, value instant gratification over delayed gratification because we get the end result now. We are constantly living in the now, without much thought to the later.

I agree that technology is one of the key factors to our fast paced society. Before technology, people had to be patient to talk to one another-sending letters back and forth can take weeks. Now, we can get ahold of them quickly and in seconds. We have become accustomed to this, and expect everything to be just as fast.

3I, 21 Art on campus

Picture by me, on September 13

I found this sculpture while wandering around campus after class. I was exploring the rest of the campus, as all of my classes are in Engleman Hall and I do not see the other parts. This sculpture was created by Herk Van Tongeren in 1983. I liked it, as the Southern Connecticut State University symbol is a pillar. I found it as I was walking in the back of Engleman Hall. There is a very pretty apple tree that is in front of it, and I can't wait to see its blossoms in the spring. I thought this sculpture was interesting because it symbolized our school.

3V That's a real word?

To me, motivation is an urge to accomplish something. It does matter what that urge is for, but it is usually something credible. Two words that I found this week were ineffable and elusive. Ineffable means unable to be put into words me elusive means not easily found. These words helped me this week in my history class and in inquiry. I had heard both used before, but had never bothered to look them up. Then this week, they were both important words in my classes and I found what they meant.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ineffable?s=t

3B You actually like reading...?

For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading. It was so peaceful and it created an outlet for me to escape the chaos of life. I love how books have the power to bring you to a new world, full of adventure and excitement. Whenever I am stressed about school, I open one of the books in the Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices, both series by Cassandra Clare. 

Throughout my childhood, I spent my free time reading. Usually children my age had video games or older siblings to play with. I was the oldest, and my parents were against video games. Actually, they were against technology. I rarely watched television, and spent my time on the couch reading instead of being glued to a screen. 

I am glad that I found a love for reading early, as it opened many opportunities for me. I joined book clubs, and always aced the reading tests in school. I am also an extremely fast reader, thanks to countless hours reading whatever I could get my small hands on. 

Many people question me when I say that I like reading. Pair that with wanting to be a history major, and people wonder if I'm actually all there. I am glad that I love reading, because it will definitely help me in college and when I'm a teacher.

Reading will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope that future generations value it the same way. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=stack+of+books&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i%7C2%3Bd%7CB9ZUhqk79-gMgM%3A

3A Mr. William Shakespeare, Everyone!

I have always had a soft spot for Shakespeare, especially after we read Romeo and Juliet in my freshman year of high school. There was something intriguing about the language he used and the puns and jokes he made with language. Then, in senior year, I had to memorize Hamlet's To be or not to be speech. I got to work with the language first hand, and loved it. 

The quote "There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so," is interesting, because it could be used for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It can be used for intrinsic because if you are going to do something, there is the possibility that you could convince yourself that is bad and be far less motivated to do it. The opposite can also be true, by thinking something bad is actually good and be motivated to accomplish it. It can be true for extrinsic as well, because you could be motivated to do something but peer pressure could convince you that it is bad and not to.

This quote can also explain fixed and growth mindsets. If you have a fixed mindset, you may be prejudiced against just finding the answer or end goal. If you have a growth mindset, you may already believe that the goal itself does not matter, but how the goal is reached is important.

This Shakespeare quote has many levels of thinking. It can be placed into many different contexts and still make sense. Many people are fixed in their beliefs, and may not even notice that they are doing what the quote says. Shakespeare quotes are, in my opinion, some of the greatest.

https://www.google.com/search?q=william+shakespeare&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=RxozUvTSKPHa4APal4DgAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672&dpr=2#biv=i%7C10%3Bd%7C0_eWv_0xE0qqMM%3A

2A 

Books and education are important? No way!

Books are probably one of the most important resources that we have. They hold infinite wisdom that can be unlocked by simply opening it. 

Kafka's books show just that. ""The idea is that when you're exposed to a meaning threat –– something that fundamentally does not make sense –– your brain is going to respond by looking for some other kind of structure within your environment," said Travis Proulx, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB and co-author of the article."*

This shows how reading a book or short story by Kafka can actually change the structure of your brain. This not only strengthens your brain, it helps with creative problem solving. I thought this was extremely interesting, as when you read the book your brain has to make sense of what is written, and in turn makes new brain structures to help with the understanding. The article goes on to say that the effects would not be prominent, but would certainly be there. 

The same is true for education. If you have only studied one subject, you would consider yourself to be an expert in that field, right? That's what happened in the article "The 'Learning Knights' of Bell Telephone." 

Imagine the feeling of only truly knowing one subject, then going back to school and discovering that you have many more interests, none that are what you had originally known. "What’s more, the graduates were no longer content to let the machinery of business determine the course of their lives."** This shows how important an actual education is. You can discover who you think you are and who you want to be. 

I will definitely start reading more and try to keep an open mind about what I really want for my education after reading these two articles. They both brought up very important and interesting arguments. By focusing on those two, I can help myself become an independent thinker.

* http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915174455.htm

** http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/opinion/16davis.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1283212898-Ot6WYK6hWbuoj3WowlOZzQ

2B

I Did Not Expect That

This week, I have tried to find a quiet place to study and do my homework. After visiting many different locations, such as the library and student center, I discovered that my dorm room was actually the quietest place. I could lay on my bed, put earbuds in, and start working on an essay that I had to do for English. 

I found that the student center was too loud and the library was actually too quiet. In my dorm room, I have a fan blowing which provides a soothing steady noise that the library lacked. There is also no loud footsteps of people walking up and down the many stairs in the student center. The schedules of my roommate and I work out perfectly for me to find time to do the majority of my school work. 

There are, however, some downsides. I find myself gazing out of the window often and there is always my friend who lives in the room across from mine who constantly wants to talk. Usually putting my music on and ignoring the outside world works the best for my short attention span. Also in my dorm room, I do not have to worry about there not being enough room or finding a nice place to work. 

My original goal was to find a new place to study, but I discovered, surprisingly, that the best place for me was my original place. There are many benefits- I have food in case I get hungry, I know where I keep extra pens and pencils, and I can dress as comfily as I want. The latter is the biggest benefit, as I like to be as comfortable as I can while doing homework. 

Even though I did not find success in discovering a new place to work, I am glad that I know now for future reference that I like working in my own room better. It will save time in the future when I am pressed for time and searching frantically for a place to study or, like in my position now, write an essay. 

2I

Dance!

An event that I went to was the Welcome Back Dance in the Adanti Student Center. It was on the 28th from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Me and my friends went to it and danced for a good 2 hours. We had fun with the lights of the glow sticks and the foam sticks that lit up. There was a guy who kept dancing with us, which we thought was strange, but funny. He kept trying to do funny since moves that involved the glow sticks, mainly waving them above our heads like lunatics. I also kept getting hit with the beach balls that were being thrown around, but took revenge by throwing it at others around me. The music was not the kind of music I'm used to listening to, and there were students everywhere. By the time we left, we could barely hear each other as our ears were used to the loud music. I had a lot of fun, and I hope that there are more events like this in the future.

2V 

Xeno- What?

To me, initiative is to act on a feeling or position before others do. For example, someone can take the initiative to run for a governmental office. The readings we took notes on this week talked about taking the initiative to read books to help our learning. In the sociology class that is paired with Inquiry, our professor asked us if we knew two words- xenophobia and xenocentrism. When he asked us what it meant, we all looked at each other with confusion. He went on to explain how xenophobia meant the fear of foreign things and that xenocentrism meant the belief that everything within your group is bad and everything on the outside is good. The latter reminded me of a dystopian society. These words helped us to understand the lesson better.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia