Last goodbye

We all have our comfort zones as a person and they are all very unique in many ways. This week I have stepped out of my comfort zone and did something that I was all not too comfortable with.

This week I had to come home one of the days and work at my job for the closing ceremony! I work at Portland West Golf Corse as a waitress in the restaurant. During the winter at Portland West, we close because of the snow and the cold weather. SO before we close, we have a big ceremony for the golfers and the employees. During the ceremony I wanted to thank my boss and all my other fellow workers thank you and it had been a pleasure working with them. I was very nervous but I knew I had to say a small speech because I the boss’s daughter. That was a huge step for me because I am not a fan of public speaking and it was out of my comfort zone. Everyone loved my speech and they all knew how nervous I was. I was very proud of how I did.

It was very exciting to over come one of my fears. I knew I could do it because so far I have come upon things in my life that are out of my comfort zone. The main one is the transition with college. The experience of being on my own and developing me as a person, I knew I could say the last goodbye speech at my job. I also said a good bye to my fear of public speaking! 

A whole new ballpark.

Overall, I think that I have been really successful with all my midterms grades for my first year of college! I was very nervous for all of my midterms but I realized that I really was prepared for them. 

I really cracked down on studying. I am not the best studier and in high school I just studied the night before and I got a good grade. For college, you are in a whole new ballpark. College I really have to prepare myself for the work. It is very time consuming and overwhelming at times, but I get it done. In high school, you were spoon fed information and it was really easy to do nothing and still get good grades. In college I have turned over a new leaf and have been working really hard with my work.

For my first college midterms I made many study guides and flash cards to help me study all the information I needed to know. Instead of cramming, I studied many days in advance for my exams. In terms of my grades, I am exactly where I believe I should be. I am working really hard and really trying with all my classes.  What has been working for me personally is having a calendar taped to my desk with all notes on it when test are and when homework is due (ect). I try to get all my work done ahead of time so I have time for myself on weekends and so I am not overwhelmed with work.

Some goals I set for my self is to make deans list. I set a really high standard for myself but I believe if I really put my mind to it, I can achieve that goal. But, I know realistically, I will be proud of what I get this year because with all the transitions that a freshman undergoes is a lot. So I believe that I really did well academically with all my academics for my first semester.

Midterm Video

Under the New Jersey Sun!

I love when we are assigned the free writes because I can write about what ever I want that is on my mind or that really, just about myself. For this blog, I am going to write about my favorite childhood memory when my whole family from all over comes together to go to Ocean City New Jersey for the week!

I can remember back when my toes touched the smooth beige sand, the warm breeze ran its fingers through my long brunette hair. I looked up and saw the mighty white seagulls soaring through the hot still air and a rainbow of kites swaying with the direction of the wind. I see the dark ocean blue roaring its mighty roar as it crashes down on its’ cool, wet surface floor. Lifeguards whistles, children’s laughter, the waves crash, and the seagulls call is all I can hear as I make my way through the crowded beach of Ocean City New Jersey. With my pink and blue polka-dot swimsuit on and my Disney towel, I was all set to hit the beach with my whole family!

         If it weren’t for my grandma, Memom, we would never go on our famous family vacation that brings us from all over the state into one relaxing spot for the week! How the tradition started was my Memom brought her children down to New Jersey for the first week of August. Ever since those experiences all her children bring their children down and keep the tradition alive! The night before we all go to Ocean City, I stay with my aunt, uncle, my four cousins, and Memom at their house. We all would have a big sleepover and make a tent out of my cousin’s sheets of soccer balls and all crowded in for the night. At three in the morning, we all wake up and hit the road! By about seven we see the big blue “Welcome to Ocean City” sign as we cross the long bridge overlooking Ocean City New Jersey! We meet our whole entire family from all over at the Ocean Beach hotel! All twenty-six of us rent bikes or surreys, and ride the three-mile boardwalk to the end where there are homemade donuts to start off the vacation right!

     Ocean City New Jersey is such a fun place to go to for a summer vacation. I had so many memories that will stay with me over my lifetime. You never know something so small could influence my life in such big way. 

Two Thumbs Up Lee =)

In my inquiry class, we finally got to experience a peer mentor like all the other classes! Our peer mentor is Lee and she is a great asset to our class. What is a role of a peer mentor? Well my thought or definition of a peer mentor is someone that is there to guide you along the way of our class. Also, I think of a peer mentor as a role model that you can look up to.

In our class I think that Lee brings a lot of good additional information into our time. On Thursdays, we have “Lee Time” which is 15 minutes just with our peer mentor. In our class her role is to help us to ease in to the transition of college. But, I think she has done more than that by influencing all of us in different ways.

 For me, when she opened up to us and told her who she was and what to expect her as a person. I really valued that. I realized that we have common traits as a person and have been through a lot as a person.

 Lee has brought a positive attitude to our class. She is always smiling and brings a lot of good information to our dissuasions.During “Lee Time”, she has us do various activities that reflect us as a person. I like how on this last Thursday we did an activity that we had to write down five times “I am” and finish the sentence. It was tough for me because it is hard to define me as a person because I feel like I am changing as a person in a good way everyday. The college transition has reflected me as a person in many ways. Therefore, by doing her exercises every Thursdays, it all ties in to who we are as a person and has been making our Inquiry class very productive! 

The rest is still is unwritten...

As a freshman at Southern Connecticut State University, right now I am currently undecided on my major. But, I am interested in a couple of different majors that might be my job in the future.

One major that I have always considered since I was young is becoming a children’s nurse that works in the cancer field. I was inspired at a very young age. My mom unfortunately had cancer and I just was around it all through my childhood. I was a little nurse when I was younger always helping with my mom and I loved it. I love helping people and making them smile in any way I can and I think I can accomplish that if I go in the nursing field. With children on the other hand, I have always loved to babysit and be around kids. They make me laugh and I think I do a good job with the entertaining part. So I could kill a bird with two stones and help children cancer patients.

Another major that interested me is to become a vet. I always love any type of animal and to work with all different types of animals would be very interesting to me. I have always had many different unconditional bonds with animals that I have personally helped. An example was during the summer I was taking my dog for a walk and I saw a baby bird on the side of the road that looked very injured. I ran back to my house and called a vet that specializes in birds and they gave me tips on what to do to help the bird. I nursed the bird back to health and it was a very successful feeling.

I know nursing and to become a vet is two different fields of work, but they both will have a good feeling at the end of the day. I just want to go into a major that will make me feel that I am doing a good thing.

What makes a good blog post?

What is blogging? Blogging is where many different people from all around the world connects with a website and talk about anything really. In my case for my inquiry class, we have to write two blog posts every week about a specific topic that our teacher assigned to us. Here are some helpful guidelines that I keep in mind to write my blog posts successfully.

1.When you write a blog post, it should have some sort of connection to you. It will be more interesting for the reader to get engaged if the post is connected to you in some way.

2.Make sure your blog post also has a clear beginning, middle, and end. It is very important for your readers to have some sort of organization so when reading it will be clearer and they have a better understanding. Make it your own. It doesn’t have to be always a certain way everytime so switch how you organize your blog. Also, your reader will be more intrigued with your reading.

3.Another tip that will be helpful for your blog is make sure in some way to catch the readers attention. With a catchy title to a big picture can really draw in a reader’s attention to your blog. With a picture that goes along with your post will set the tone and will make your post flow. Make sure you put the picture in the right spot so it will make sense on what you are talking about in your blog. I know that works on me.  

4. In every blog, your voice should be very distinctive. This is your blog, so make it your own. I know in class when we were reading our classmates blogs, they were very different from each other because their personalities were reflected in their posts. It made it more interesting for my classmates and I to read.  

Cracking Out of My Shell.

    For my Midterm Digital Storytelling Project, I have to step outside my shell and do things that I have never experienced doing before. My main concern is how am I going to make my project work on the IMovie? I am not good at all with working with computers and especially, making a movie. I have already tried to make a title page and put it together to try and get the hang of it and it is not that bad, just very time consuming! I also have to interview people I don’t know! I have never interviewed anyone before! Well the positive outlook of this project is it will get me ready for other projects down the road in my college days.

    

   My inquiry project is based around technology. Technology is such a necessity for Americans these days. With all the new devices like all the new I Phones to the latest I Pod, everyone has some type of technological device to be connected to the world.  Do parents focusing excessively on their technology devices affect children?  That is my inquiry question for my project. I have outline many ways on how to make my project work. I have to interview specific people that have some knowledge on children. I have to interview people that have worked in day cares and are studying on children’s development. I have also had to do research behind my question. On one of our readings that we had to read, “The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In”, had some very interesting facts that I could incorporate in my project. One fact that was explained in the article was how children’s feeling become hurt because their parent would be on their devices instead of paying attention to them during the times needed. You know when it is excessive when the parent is on the device during meals, pick up or drop off their children, or a sporting event. I have a lot of information to make my project have a clear beginning, middle, and end and I think I am off to a good start. 

Get Your Game Face On!

   On September 23, 2010, my friends and I got all ready to go to the Southern Connecticut State University Football game! I have always been into football since I was a little because of my dad would have so much Patriot spirit. We would watch so many games together on TV and explain how it worked. I have never been to a football game before. They didn’t have a team at my high school. Why not I thought? I should go to a football game here! So, I was ready to have my first football game experience and it was going to be with southern!

  

   I was so excited to go! Especially that I knew how the game of football worked and I have friends who played on the team. So, I knew we would all have to get our cheering face on for them. When I told my friends that I never have been to a game before, they thought I was nuts! They were so excited that my first experience would be with them and Southern. To top it off, the football game was going to broadcast live on TV! I was so excited!

 http://www.ncaa.com/allaccess/index.html?media=196891

    My friends and I bought matching navy blue sweatshirts that said “Southern Football”, to show our support for the team! With our matching sweatshirts, we were ready to go to the game. When we got there, there were so many fans. The football team had so much support. The team took a 21-0 lead in the beginning of the game. It was very exciting! It was a perfect night for a football game. There was so many people cheering Southern on. The final score of the game was 28-7. It was the perfect game to say it my first ever football game ever.