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.

Campus Safari #13

Campus Safari: Writing Center

This week I had to write a paper for my Wellness class. I took this as a perfect opportunity to stop by the Writing Center. My paper for my Wellness class was very broad so I went to the Writing Center so that they could help me figure out what direction to go in. I brought in a rough draft and they were very helpful. I would go again. In order to make an appointment you call 203-392-6824 M-Th 9:30-5:00. Drop-ins are accepted if there is time available. The Tutorial Center could help you out with other classes as well. These are the times:

MATHEMATICS
Mon 12:00-6:30
Tues 10:30-6:30
Wed 11:30-5:30
Thu 10:30-5:00

STATISTICS
Mon 12:00-3:00
Tue 10:30-5:30
Wed 11:30-5:30
Thu 10:30-5:00

CHEMISTRY
Mon 3:30-5:30
Tue 11:00-1:00, 3:30-6:30
Wed 2:00-5:30
Thu 11:00-1:00

BIOLOGY 110, 111
Mon 3:30-5:30
Wed 2:00-5:00

PHYSICS
Tue 11:00-1:00, 3:30-6:30
Wed 3:00-5:30
Thu 11:00-1:00

SPANISH
Tue 1:00-3:00
Thu 1:00-3:00

ACCOUNTING
Mon 5:30-7:30

So Southern does a really good job of making sure that you have these resources available to you. Make sure you take advantage of them!

http://www.southernct.edu/writingcenter/

Difficulties I Have Faced

Week 2 Blog #2

We all face challenges and difficulties every single day. These difficulties we encounter help to shape us into whom we are. They could make you stronger or weaker depending on how you handle them. I think that depending on how you were raised shows how you are going to approach different challenges. An example would be if you were raised in a very serious family you might take a serious approach to solving your problems.

In my family, I was raised to always stay optimistic about any situation I may be in. This summer I encountered a big difficulty that has help shape me. My Uncle Larry at the age of 54 passed away. He was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away a few weeks later. Instead of being upset, which I was, I instead went ahead and took control. I stayed positive and I helped my mom. She was very upset about the loss of her brother. So instead of having her clean the house and cook, I did. My dad and I also made sure that everyone rejoiced and celebrated the wonderful life my uncle got to live. He was a very sweet man who was kind to everyone that he came into contact with.

This has shaped me for the better. It showed me that even when life gets bad and you think that it is never going to get better, it does. You just need to stay positive and continue to push forward. This will help me a lot in college. I will take this knowledge and apply it to my classes. Even if I do not do well on a paper or miss a homework assignment I know that I could push forward and do even better on the next assignment.

Everyone needs to stay positive when they are dealing with difficulties. The difficulties could be family, school, work, or relationship related, but as long as you stay positive you will overcome it. From now on I want you all to look at life optimistically. Look at the glass as being half full rather than half empty, and you will live a much happier life.

Thoughts on the Readings

Week 2 Blog #1

In my inquiry class we have to do a lot of readings on different topics. Most of the topics all tie together because they are beneficial and give good advice. They give me a lot of helpful information to use for college and for life after college. The topic that I really liked reading about was "Work Hard or Work Smart". http://www.deliverfreedom.com/blog/work-hard-or-work-smart/

This article made a lot of sense to me. You need to do both, work hard and smart. It sounds simple but a lot of people do not do that,

“This may sound overly simplistic, but how often do we consciously pick the times that we are going to work smart or hard? How often do we look into the mirror and think about our strategy for the day? For the week? For the month?”

 It explains to you that working smart means that you need to take the time and make a plan for how to accomplish your work. This work could be a paper or a project at school or something work related. Working hard means that you need to follow through and work your plan. You need to make sure that you do not just make your plan but also make sure you accomplish your plan.

All this talk about making a plan and following through with it inspired me to do just that. I have set my goals for this semester, and now I am making a plan to accomplish these goals. Having goals and having a plan is only half the battle you need to accomplish your goals in order to work hard and smart. 

Now that I have taken the time to start my own plan, I want you to take the time and write out a plan for yourself. Writing out this plan could help you go from the B+ in a class up to an A-. Or it could help you plan out time to get everything done that you need to do. It could even help fix a relationship that you may be having problems with. Do you have what it takes in order to work hard and smart?

"Work Hard or Work Smart | Freedom Personal Development Blog." Work Hard or Work Smart | Freedom Personal Development Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.deliverfreedom.com/blog/work-hard-or-work-smart/>

Campus Safari #3

Campus Safari Number Three: Visiting the Health Center

Today after class I went down to the Granoff Student Health Center. The Health Center is located across from the Winter Green building. Building number 31 on the map of the campus. When I first walked in very informative and helpful staff greeted me. They had a lot of pamphlets on different health situations that could happen to college students. They have information on eating disorders, on STDs and other sexually transmitted diseases, and also on how to manage stress. They take your own personal insurance or the schools insurance. You can call 203-392-6300 if you want to make an appointment, or you can just walk in and make one. Everyone should take a walk down to the Health Center and make an appointment or get some pamphlets. They have information every college student should know.

Your Blog and Your Personal Blogging Style

Week 1 Blog 2

I took the time and looked at many different blogs. Some of them were on blogger and others I just googled. The ones that really stood out to me were the ones that had a lot of bright colors. I did not like the ones that were in just black and white. I think that blogs should have some color so that readers can enjoy the blogs. Another thing that I liked was when blogs had a lot of pictures. My favorite one that I read was Tagan's Kitchen. http://taganskitchen.blogspot.com/ I liked this blog so much because the blog took you step by step of the recipe of the jam they made, and they added pictures in. Pictures are worth a thousand words so adding them to the blog not only makes it look better but it adds more for your blog to say. Some other blogs that I looked at were really busy and had too much information jumping at me from every spot on the screen. The bloggers should have organized the information better that way it could have been easier to read. Blogs need to be organized. So from all these blogs I have looked at I have decided that my blog will have: Bright colors, Lots of pictures, and I will keep it organized so information is easy to read. This way my blog will be interesting with all the colors and pictures but also informational because it will be organized.

Setting the Tone for this Semester

Week 1 Blogging Assignment 1: Setting the Tone for this Semester

What is college? This question could be answered many different ways because everyone thinks differently. To me college is all about opportunities. Opportunities to in the end get the dream job that you want. But more importantly opportunities to take advantage of all that college has to offer. For me this means making my parents proud, learning about not only my major, which is nursing, but also about other subjects that seem interesting. Also learning about different people. I want to meet new people that I can learn from. Going to college does not only get you that great job in the end, going to college allows you to learn about different peoples opinions and give you insight to things you never knew existed. Being a college student means that you need to teach as much as you learn. I have heard teachers and professors tell me that they learn from me everyday. When you stop and actually think about that it is true. I learn from everyone I come into contact to because I'm open to different peoples opinions. I keep an open mind at all times so that I am constantly learning. My main goal for my college career is to become well rounded. This means well rounded academically, but also well rounded socially. I want to go to the football games even though I do not even know how football works because I want to learn while I'm there. I want to take the opportunity to go to the different lectures that are on campus to learn from the presenters. This is what college means to me. What does it mean to you?