First Semester Survival Guide

Everyone’s first semester at college is different. Sometimes you hear the horror stories; terrible roommates, early classes, and scary professors! But other times you hear about all the fun people have; going out and meeting new people, living on their own, and making friendships that could last a lifetime. For me my first semester at college has had its ups and downs but overall I have enjoyed my time at Southern.

I still can remember my first day. Driving around like a maniac trying to find a parking space all while having nervous butterfly’s in my stomach. What were my professors going to be like?? Who will be in my classes?? And now only 3 short months later I’m already done. I have changed a lot these last 3 months and learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned that:

1.) Hard work really pays off.

2.) You have to keep yourself organized.

3.) You need to move outside of your comfort zone.

You follow these 3 rules and BAM you are setting yourself up for success.

In college you need to realize when is a good time to go out and when is a good time to stay in. Sometimes I hear stories of students going out and forgetting about their test the next day, next thing they know they are failing that class. You need to constantly be working hard in all of your classes. I knew this going into my first semester. You need to have the correct mindset. My mindset was, and still is, “Get good grades or loose your spot in the nursing program.” I know in about a year and a half I will be fighting against hundreds of other students for a spot in Southern’s Nursing Program. If you enter College with the mindset that you want to succeed, you will, as long as you work for it.

Organization is key. In college you will not have a teacher who is going to remind you when something is due. You also do not have parents to remind you. This means it could be very easy for you to slack off or just to forget when something is due. This could happen to any of us. One way to try to prevent this would be to stay organized. For my first semester in college I have three different calendars all filled out with important due dates. This way everywhere I look I have a reminder. I also write out daily and weekly to do lists, and stick to them as well as I can. You need come up with your own way to stay organized; it will pay off in the end! I promise!!

In college you are free to do what you want. You want to be an active participant in your life, not just let it fly by. When you start college you think, “These are going to be the longest four, maybe even five years of my life.” But just think about it this way one semester is already over and done with. Only seven more left. Seven may sound like a lot but it’s not. What have you done this semester that has pushed your comfort zone?? If you cannot think of at least 3 different things you just let your first semester of college fly past you. You cannot get it back now. But do not worry you have seven more semesters left, DO NOT WASTE THEM!!

Good luck with your first semester of college! Make sure you remember to have fun!!

Greatest Success; Greatest Failure

Week 13 Blog 2

I have two greatest successes and one greatest failure. My two greatest successes were in my Biology class and in my INQ class. In my INQ class my greatest success would be the second video project that we did. I aced this video project and I deserved it. I put a lot of thought and effort into it. I thought that the topic I choose, southerns study abroad program, was very creative and the music and pictures I put in it really made it good. I am very proud of this project I think that its the best work I have done in all of my classes.

My second success is in my Biology Class. My Micro Biology class is the most difficult class that I've had. This teacher expects you to do a lot of learning on your own and also there is a huge work load that is connected with this class. In this class on my second lab exam I aced it. This was a huge success for me. I was beginning to feel very discouraged in that class. I had already failed the lab exam before that. But that grade really raised my spirits. I was very proud of myself afterwards.

From these two successes I have learned that the key to success is planning out these projects and studying for these exams we have. I need to be prepared in order to do well. I think that everyone should try to prepare themselves for their classes.

My greatest failure is also in my Micro Biology class. This class is very difficult. And it sometimes discourages me. At the beginning of the semester I was very discouraged. I had already failed many quizzes and a test. I thought I was going to have to drop this class and take it again. But then I pushed through these failures and they made me do even better. I studied even more and aced the next exam I took. This shows that you need to learn from your mistakes. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself these failures pushed me to do better.

You can learn a lot from both failures and successes in college. You just need to have the right mindset to deal with both of them.

My Final Blog Post Preview

Week 13 Blog 1

For my final blog post for this class I want to make it really creative. Creativity is something that I have always really struggled with. This class has taught me how to be conscious of my creativity and how to try to improve it. I think that over the course of this semester I have become more creative. This is something that I am really proud of. I hope that my creativity continues to improve throughout my college career and also throughout my life.

So in order to make this final post creative I have been brain storming some ideas. At first I was not too sure which way to go. I had lots of really interesting and fun ideas to work with. So finally I chose to make this final blog post into a story. I want to take my first semester and condense it into a story with how I have felt and all the things I have accomplished.

I have already began working on this project. I started with answering the 10 questions that you gave us to think about. This way as I am writing this final post I can refer back to these answers if I get stuck while I am writing. I think that this is a good idea for everyone to begin this project. This way everyone has something to look at while they are writing. I think that it will make this project easier by being prepared to do this work.

My goals for this final post is 1) to get a good grade of course, and 2) to make it very creative and interesting because that is something we have been working on all semester.

Day Of Peace

Campus Safari

This week for my campus safari I went to the Day of Peace with Natalie. We went to go see Gabby perform her dance. Gabby dances with her group SPDC. I liked how the day of peace had a really welcoming vibe to it. Gabby’s dance was so good. They did a lyrical dance. The day of peace went from 3 PM till 10 PM. Natalie and I only stayed to see Gabby dance though. It was really nice to be able to see how the Day of Peace works and also to support a friend. 

#CommuterProbs

Week 12 Blog 2

#CommuterProbs

This is my final video for this class and I have to say I'm proud of it. I tried to make it very informative and also have some funny parts to it. I also tried to have a lot of different aspects to the video so that it keeps it interesting. I have many different text boxes, many pictures, and also two different video clips. I liked that I was able to connect this problem to my own life and also it connects to many other Southern Students. I like how all my problems have one common solution. It makes it easy to follow. I hope you all enjoy this video!!

The Fitness Center

Campus Safari: The Fitness Center

Last week before break I took a trip to the Fitness Center. I already have a gym membership at the gym in my town, thats why I did not look into the Fitness Center sooner. But for next semester I am going to have a break in my day so I could go to the gym if I wanted to. I was impressed. The staff are nice and very helpful, I was able to ask them lots of questions. They have so many fitness classes to go to. I love doing zumba and they have so many classes that I could attend. Next semester I think I will get a membership at the Fitness Center. It is a place you can meet up with friends so it has a social aspect to it also. Everyone should go check it out!!!

What Have I Learned About Creativity

Week 12 Blog 1

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp teaches a lot about creativity and how to become more creative. It gives you many exercises to try out on your own. Everyone should take the time to try out at least some of these exercises. This book explains all the little details about creativity. It explains where you should start, how to deal with failure, how to not be fearful of your creativity, and so many more.

We can gain a lot from Twyla Tharp's book. Twyla Tharp is a creative person. People could look at her and be amazed by what she creates and some can be intimidated by it. She was not born this way. Yes she could have been born with some talent but that is not enough to make her who she is today. She believed in herself, she practiced, and I think most importantly, she failed. But she did not give up when she failed, she learned from her failure. That is what makes her different from so many other people in this world.

People do not like to admit when they have failed. Or when they do fail they try to push it away and hid it so people do not see. Another thing people do is when they practice they work on things they already are good at, not what needs improving. From this book we can learn not to do these things. We can try to learn to admit when we are wrong and learn from our mistakes.

Creativity to me, after reading this book, symbolizes something that is always a work in progress to be maintained. It is something that needs to be embraced at a young age and not destroyed. Creativity is showing the world who you really are and what you really think. That is what makes it so scary to be creative. You do not what to be judged on who you really are and what you think. But this book tells you how to deal with that fear. Everyone should read this book, I really enjoyed it.

The Library

Week 11 Blog 1

Today we met in the library to learn more about the resources that it has to offer. I liked how Wendy was really up beat and made what we were going over interesting. She could have been really monotone and not tried to make it interesting but she did just the opposite. She was also really friendly and very helpful. I think that one thing that they should have changed about this would have been the set up of our guide. I think that our guide should have been more helpful with more instructions. This way we would not have needed to ask Wendy so many questions because I know many of us asked her similar questions. She was very nice and did not mind answering the same questions again and again but maybe in the future if they made the guide more useful she would not need to answer the same questions again and again.

I liked searching for the article. The database of articles that southern has in enormous. I like that we have all these resources to choose from. I know that you really need to sensor your search because of all the articles that they do have. Also I like that I feel comfortable asking the librarians for help. Wendy was so nice and friendly that it makes me think that all the other librarians must also be like her.

I know that this was really helpful that we went to the library to learn more about all the resources that it has to offer. We learned about the desks in the library, how to find books, how to find articles, and much more. I know that in the future I will be using more of these resources for projects and papers that I will have.

What Can I Live Without?!

Week 10 Blog 2

Over that past 4 days I have cut TV out of my day. This connects to the exercise on pages 26 and 27 in "The Creative Habit". Sometimes in order to be creative you need to cut things out of your life and take time to relax and have time for yourself. At first I did not like this exercise. But then I decided in my spare time that I would normally spend watching TV I decided to read again.

All throughout high school I always had a book with me. Usually Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Dessen, or Jodi Picoult. These three are my favorite authors. I have been really enjoying my free time now. It relaxes me more and also works my brain more then sitting and watching TV does. I always thought that it was college that was taking away my free time to read. But instead I have realized that it was TV taking away my time.

I think that from now on I am going to just try to save TV for the weekends and not during the week. Instead before bed I will read and not turn the TV on. I think that everyone would benefit from trying this exercise. You do not have to read in your spare time but you may find another hobby that you enjoy or just relax during your free time.

Face Your Fears

Week 10 Blog 1

After reading through this exercise and also reading through Twyla Tharp's fears I noticed that mine are very similar when trying to be creative. I think for me the most difficult moment is when I have to begin. I'm not a perfectionist. I think that for perfectionists the most difficult part of being creative is how to end it. So everyone is different. I know people that can walk away from their project and come back hours, days, even months later and still create something wonderful. While with me I need to sit down and get it all done at once. I can do little things before but I know that I need to do the bulk of the work all together in one sitting.

I think one big fear for me is letting my dad down. He is my best friend and the person I look up to the most. Everyday I try to continue to make him proud. My fear is what if I make a huge mistake and then he is not proud of me. But when I stop and think about it, he is my father and will love me no matter what. He is still going to be the guy that jokes around and the one who continues to teach me to learn from my mistakes. I know this because I have already made some huge mistakes and he has always been by my side helping me through them.

Exactly how the book explained, once you isolate your fear and think it through it becomes less paralyzing. You step back and think even if I make a mistake my whole world will not fall apart as I thought it would. This exercise really did help. It makes me want to try new things and not let my fears hold me back.

Campus Safari 10

Campus Safari #10 Attending an SCSU sponsored event.

Last week on Wednesday night I went to Caribbean night. Gabby was dancing in it so I wanted to go see her perform. I video taped her performance and she used it in her video. (I will post a link to it in the bottom) It was fun to get to see how the culture from different countries affects so many students that attend SCSU. They had someone play the steel drum, lots of fashion from different countries, and of course dance performances. SCSU really puts a lot of effort into their events and they are a lot of fun. Everyone should go to at least one event that they put on.

Gabbys Video

The Creative Dancer

Week 9 Blog 2

I am really enjoying the Twyla Tharp reading so far. I wanted to get a head start on it during the week that we had no class. I spend each night before bed reading a few pages or a whole chapter. I like her writing style how she takes what this believes to be true; the rituals of preparation, your creative DNA, and explains them in different situations.

When she begins writing I do not know how her stories are going to end in a point. One has her begin in a white room all alone, another has her waking up at 5:30 in the morning to go to the gym. And at first all I could think about when I was reading was "What does this have to do with being creative?". But then she uses her story to make a very interesting point about being creative.

She mentions a composer, a chef, a painter, and a writer that all have a certain ritual that they follow each day. She connects their rituals, and her own, to their creativity. It was interesting because it made me think of some rituals that I follow. At first I thought they were just corny, but now I see the connections.

I also liked the part of the reading, pages 26 and 27 that explain that sometimes you need to cut things out of your life. Movies, Multitasking, Numbers, and Background Music, could all take away from your creativity. So Twyla gives us all a challenge, Spend a week without one of the above. Do you think that you could do it? Would it make you more creative? It is something that I find interesting and I am curious about it. I think I will try it out. Try going a week without movies or any TV at all and see how I feel.

Her writing is different but I like it. I am interested to see if she will mention anything from class, She mentioned briefly the nature vs. nurture. But I want to see if she is going to mention the 10,000 hours or not. She might not believe in the 10,000 hours because she mentions how some of your creativity is in your DNA.

Midterm Grades

Week 8 Blog 2

So far I am very pleased with my midterm grades. I only got 4 of my grades back I am still waiting to hear from my Microbiology teacher what that grade is. Hopefully I will find out today. In all my other classes I have an A- or better.

I know that my Microbiology grade will not be as good as the others. I try very hard in that class but it is my most challenging class. Not only do we have lecture classes we also have a lab. Its double the work, double the exams, double the challenge. I do like what I am learning though. So I am very eager to get this grade back.

In high school I got good grades but never this good. I think the big difference was my mindset when I started college. I entered with the mindset of "If I do not get good enough grades I will not get into the Nursing Program." This is very true. The GPA that I need to get into the Nursing Program at southern is a 3.5 but with how competitive it is I actually need a 3.8. I know I can reach this goal if I set my mind to it.

I think the other reason that I am doing so well is how I manage my time. I know that sometimes I am going to have to stay home and get homework done instead of going out. I want to put my best effort into my work and get the best grade possible. I think that if more people did this they would also get good grades. I also write out to-do lists daily and try to stick with them as much as I can. It shows me what needs to be done that day and what should be done first.

So I do think that my grades reflect my time and effort put in. I try very hard and work for my grades, none of them were just given to me. I think that with the same amount of time and effort in each of my classes my final grades will stay as all A's.

Ambers INQ Creativity Video

Week 9 Blog 1

I am so pleased with how this video came out. I think that I made it creative, interesting, and informative. Compared to my last video this is a huge improvement.

Since this video had to be creative I knew that I wanted to do a topic that had room to make it creative. What better topic then the Study Abroad program that Southern has. This was a very fun topic to do. Studying Abroad is something that, I think, most college students have an interest in. I think that my video was informative. It tells you what you need to do in order to Study Abroad. It is a very easy process. It explains the cost, even though that would vary for each person. And it tells you how long you can go for. There are many options.

I think that the music I put in really goes well with the topic and keeps you awake. I know that my last video did not have music and that took away from it. I think that music is needed, especially with a creative video. Another strength that my video has is all the pictures of places you can go. It makes you want to visit those places. They show the beauty of the world around us. I have a lot more strengths then I had last video.

The only weakness that I think my video might have is that I did not videotape any interviews. I decided not to do that this time because my whole video last time was interviews, so I wanted to switch it up. I actually like how this one without interviews came out more then my first video.

So I think that everyone should watch my video it has a lot of information and it is interesting!!

Music On Campus

Campus Safari #6

Natalie and I went to the Campus Radio Station last Thursday. Her friend John works there so we sat in and listened to his show. The Campus Radio Station offers a lot of different choices for what you would want to listen to. We went there at about 12:30-1:30 and listened to her friends show. It was not music that I usually listen to but people playing the music knew everything about the songs. It was interesting to be able to sit in and watch the show. Its exactly like a real radio station, they talk between songs and introduce the next song about to be played. I would go back with Natalie again to see another show. It was fun to see what goes on behind the scenes. Everyone should check out the Campus Radio Station.

Waves Of Life

Week 8 Blog 1

As soon as I saw this assignment I knew which sculpture I wanted to post about. It is the sculpture found on the side of Engleman. I pass by this sculpture a lot. It reminds me of waves from the ocean. I love the beach and anything to do with the ocean that is why this sculpture really stood out to me. At first I liked it just because of that and because I thought that it looks interesting and pretty. Then I started to think of the meaning behind this sculpture.

To me this sculpture symbolizes the waves that we experience in our lives, the struggles that we have to deal with. In college this is very true, especially freshman year. You have to transition from high school work, high school friends, and living at home, to college work, college friends, and living in a whole new environment. This could be a wavy transition. I think that this sculpture symbolizes that.

It also reminds me that you have to think of everything that you are working towards while you are at school. At the end of every storm is a new beginning. That is what also is symbolized. This sculpture inspires me to try my hardest each day. To hold on when I get hit with each new wave of work. That is why I like this sculpture so much. If you have not seen it yet, you should really take some time out of your day and at least walk by it. If you do have some extra time think about how this sculpture could inspire you to keep fighting against the rocky waves that we call life.

A Night Spent with an Old Friend

Week 7 Blog 2

In order to relax and have fun on campus there are many things that you can do. Maybe go to a Zumba class with the girls, go get lunch with some classmates, go on a walk around campus, the list goes on and on. Last week I hung out with my friend Brandon Wood and how did we spend the night...playing video games of course.

Brandon and I have been friends since high school. We both graduated from Shelton High School. On Friday night he called me up and told me to come back up to Southern when I got out of work so we could hang out that night. So I picked up and bunch of snacks for us and then we played N64 for hours. It was good to get to relax with someone who I have known for a long time.

Sometimes I get stuck and just focus on my schoolwork that I forget about my social life. When all your thinking about is schoolwork, teachers, assignments, grades, it can stress you out a lot. So when Brandon called me up I knew that I needed to go. We did not talk about schoolwork at all. Instead we talked about old times from High School. We laughed about how when we were in High School we just wanted to get out, and now we miss it.

Everyone needs to take time for a night like this. Sometimes you just need to spend it with one other person, or a group of people, or even alone, it depends on what you prefer, and just not think about school at all. The next morning I felt refreshed and refocused. Now I'm ready to take my midterms and ace them!

SCSU Spirit

Campus Safari Pep Rally

Last week Gabby, Natalie, and I all went to the pep rally! They decorated it with the casino theme, gave out candy and glow sticks, and played a lot of music. I always liked going to the pep rallies that went on at my high school. I saw Alex walk out with the baseball team, Erica with the girls lax team, and Devin with the football team. (We cheered really loud for all of you guys!!) They gave away a lot of prizes. They had a dance off, and they had a huge raffle and you got tickets when you walked in the door. It was fun to show some school spirit. It was at the Field House on Thursday night at 7:15. If you missed this one you should check out the next one that SCSU has.

Midterm Reflection

Week 7 Blog 1

So far this semester I think I have been working very hard. Every assignment I try to complete earlier then the due date and to the best of my ability. And all my hard work has been paying off. I think that all my grades for my midterms should be very good. Of course for each student, we are all going to have multiple set backs but also many successes.

My major set back was in Microbiology. We had our first lecture exam and our first lab exam. I studied for these exams for hours. I spend so much time and energy into being prepared. It payed off with my lecture exam. I got a 79 on the exam. Usually I would be worried about a grade like that. But the class average was a 71 so I was above average with it. Then we took the lab exam. I felt great afterwards. I thought I had aced it so I called my parents to tell them the great news that I thought I did well. Unfortunately a week later I was very disappointed. I had gotten a 64 on this exam. It made me want to shut down, but then I remembered the mindset book. I will not ruin this semester by having a closed mindset. I am determined to learn from this mistake and improve for the next lab exam that we have.

My best success is in my math class. In high school me and math never clicked. So knowing that about myself I started this semester knowing I was going to have to focus in my math class and not just blow it off. In order to meet that goal I sit in the front of the class and answer and ask questions throughout each class. This really pays off. We have weekly math quizzes and I have aced every one. Then on the first math exam I got my grade back and it was a 107. I was ecstatic. This just shows you that if you think that you do not click with a certain subject then you just need to work harder.

For the second half of the semester I intend to focus a lot more in Microbiology because it is my hardest class right now. I also need to make sure that I continue to focus on my other classes too. I know students that center all their attention in one class but then forget about their other classes. That cannot happen to me. In order to meet these goals I decided to do what Erica does. In class one day she mentioned that she has 3 calendars. This way she sees in 3 different places when her assignments are due or when she has exams. I did the same thing. I have one in my back pack that I carry around each day, one on my desk that I see while doing assignments, and one on my wall in my room that I pass as I walk in or out of my room each day. This has really helped a lot. (Thanks for the advice Erica!!) I think that if any other students have that problem of forgetting when assignments are due they should really try this out.

Ericas Blog

Campus Safari 1

Campus Safari # 1

I met with my Microbiology teacher, Margaret Das, at her office hours. I had to ask questions about the exam we just took and also about how to get the extra credit for the exam. Her office is in Jennings 233 and her times are JE 233 Mon: 12:10-1 pm, Wed: 12:10-1 pm, Thur: 4:10-5 pm. also in DA 124 Mon 8:10-9 am, Wed 8:10-9 am. First I introduced myself because my Microbiology class is a lecture. Then I asked her where to find good articles about Microbiology and she gave me a lot of good websites to visit. Then I asked her when we will be getting our exams back and she told me next week because their are so many exams to grade. I am glad that I went and visited this teacher. Now she knows that I am very conscious of my grade and I want to learn and do well.

To Fail or Not to Fail, That is the Question

Week 6 Blog 2

Failure is a prominent idea in the book "Mindset". It is explained by both of the mindsets, Growth and Fixed, and how they would respond to failure. The different is immense. In the Growth mindset failure is a push to do better, a push to learn from your mistakes. With the Fixed mindset failure is a dead end. Once you fail in the Fixed mindset, then it shows that you are not naturally gifted.

For me it is difficult. I think of myself with a Growth mindset, but at the same time failure is difficult for me with some things. I am going to explain two different situations that I have been in, in one I show the Growth mindset and in the other a Fixed mindset. In high school I swam on my schools swim team. I was not very good but I always had a good time and pushed other people and myself. Also at practice I would always be trying to improve, so that I could drop time at the next meet. This shows how I would have a Growth mindset. On the other hand at school if I get a bad grade on an exam I studied very hard for it makes me upset. I want to do my best but I still failed. This shows a Fixed mindset.

So what am I, a Growth or a Fixed? I think it is possible to be a little of both. Now that I am aware of this I will be more conscious of learning from my failures and not letting them stop me. In the book "Mindset" on pages 42 and 43 it explains a Fixed mindset and how she moves from having a Fixed mindset to a Growth mindset. This is an inspiring story. It makes me think about how everyone should always be trying to better themselves. If people stopped thinking about how they are "naturally" better then everyone else so they do not need to try, then our world would have more success. Failure should be a push to learn and improve not to give up forever.

Pushing my Comfort Zone

Week 6 Blog # 1

Last week I actually went ahead and did something that pushed my comfort zone a lot and it connects to this assignment really well. I went to my Microbiology teacher's office hours. Microbiology is a really challenging class and we just had our first exams last week. With our exams our teacher lets us get up to 3 extra credit points. I attempted to get them by finding articles online about Microbiology and explaining how they connect to our class. I did not get any of the extra credit points. So for the next exam I wanted to know what kind of articles I am looking for, so that next exam I do not miss out on those points. I went to my professor during her office hours.

I was nervous because this class is a lecture and I knew that she did not know who I was. So I went in and introduced myself and told her that I am very happy that I am in this class because of how interesting it is to me. Which is the truth I was not just trying to suck up!! Everything that we learn in this class is interesting. So then I sat down with her and explained how I want to do my best in her class, and asked if she could explain the extra credit a little more in detail to me. So she did, she gave me a lot of tips to point me in the right direction. She was very nice and seemed to be happy that I was taking the initiative to meet with her about getting a good grade.

I am glad that I went through this experience. This is my hardest professor but now that I have met with her I see that she just wants us all to do our best. This pushed my comfort zone because in high school I always connected with my teachers very well. They would take the time and meet with me and I always got really good grades. Now in college I need to make sure that I make a point and connect with my professors. I need that connection in order to do really well in my class. I suggest that everyone meets with their hardest professor. You could go and just introduce yourself like I did and then tell them your happy to be taking their class. Its as easy as that! And it makes a really good impression!

Campus Safari 2

Campus safari # 2 Library

In my Wellness class we were talking about the book called "The Gift of Fear". This book is about connecting your senses together so that if you are in a bad situation you know to leave. People always need to be aware of their surroundings. It is more centered towards women but men should read it too. It connects to my Wellness class because the main point of the class is to learn how to live a happy and well life. I skimmed through the book and it was very interesting. I think over winter break when I have more free time I will read it. It really is a good read for college students because we are in new situations everyday. We need to know what to do if a situation seems to be changing from a good time to a situation where you could get hurt. At the library the librarians were very helpful. They pointed me right to where my book was.

Mindset My Psychology of Success

Week 5 Blog 2

I am enjoying the book Mindset by Carol S. Dweck. I like how it explained the two different mindsets, Growth mindset and Fixed mindset. Growth mindset is, in my own words, when you know that you are in control of how intelligent and skilled you can become. While a Fixed mindset is, in my own words, thinking that you are born with how intelligent and skilled you are and you can not change that.

 I feel like most people would want to believe that they have a Growth mindset while in actuality they have a Fixed mindset. In our society I think that people look at talented people and think, "They were born like that and theres no way I can be as talented as them." When in actuality if you read bibliographies of movie stars, musicians, singers, sports stars, ect, most talk about all the time and effort that they put into their work. We as a society need to move away from the Fixed mindset. 

The way that I think that this connects with motivation is with the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that we talked about. Intrinsic has to do with motivation coming from inside you, such as wanted to learn something because it is interesting to you. While extrinsic motivation is motivation from the outside, such as money or a grade that you could get. Intrinsic motivation is related to the Growth mindset and extrinsic motivation is related to the Fixed mindset. 

So now think about yourself, do you think that you have a Growth mindset or a Fixed mindset? If you have a Fixed mindset what can you do to change that?

My First iMovie Experience

Week 5 Blog 1


I am not good with technology. So learning how to use iMovie and piecing everything together was a challenge for me. I was nervous of how this project was going to turn out so I started interviewing people right away. This project ended up being a lot of fun to do. I got to spend time with friends who I interviewed and learned a lot of good information about commuting to college and living at college. Also I gained skills with iMovie.

I think that I managed my time well with this project. I wish that I could have video taped everyone on the same day, but I think in the end it was better that I split it up. I was glad that I asked everyone a lot of questions during the interviews because I had a lot of information to work with. One thing that I wish had turned out better was how loud people talked. Unfortunately I think I stood too far away from some people when interviewing them so you could not hear their responses too well. Since that happened I had to cut out a lot of good answers because you could not hear them. Next time I will interview inside in a very quiet hallway and stand closer.

This was my first video I have ever made. Now that I have been exposed to iMovie I can not wait for the next video project. I have some new ideas that I want to try out with the next video I make. I think that I met my goals well. I think that my video came out really well and I was able to end it well. I think that I needed to end the video with me concluding it. If I did not conclude it the video would not have been a finished project.

So go check out my video if you have not yet. Make sure the volume on the video is all the way up and the volume on your computer is up. Thank you!

Campas Safari #17

Campus Safari #17 SCSU's Day of Service

Over the weekend I participated in SCSU's Day of Service. I worked with Gabby and Natalie and also Erica. It was a lot of fun to get to spend time with Gabby, Natalie, and Erica. I got to learn more things about them, they are all very sweet girls.

I got to Southern at 8 AM and signed in with Gabby and Natalie. The buses did not leave Southern until 10 AM. We went into New Haven with gloves and garbage bags and picked up any garbage that we saw. The reason that I really enjoyed the Day of Service was how appreciative all the residents of New Haven were. So many said thank you to us and god bless you. It made me happy that I participated in the Day of Service.

Although me Gabby and Natalie missed out on getting the shirts, (freshman problems) I really did enjoy participating in this event. I know that I am going to participate every year. I would suggest everyone to try it out.

Commuting or Living?!

Week 4 Blog # 2

The topic for my video project is going to be what are the benefits to living at college and what are the benefits of commuting to college. I like this topic a lot because I commute to Southern but a lot of my friends live at Southern. We all have different opinions on which is better but I want to find out other peoples opinions on it.

This topic is important for first year students because it could help them decided if they want to continue to live on campus or continue to commute to campus. I am going to ask older students about their opinions on commuting or living and that could help first year students decide.

I am going to ask my Math teacher and my Wellness teacher questions about which students tend to get better grades. Would it be the students that live on campus because it is easier for them to meet with teachers? Or would it be the students that live at home and have fewer distractions? Or is it a combination of both?

I want to ask older students what their opinions on the topic are also. Maybe it gets better living on campus during your sophomore or junior year because you can choose who you want to live with. Also you can live in different buildings as you get older. Or is it better to commute because you can still have a job and you can drive anywhere you want to go when you want to.

I want to ask first year students if they like the choice they made to either live on campus or commute. Do they think that they would get better grades if they lived on campus or commuted? Also how are they adjusting to college life and do they think that it is easier to adjust if they life on campus?

These are just a few questions that I want to find out the answers to. I know that every single person would have a different opinion on the topics. I want to find out what those opinions are.

OR

Where Does All My Time Go?!

Week 4 Blog #1

In class we have been talking all about time management. I have pretty good time management skills. I know when I can put things off and when I need to get things done. So far this year I think I have been doing well, I have been putting school work in front of everything else. I just need to keep this momentum going and not start to slack. But after writing down everything that I did all week long I realized I may be beginning to slack in some areas.

Usually I go out every Thursday night because my class on Friday does not begin until 12:10. And usually Thursday night is the only night I go out. This week I went out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. That might not seem like a lot but it made me push all my school work to get done on Sunday. Plus when I go out I have to drive home from New Haven so I do not get to sleep until 1 AM. Not getting enough sleep during the night made me tired all throughout the day.

This needs to change. I need to go back to only allowing myself to have one night a week when I get to go out and stay out late. In high school it was okay to stay out late and be tired in class the next day. Not in college, in college I want to make sure I am awake and alert during every single one of my classes.

That is just one thing that I need to work on with my time management skills. In order to work on this I am going to write out daily to do lists of all my work that I need to get done and then make sure I stick to it. This will give me more free time, then I might be able to go out more. I suggest that everyone make daily to do lists. You feel so accomplished every time you get to cross something off. This will help with your time management skills.

Campus Safari #9

Campus Safari # 9 The Involvement Fair

Today on September 19th there was the Involvement Fair in the academic quad. If you did not see it then I am very surprised. There was music playing and people all around. While I was there I actually got interviewed by my friend who joined a news club that had him interviewing people. Two clubs that I may want to get involved in are, The College Health Service Corps (CHSC) and The Veterans Club. The CHSC is very interesting and helpful for me because it works with people in health related majors. Since I am doing nursing this club could be very beneficial to me. The Veterans Club raises money for care packages to send over seas and also for the Wounded Warriors Foundation. You do not need to be a Veteran in order to join it. I'm very patriotic and I want to do all that I can to help soldiers and Veterans, so that club seems perfect for me. Both clubs are exactly what I want so I'm very happy that I took the time and went to the Involvement Fair. If you were not able to go to it I would go visit the Clubs and Organizations office because Southern does have something for everyone.

Getting The A

Week 3 Blog 2

The most helpful tip that we have learned about in the last few weeks would be learning about all the work you need to do in order to get an A in college. In high school getting good grades came easy to me. Of course I would still try in my classes, but as long as I would be present in class and show effort I would get the A. Also in high school the classes are longer and you do all your learning in class.

In college everything changes. Instead of having my school day be 7 hours long it got shortened to 3 hours. This was a huge change. At first I was ecstatic. Shorter classes means less work right? Nope, Wrong. In college you get introduced to a topic during class but in order to fully understand it YOU need to go home and take the time and teach yourself.

In class we talked about "invisible work". It is work that you need to do in order to get the A but often times students forget about it. You need to do prep work before class, readings, organizing notes, taking notes on the readings, thinking about the readings, coming up with questions. Then there is the post work, thinking about what was talking about during class, processing that information, connecting that information, and answering your questions. And of course during class, always arriving on time and participating.

I am glad that we went over all this "invisible work". It reminds me that while it may be easier just to skip a reading for a class or not take notes and not participate, these things will not get me the A in class that I need to get.

A Level

Week 3 Blog 1

Everyday I try to take some time out of my day and look at different peoples blogs. I want to see how everyone else is doing and also compare theirs to mine. That is how I think that I can improve my blog. So this week when I saw that the assignment was to write about one or two peoples blogs and how they are A material one came to mind automatically. http://thebubbleoftaiesha.blogspot.com/ I do not know whom this student is. She's not in my INQ class so she must be in the other class. Her blog stands above everyone else's.

She must have blogged before or she just takes the time out to learn how to work the blog very well. She is so creative with how her blog is set up. As soon as you click onto her blog music starts to play. Music can tell you a lot about a person, so that is a very personal touch. This is a huge advantage and strength that she has. Not one other blog that I have seen has played music. This shows how much effort and thought she puts into her blog. She needed to take the time out and learn how to put music on her blog, and then she needed to come up with a playlist that fits her personality. Neither one of those things are easy to do.

Another thing that I like about her blog is that she is creative with her blog names. This makes you want to click on the blogs and read what they are about. An example is her post, "Meeting Princess Peach." I wanted to know who was princess peach? Why are you meeting with her? That was when I clicked on the post and realized that it was a campus safari. Not only did she have a creative name, she posted a picture of her and "Princess Peach" together.

I would really like to meet this student and get to know her. I would love to ask her questions about her blog and find out if she has blogged before. She deserves an A because as soon as you click on her blog you are hooked. Also you can tell just by looking at her blog the amount of effort that she puts in. I will continue to read her blog and I encourage you to do the same.