Final Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHvtDK_VQvo

The Road to Success (16A,B)

I still remember packing my things up when the Summer was coming to an end, getting ready to move into my dorm room and start my first college Semester.  I remember being nervous, a little anxious and excited at the same time.  It is crazy to think that my first college semester is already over and that I am already on Winter Break.  My first college semester I would have to say has been quite the success.  I have learned many things about myself and many other different aspects throughout these four months. One thing that I learned about myself is that I seem to have more motivation with doing my college work way more than I did in High School.  I was definitely lazy in High School and I knew I was capable of doing better work.  In college, I learned that it is no joke, my parents are paying for a school that I attend, so I know that I need to do my very best to strive on doing any of my work.  I worked hard this semester and college makes you learn how to manage your time because you are somewhat more independent and honestly you need to learn how to manage it in the right way.  I did pretty well managing my time this semester.  I mostly had all morning classes, with the latest class ending at 3:15 p.m on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I was really happy that I was done at an earlier time in the day because then I had the rest of my day to do my work and the other things I needed to get done throughout my days.  I would attend class, and then I would sometimes come back and take a nap if I was tired.  After I took a nap, I would do homework for a couple of hours, then eat and go to the gym and work out afterwards.  I would sometimes go to the gym before I study and then go eat at Conn if I was hungry or I would make food in my room.  I also had work on Monday and Thursday nights, so I would go home and then come back each of those nights.  It was a little crazy and annoying but it taught me how to manage my time as a college student and it taught me how to be independent, which is something college teaches you.

In the beginning of this semester I set myself goals.  My goals were to reach a 3.0 GPA or higher and get all A's and B's in all of my classes.  I have reached my goals because my grades are all A's and B's and I did work really hard this semester to get there.  It feels great reaching the goals that I set for myself and I am proud of my achievements.  Even though, I did well this semester, there is still room for improvement.  For next semester, I think I could slow down on the naps I took because sometimes I slept for too long on some days and I would wake up really tired and not want to do any work.  The most problem I had were my Math labs that I had to do for my math class.  I fell behind on some of them and I knew I could have done them I was just being lazy.  I know next semester I can't be lazy and I have to get all my work done and no messing around.  I plan to do even better next semester and maybe have all A's in my classes to raise my GPA even higher.  I plan on transferring next year to a different school so I intend on doing the best that I can to get into another school.  I know that I need to step it up and not fall behind on any of my work and that I need to give 100% in everything that I do.  My plan is to be successful and I know I can be if I do my work and have confidence in myself.  I know that I can still achieve my set goals for next semester and that I am going to do the best I can to get the grades that I want.  Anything is possible if you believe in yourself and if you have enough confidence in yourself.  Those things are the key point to being successful and I know that I can be successful and push through every step of the way for the rest of my college career. 

Have you been there ? (15I)

Southern has a Multicultural Center that offers educational programs about diversity.  Any type of language or culture that you are from.  This center can be really helpful to students of any kind and the different clubs that are offered there can be really helpful.  I think that this center is great and when I visited it was really interesting finding out what kind of clubs you can join and what kind of things are done and talked about in each club.  I think diversity is a huge thing when it comes to college especially, and it is great to join o club or organization.

Vocab (15V)

Autonomy-

• the right state of being self-goverend in a particular sphere.  

Self-goverened also means to be independent which can also be a synonym for the word autonomy.  Both of these words definitely relates to college, because we are independent now, and have to do things on our own.  I think college teaches us how to be autonomy.  

Other Vocab

Precipitous- done in a hurry

Some students like to get done with their work in a hurry if they are rushing to be somewhere or if they just want to get it done.  This can result in just a decent grade and not the grade that you would want to get.

Amelioration- improvement

This also has to do with college work.  You can always improve and make it better.

Stressed on Finals Week (15B)

It's crazy to think that Finals are coming up already.  This semester flew by and it's mind boggling to me.  With the finals I have coming up I am planning to study everyday for at least 3 to 4 hours.  I want to make sure that I do really well on these finals to make my GPA to where I want it to be.  I need to really focus and study as hard as I can to do good on them.  The final that I'm worried about is my Math one.  I am not so good in math, I have received decent grades though on my tests and quizzes so I am hoping that I will do just fine.

I am going to have the strategy of studying with my friends in some sort of study group.  I think that this would be a good way to study and many of my friends are in the same math class as me so It would work out perfectly.  Finals are something that are worth 30% of your grade so they shouldn't be taken lightly.  I know I have to do whatever it takes to keep up where my grades are now.  I do not want any of my grades to drop because of how I did on my finals.  I intend to stick to my strategies for this next week and work as hard as I can to do my best on these tests.

Work Hard,  STUDY HARDER!

Feedback (15A)

With all the videos that we have watched from our fellow classmates, it really gave me ideas on how I am going to fix my video and what things to put in it and to what not to include.  Watching some videos, I can see what some of the specific things that I am lacking in mine, or things that are really good.  Some of the videos are funny and made the class laugh, making me want to make my skit funny and entertaining so it keeps the audience focused and wanting to watch my video.

My ideas are that I am going to have more of a skit and not that much words on the screens so that the audience won't get really bored from reading all the words and paragraphs.  I did that with my last video and it just dragged on.  I also am going to add a lot of creativity and make my video entertaining to watch and definitely not boring.

Since my video is on procrastination I am going to make the video as entertaining as I can and make sure that It makes people laugh.  I want to make my skit as good as it can be, and not too long but not too short.

Art (14I)

The Statue located in Engleman is the first president , New HAven State Teachers College, 1937-1943.  This statue always stands out to me and I think it is very interesting, and this statue is there for the principles of the university that go a long way back.  Southern was actualy called the New Haven State Teachers College.

Investment -

• The action or process of investing money for a profit or result.

Investment is a huge part of college.  Yes the word investment is part of college, but this word also has other meanings to it.  You have to invest time in college, between work, family, and your time.  We definitely have to invest our time in college.

Other Vocab

Thwart-

• prevent, frustrate 

Brawny-

• muscular 

Thankful :) (14B)

This semester I am thankful for many things.  I am thankful for my parents for paying for my college and helping me get through the semester.  I am also thankful for all my teachers and how I can talk to them if I am having problems in the class.  I am thankful for the different things we learned in INQ with all the articles and especially certain ways to study.  I actually took some of those things and put them to use.  They actually helped me as well.

I am also thankful for my friends that I have made through out the first semester.  They are so nice and they are always there for me and we get along really well.  I am also thankful for my roommate as well.  We get along really well and she is one of my good friends.  I was really lucky to be put with a good roommate.  I am very thankful for that.

I am also thankful for all my friends from home too for supporting me and always being there for me as well.  They will always be there for me just like I will always be there for them.

Stress Relief (14A)

With finals coming up in the next 2 weeks, many of us are stressed about taking them and studying for them.  I always get stressed when I have big tests coming up because I just freak out.  I have made up and decided to do some things this week and the week after to keep my stress at an all time low.

One of the things I am going to do is go to the gym.  I always go to the gym.  I feel that it is an awesome stress reliever and working out will definitely get all the stress out.  Working out makes you feel good all around and if I am studying and doing homework it is always good to take a break and go to the gym.  In my opinion it's an awesome way to keep your mind off things and gets the stress all out. I always do it, & it always works for me.

Another stress reliever is to eat healthy.  I think eating healthy or even eating in general is a stress reliever to me.  Besides eating, sleep is good too.  I am going to take some quick naps these next weeks to keep me not as stressed if I have a lot of pages or papers to write for my finals.

Anybody can do anything to be stress free.  Every one is different and whatever works for you is what all that matters!

I hope everyone does well on their finals and find ways to not be as stressed.

Registration (13I)

This previous Monday Freshmen had to register for classes at 6:00 a.m.  It was so early to wake up.  I had many problems with registration and could not get into Banner Web until 7:00 a.m. To register we had to sign into banner web and click on registration and click add/drop classes.  You then typed in your CRN's for your classes that you should have had written down right next you so you could just type in all the numbers right away so you could get all the classes that you wanted.  When i typed my numbers in all my classes were closed.  I then had to make up a whole new schedule and I was really upset I didn't get the classes I wanted.  My schedule now is pretty okay, as of right now I do not have any friday classes which is exciting!

Vocabulary (13V)

Purpose -

• the reason for which something is done, created and why it exists.

The purpose of school.  This is to get an education and to major in the subject that you want to in order to get a good job when you are older so that you can support your family.  My goal is to have a lot of money when I am older so that I won't have to worry about anything.

Other Vocab

Credible - believable 

Enigma- puzzle mystery 

Creativity is Key (13B)

For the final exam video project , we are using the App IMovie, or Windows Media Movie Player.  I am using IMovie.  When I was assigned the first video project I had no idea what IMovie was and had no idea how to use it.  I went on youtube and they gave you specific directions on how to use it and it was very helpful.  The app has many different features such as the different animations and transitions you can add to and from each clip you have.  It also has a music button that you can add to whatever clips you want and for how long.  You can adjust how long it takes for the clip to be on the screen and how long it takes for it to go into the next one as well.  There are a lot of awesome features to IMovie and I enjoy using it.

My topic procrastination is creative because there are so many ways that you can prevent it and it is easy to put a skit together for it.  You can really do it however way you want to and still make it really interesting to watch.  Buy watching my video I think kids will actually take the advice on how to prevent it and actually try it.

With the IMovie app it is going to allow the video to look more creative and make it more enjoyable to watch instead of it being just a dull video with no features what so ever.  I think people are going to enjoy watching it and like the creativity that I am going to add and actually have a good time watching it.

Making it Perfect (13A)

We have been assigned our Final video Draft for the upcoming final that is coming up really soon since the Semester is already almost over.  On my Mid-term video I received a 78.  I was not happy with this grade at all and I felt that I did way better than that to receive that grade.  When I got back my rubric there were things on there that I could have done better or even worse, such as the timing.  My video was way too long and I got point taken off for that.  For the final video I figured out the way I am going to make it to a high level college critical thinking.

I am doing my video on procrastination, which is something that many college students struggle with.  To make my video a high level of critical thinking I feel that I need it to be easy to understand and that my video doesn't have certain parts somewhere and all over the place.  I will make sure that I keep my video interesting and that it has a beginning middle and an end.  This means making sure that my beginning is very catchy, I have a catchy title, an interesting opening and the same as the rest of the video goes on.  

I need to make sure when publishing this video that It is perfect and completely done with and that all the key points are touched.  I am going to have many of my friends in the skits and make sure that there is no laughing and that it is taken very seriously because it is for a grade.  I will have the names of the people who are in my video, just to make it known that they were in it and who they are.  

Procrastination can be an interesting thing to do a video on because many kids do it including me.  It should be really interesting doing this video because I am also going to include how you can prevent and fix procrastination for those who are doing it.  I think that it is going to be really interesting to watch and that people are going to enjoy it.

Majors! (12I)

You can visit the department that you are majoring in.  I went to the office and made an appointment for undeclared majors.  I feel I can talk to someone about what I can do for my major and what would be the best for me.  I went to the apartment and made an appointment and my appointment is coming up this week and I am looking forward to deciding what my major is going to be!

Vocabulary (12I)

Interdisciplinary Perspective -

• something that involves two areas of learning
• combining two or more academic disciplines 

Subjects that are interdisciplinary for example are science and math.  They both are subjects that work well together because they involve solving equations.  You need to know math to do science, just like you need science to do math.  

Enhance-

• to make better or more clear

Some college students enhance their learning and it becomes more clear to them

Pilable -

• flexible, not stubborn 

We can be pilable with homework and our school work.

Shorter is better (12B)

Questions:

1.  Why is a Liberal Arts program beneficial to a college student?
2.  Is it important for a college student to use creative thinking in everything that they do?
3. Would shorter school days with no tests or homework change students ways?
4. Do employers look at the qualities that each student has?

Coming up with questions last week was a struggle for me because it is sometimes hard to come up with college level questions that makes you think and go into depth.  This week it was a little bit easier and the readings helped me come up with really good questions.  The question that I decided to answer was number 2.  "Would shorter school days with no tests or homework change students ways?"

I feel that kids that do not have any tests and homework and just concentrate on the material being taught in the classroom would be perfectly fine.  Teachers sometimes spend too much time working on tests and deciding what to give for homework.  I always used to think that school day was always too long and the days used to drag on.  I would always remember even in middle school and high school, I would always look at the clock and see what time it was and if it was closer to the time we had to go home.  High school is a little different in a way, because there's periods throughout the day and you aren't in one classroom the whole time.

Students get bored.  No kid wants to sit down in a room for a very long time because they are obviously going to get bored.  The kids are not going to pay attention the whole time.  Some kids also have really bad attention spans and they would stop listening 2 hours into the class.  If the school days were shorter the kids would pay more attention and actually want to learn.  The kids are able to take in more information rather than  Memorizing just specific things for a test just to pass, i think is just unnecessary.  If the student just takes the time to comprehend and actually KNOW the material, I think that's more important for them doing good on tests because they NEED to.  Some kids don't have good standardized test taking schools, it's not fair to some kids who have good learning skills and can understand what is going on and they do poorly on tests.  If kids have no tests and homework and focusing on paying attention in class or even doing activities that it would be way more enjoyable and kids will actually want to go school.

I feel that memorizing material for a test is not part of learning. Kids do better listening and learning in class and do certain activities rather than taking tests and giving homework that is just getting graded on material that will never be used again.  A shorter school day will make kids pay attention the full time instead of dozing off.

I think a shorter school day and no test and no homework will actually make the students better. It is really good to learn things instead of giving material that you need memorize and not guaranteed to score well.

Meeting the Requirements(12A)

When I heard of the Liberal Arts program here at Southern I really didn't have any idea what it meant.  If someone asked me what it meant then I would not be able to give them an answer.  Now, being here for almost 3 months I came to a pretty good understanding on what it means.  Every college student has to take a certain amount of courses to be obtain the Liberal Art requirements.  Throughout this week we  had readings on Liberal Arts and my perspective on it has changed completely.

The most important thing and value of Liberal Arts is to try and make every student the most well rounded college student that they can be.  In one of the articles I have read called Liberal Arts education and the know-nothing bandwagon it states that getting an education is more training to getting a job.  You have to develop certain skills such as critical thinking, writing skills and communicating.  This is a good point because getting a job today, most of the employers are mostly well-rounded people who have developed all the communication skills.  Employers want someone who has a good understanding of the skills and also in their major.  Not just in the their majors.  Therefore they look for well-rounded people.

First year students, when they first come to college, some have no idea what they want to do.  Me for example.  I am still undeclared.  The Liberal Arts program allows you to have a basic knowledge of many subjects.  Chopp says Liberal Arts is founded on a whole person developing a person athletically and academically.  This is true because the liberal arts program lets students take classes that they have not chosen on their own, and some subjects that they end up loving.  Coming from a school with this program, will allow me to have basic knowledge and I will have an idea of every subject once I graduate.

Health ! (11I)

The Health Center is Located right here on Southern's campus.  Is is on Wintergreen Avenue right near the resident halls.  They are open Monday through Friday from 8 Am to 4:30 P.M.  There are staff members that are available for medical issues with students and also are advised to make appointments.  This is a place to help students all year round and after going there this past week, due to me being sick, I now know where to go when I am sick.

During this time of year is where everyone starts to get sick, either with a cold, the flu or the stomach bug.  It is important for college students especially to stay healthy because there are germs everywhere in the residents halls.  In the bathroom, doorknobs, on your hands.  I always try and stay healthy and the health center is definitely the place to go .

Stay HEALTHY! :)

Vocabulary (11V)

Innovation:  

• the act of introducing something new
• application of better solutions and new requirements

Innovation has a lot to do with creativity which is what our topic was this week in class.  You are getting introduced to something new, a change.  A change is where you start something new.  For example, when I moved into college.  That was a major change for me.  Change is what people become mature and makes as grow up to the young human beings that we are today.  I have changed many of my study habits from my transition from high school to college and it has been a great experience and so worth it.

Other Vocabulary 

Tedium:

• bordum

This can partake with many kids in college including myself

Abstruse:

• difficult to understand

This relates to some college work.  I sometimes find the work and questions abstruse.  

Exploring (11B)

As I was reading through some of my peers questions I came across some that I thought were college-level questions and really made me think into depth about some things.  After doing these exercises I now think that when I have to go take tests in my classes I will be way more prepared.  I learned how to break down test questions in college.  College questions are so much different than high school.  You have to know how to analyze each question and go into depth and deep thinking while answering them.  I know that now when I am reading not just only do I comprehend and write down the key points, but also making questions up as I go along.  That way it can be a question that will be on the test.

Some of my peers questions that I think were really well written and put into depth was from Paige's page, http://paige2017.blogspot.com/2013/11/11a-inquiry-based-questions.html, "what are some ways college students can cultivate creativity, and how it can important to their future.  I like this question because it allows students to actually think about it and you can really analyze this question.  I think it is also a good question because it has to do with the readings that we had this week and her answer to the question was her own opinion about the question and was put into her own words.

Another question I liked was from Stephanie's bloghttp://stepphhr7.blogspot.com  "How can being bored affect a college student positively"?  I like this question because it makes you think what a college student could be doing if they have free time on their hands.  It makes you think about and analyze the question.  I think that when college students are bored than they can get their work done faster and it could be better rather than rushing it.  It also can give students more creative ideas because their minds are at ease.

What the future holds (11A)

Questions:

1.  If a college student is bored, does this mean they have a higher rate of being creative?
2. What are a few ways that we can promote creativity within kids today and how would this affect them in their future?
3. If a student is not creative, does this mean you are not as smart as them?
4. Does creativity come from the parents of the children?

The question that I would like to answer is number 3.  I feel that there are many ways that we can improve creativity in students especially the young ones.  Therefore, in the future everything can be better.  I feel that in todays age, young students should be working on their creative thinking.  Not every student will be on the same level of critical thinking and how creative they really are, so they can always have a test to anticipate where the kids stand in their critical thinking.  Me as a college student, should know the basics of how to use a computer.  I am currently in a computer class here in my first semester and I am facing challenges with how to use technology.  Technology is never actually going to change, some students can be really creative with computers and others just don't find it as easy.  We can have certain classes based on how well students work with computers so kids don't have to struggle if they are having trouble with technology.

I feel like in todays age, teachers can challenge the small students more and can evaluate how creative the kids are.  They can have them work in groups and see which students are doing the most work and which ones are having trouble.  Working in groups can be a good or bad thing.  If students are working in a group, it is good because they can learn from one another.  If a student is in a a group and not participating with any of the material then it sometimes can be a bad thing.  Some students prefer to work independently and that's perfectly fine.

You can also improve creativity by having the kids work alone and see what ideas they come up with from the assignment the teacher assigns.  It is a good to work by yourself sometimes because you keep your thoughts to yourself and then write them down.  It also isn't as distracting rather than working in a 4 or 5 group of kids.  Being creative comes from how flexible you are with the new materials.  We don't know what the future may hold for the kids, but I know that we will improve on creativity and the kids will be more creative than ever.

What an adventure ! (10I)

Me and my friend Sam went on something that felt like an adventure but it was actually really scary and I wasn't actually intending for this to happen.  We wanted to go to the Edge which a gym that is located just 8 minutes away from campus.  Our friend could not drive us that day so we decided that we were going to take the bus from the upperclassmen Hall located lower than all the dorms.  I have never been a bus before so I didn't know that you have to get off certain bus stops to get to where you are actually going.  Sam and I got lost in New Haven when we got off the first bus stop we stopped at.  It was really scary and a really sketchy area to be in.

The cops thankfully came around the corner and we asked them for help because he automatically knew that we were lost and not in the correct area.  They walked us to a safer part of New Haven where we now had to wait for the correct bus to get on to get us to the Hamden gym.  We had to get off the bus a little bit further from the gym so we had to walk a little to get there when we were let off in Hamden.  We finally arrived at 6:30 when we left campus at 4:30.  When we were done working out we had to now find a bus stop so we can get home.  We found it after walking for a half hour.  The bus then brought us past Southern where we were sopposed to be going back to.  We then had to get off again and walk toward the way campus was.  We finally asked a cop and he told us where to stand for the bus stop and there was a lady who told us that it lead right to Southern.  I was so happy at this point because it is now 9:00 and I was't planning on being gone that long.

I would never recommend taking the bus!

Vocabulary ! (10V)

Creativity- 

• the ability to make new things or think of  new ideas

I think no matter what everyone is creative in their own way.  Even if it isn't art.  You can be creative with anything you do in your life.  I think being creative is a really good trait to have.  In the video I watched this week Ken says that it children are really creative and capable of a lot.  He says that some educational programs don't encourage creativity that much. 

Other Vocabulary 

Abstian-

• desist, go without, withdrawal

I feel that at this point in the semester, maybe even earlier, some students start abstain certain classes.  They either want to withdrawal or feel that they could go on without the class and have enough credits.

Tentative-

• not certain

I can be tentative sometimes when I'm taking quizzes and test.  I am sometimes not certain on the answer I chose or wrote down.

About me ?

Sometimes when you have to write a biography about yourself it can be challenging.  Even if it's about you it can still be hard at some times.  Looking at some of the questions I feel it's a little easier to write about me !

Does anyone in your life regularly inspire me?

My mom is a person that really truly inspires me.  I love my mom to the moon and back and she's always there for me when I need her.  My mom and I can fight a lot but always never stay mad each other.  She is an amazing mother to me and my two other siblings.  She works really well in taking care of us and how she raised us all to be.  It inspires me to be just like her when I become a mother.

How do you begin your day ?

I always begin my day with of course going to class.  I have class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9:10 in the morning and 9:35 ams on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I always eat breakfast after my classes and then that's the start of my day.  Sometimes I feel like my day doesn't officially start unless I eat breakfast, because I feel it gives me energy for the rest of my day.

What are your habits, and patterns that you repeat?

One of my habits is sleeping everyday.  I love taking naps and I usually take the longest naps on Tuesdays.  That I have realized became a very big habit.  I also feel that waiting until last minute to do some of my homework.  My patterns usually stay the same every day.  I usually go to class, go and eat, nap, go to the gym, and then get all of my work done.  I feel like all the days are starting to blend all together and I do the same routine everyday depending on which day it is.

Strive for the best (10B)

My Midterm Video was on how to stay fit on campus.  I love going to the gym and I knew I had many friends who participate in either a sport here on campus, or attend the gym as well.  I feel that I met all the requirements that were needed for this project.  I believe that I had a really interesting topic to get people's attention and keep them interested as they watch my video.  My interviews were also clear to understand and all of my friends answered in a positive way.

I have exciting music playing in the background throughout the whole video so that it didn't seem so boring as each slide passed.  I kept it as exciting as I could by throwing in clips of some of the machines that I do at the gym.  I also interviewed a staff member who works at the gym on campus and she said she loved working out.  Throughout the slides I added the animations as well.

My video was 9 minutes and 32 seconds long and I interviewed the correct amount of people I should have. I did meet requirements but feel that I passed the time limit by a little much.  I do feel that my video will grab teachers attention and maybe actually persuade people into going to the gym or participating in a sport if they don't do so at that time.  The technology I feel worked completely fine and there weren't any problems.  At first I was having trouble uploading my video to youtube and finalizing the video.  I live on campus so I think that it was my wifi connection because when I tried it in the classroom it worked right away.  I think that the process of finalizing my video was easy for the most part if you didn't have any uploading problems.  My video did have a beginning, middle, and end.  I opened it with what I was talking about and gave a brief description after all my videos that were played.  I worked really hard time on this project and put a lot of time for the interviews, and actually videoing the clips from the gym as well.  I think that I should get an A on this project because it does meet all the requirements and is really enjoyable and definitely grabs the audience's attention.

I think my video does tell a story because I gave clips of what are the things you can do at the gym and then the interviews explained the sport and what are some things they do to stay fit.  This was done as well with my friend talking about the gym.  She explained what she was doing at the gym, and that she enjoyed it a lot and it's good for your body. It keeps it really interesting and I feel the people who watch my video will like it a lot !  It can also actually make people want to stay fit.

Southern Pride ! (9I)

This Friday I attended the Southern football game.  It was so cold outside!  I am so not used to this cold weather yet.  It was really fun though, me and my friends all sat together and it was exciting watching a football instead of cheering at one.  Although it wasn't the same, it felt good in a way.  It was exciting but they unfortunately lost.  The score I believe was 41- 20.

Vocabulary (9V)

Critical Thinking

• way of finding out if something is true, partially true or false.
• leading to skills that can be learned, mastered, or used.
• coming to conclusion by reason

I think the best way to critical think is to have discussions.  It's most important in college as well.

Other Vocab 

Decision

• conclusion reached after consideration 

Us college students are always making decisions, such as in our work or even social involvement things. It is important to always make the right decisions.

Obstacle 

• something that blocks or prevents progress

There are many obstacles that some people go through to get where they want to be.  This can be an any situation.  That doesn't mean you can't achieve what you want.  Just like Sonia, she went through obstacles and still managed to pursue her dream.

So far so good ! (9B)

As of right now, this semester I am doing very well.  My grades right now are A+,B+,B,A,B.  I really want to get the B's up to A's by finals and I know that I have the capability of doing that.  I feel that it's crazy that midterms are already over.  It's all going by so fast!  I was really happy on how my midterm grades and I feel that I can do just the same when finals come around.  I feel that I am reaching my goal of having a 3.0 GPA or higher.  If I keep up with my work like I have been doing I don't think there will be a problem.

I feel that I could probably work a little bit harder in order for my grades to be all A's.  That's my main goal right now.  I feel that if I keep up with studying, doing my homework, reading, then I can achieve my goal.  I have had many successes with all my my tests, quizzes, and essays I have written.  I have to say in the beginning of the semester it was all new to me and the work load hit me really hard because I wasn't really used to it at all.  As the first or second week went by I realized that I had to make study skills and figure out how I'm gonna manage my time with work and social things.  I decided that I was going to my homework before anything I have to do whether if it's going to the gym or hanging out with my friends I make sure all my work is done.  I never want to be behind because then everything just gets messed up and I always get mad at myself.

Besides that, I have been success with all my studying and plan to keep it that way.  I really want to be successful and achieve my goal.

What does this mean to you ? (9A)

Critical Thinking,

Some people interpret the words critical thinking in different ways.  When I think of critical thinking I think of it as conclusions that a person comes to based on facts that they know, books they have read, their own experience and feelings, and your own ideas.  I think that critical thinking is your ideas, and that everyone can think in a different way, based on what they know and how their minds work.  I think that someone can never be wrong, and if that something that you decided to do works for you, then stick with that plan.  I think Critical Thinking is a really good skill to have, especially in college.  We are always using it even if we don't know.  I also think that it is a hard thing to develop as well.  It takes time and patience to actually have a really good understanding of critical thinking.  Critical Thinking is an important skill to have in college because we have many papers to write, and also even in class discussions we use critical thinking.

Some students never want to be wrong, therefore we are nervous to state opinions without the facts of critical thinking.  It is a good thing to develop critical thinking especially if we are using it in college now, even though I never really used much of it in High school.

Final Draft Video Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwxbzJpigjw

Asking the right question (8I)

This past week I made an appointment with one my professors for my Media class.  I went to her office hours in the TE6 building located near the dorms.  I asked her two questions along with me taking a quiz that I have missed due to the fact of me missing class for a personal reason.  I asked her "how she was grading the tests and quizzes"  She said that they worth 40% of our grade.  I also asked if we failed at least 2 things how much it would effect our grade.  She said it depends on what the assignment is and that if we had to we could work it out.  My teachers name is Margaret DiMauro.

Vocabulary(8V)

Mastery

• comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or an accomplishment 
• control over someone or something

I think that in order to become a master at something it takes hard work and effort.  It also takes patience as well.  I think of Master's degree which is a high degree to pursue.  It takes people years of college to achieve this degree.  This goes for every other degree as well.  In order to have mastery in a subject you need to know every little single thing about it.  It takes hard work and anyone can become a master if they have the patience and do what they need to do to work up to the expectations.




Other Vocab

Tedious

•  too long, slow or dull

Many people can be tedious with many things they do, it could be school work, or with anything they do.



Comprehensive

• complete, including all aspects of something 

You need to be comprehensive in college, especially with reading.  You need to comprehend all the material that it going on.

The Journey (8B)

   "Always smiling, even on bad days"

When all of us Freshman attended orientation we were handed a book called My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor.  I think that a lot of things can be learned from this book if people take the time to actually read it.  Sonia faced many struggles in her life.  She has positive attitude though.  This is how she reached her goal to be what she dreamed to be.  Sonia had diabetes at an early age in her life, and her father passed away when she was young as well.  She was very stronger though.  This can relate to college students and can teach them, that life isn't easy and there will be hardships throughout your life, but that doesn't mean you cant be successful.  Sonia also has a very strong bond with each and every one of her family members and shows it really strongly.  Her and her mom never really got along at first and the bond wasn't really there at the beginning, but as the novel went on they worked on their relationship and became closer than they ever were.  Just like kids who don't see their families in college all the time.  This shows to always keep them in your thoughts because they are always going to be there through the challenges and whenever you have problems.

I believe this book shows people to not be afraid to open up to our families and to let out our struggles and the challenges that you may be facing in your life.  Sonia never mentioned that she was suffering with the diabetes until she passed out which is when everyone found out the news.  I feel that many people have problems, and some like to keep it to themselves, when really holding it in is getting you no where.  We shouldn't be afraid to seek out and let out all the problems instead of letting them build up inside of us.  Everyone has their own personal story.  Sonia gives off the vibe of meeting new people and learning about their cultures and to support the different ways of people living.  This can give us a better understanding of the world.  

Here at SOuthern, it is full of many different cultures and many different types of people.  Sonia I think teaches students to never give up, and that you can always improve on anything.  I feel that Sonia is a very strong willed woman, and her attitude towards all of her challenges she faced was awesome.  She never gave up and kept going forward even with all the hardships.  I believe that we should never take anything for granted, push ourselves to pursue our dreams, and work as hard as we can, because if you give everything you got, there's no way you can't get what you want.

              

              

Exploring (8A)

As I was looking through the blogs on the page, the two that caught my eye the most were "The Rest is Still Unwritten" and "In Briana's Mind."

http://brianaq.blogspot.com

Briana's Blog really caught my eye because I like the way it is organized.  I like the way she talks about her thoughts and how she talks about them to the full extent and really goes in depth in what she is talking about.  What I like that she does, is she puts more than one picture with each of the posts.  Her blog is really creative and I like the way it is organized.  As I was reading some of her posts, the one the really caught my eye was when she was talking about the challenge that she had to get through.  She explained the whole thing where it was really easy to understand and it was well written.  All of her posts are really well written and easy to understand and follow through.  I believe that her blog is an A+ works because you can really tell that she works really hard and puts in a lot of time to create her blogs.

http://stepphhr7.blogspot.com

In Stephanie's Blog I noticed that she always writes a lot about every topic.  I noticed that it always interesting and well written and I can read the posts without being bored.  One of the posts that really caught my eye and I really liked was "the climb."  She explained her experience of her involvment that she did that week. It was really interesting and she really explained how her experience was trying to get people wanted to climb up that mountain too.  It really made me have interest and doing it.  I also like the way her blog is organized.  It has very pretty light colors, nothing that is too crazy or that takes your eye of the words.  She goes into depth with each and every one of her blogs and you can tell that she takes a lot of time and effort towards them.  I think that her blog is an A+ work.

We got the SPIRIT !(6I)

This Friday, Southern held their first pep rally.  It was so exciting and the spirt was awesome.  In high school, I was always in the pep rally's when I was in High School and I always loved them.  I would always be so nervous/excited the day of pep rally.  The cheerleaders, dance team would perform their routines in a 50 minute time spand.  It was kind of like the Pep rally on Friday, but I found Southern's way more excited because there was a lot more people.  It was really exciting and I wish I was in it, but it was fun just being able to watch it!

Failure(6V)

Failure 

• Lack of success 
• omission of expected required action

I think failure can be a good thing in a way.  If someone fails at something then it could make them stronger and teach them a lesson.  I have failed at many things in my life and it only made me stronger and a better person.  It taught me how to motivate myself to make sure I did better the next time around with whatever situation I was in.  Some people are taught that failure never can be tolerated and that it will automatically make you a bad person.  Turns out, failure can actually make YOU the better person.  I believe that failure leads to a person being more successful.

Other Vocab Words

  Success

• achievement, something desired
• gain of fame or prosperity 

Now that I am in college, the only thing I want to do is be successful.  I believe that if you put you mind to it that anybody can be successful.  It's the way you perform your work.  If you give 100% in your work and take the time to study, read, and write your papers, there is no way that you can't be successful.

Connotation 

• an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

This vocab word I learned in my media class this week.  At first I didn't understand this word completely, but as the class went on I came to the full understanding.   We learned to study the connotation of images, words or sayings.  Ex: exploring ads and explaining what they mean.  

Pushing to the limit (6B)

Since I graduated High School and now in college, it is a big difference.  The work load is so much more and a lot harder than High School work.  I never really failed at any subject in school, besides Math.  Math is a subject that I always had to work longer and way harder to do.  It just doesn't come easy to me.  I sometimes get so frustrated doing it that I will start to cry.  My sophomore year of high school I remember being in a really hard math class that I was failing.  I would fail every test that I took in the class.  This taught me how to become stronger in this subject though.  I knew I had to work way harder in math, so I would always stay after with my teacher for extra help.  I knew that I had to.  It taught me a really good lesson though.  It taught me that failure actually made me succeed.  By the time the mid term came for that class I scored a really good grade on it.  I was so happy.

Now, in college, I find to see that I am still failing at Math.  I am only in Math 95, the lowest math class here that they offer.  I have trouble doing some problems, and math labs.  I feel that I don't fully understand the material that I'm being taught in the class.  I even try and work with some of my friends but I still seem to have trouble.  I have talked to the teacher about getting extra help and she is all for it.  I am thinking about going to a tutor as well.  I feel that if i work hard and push myself that I will become better at math.  If I practice the problems over and over that It will soak into my brain and I won't have as much trouble.

I intend to get extra help and work harder with my math problems.  My mid term is coming up next week and I am going to study extra hard and make sure that I know the material to the full extent so I can receive above a 90 on the test.  My goal is to get anything higher than a 90.  I know I can push myself and have that motivation to work harder in order to achieve my goal.  I have faith in myself and I hope to become better at Math by getting extra help or having a tutor.  Anything is possible when you put your mind to it!  I would love to be a better math student, sometimes it's hard because students are better at some subjects than others, but I know that it's going to teach me a lesson and as time goes on I hope to become better at this subject !

Failure to Succeed (6A)

There are many people in the world who fail at something they do.  It can be a sport, something involved with school, or even a relationship.  But does this mean that you are a failure?  I think failure is a part of life and can be a huge impact on certain people.  Some people can take it way more serious than others.  In my opinion I believe that failing can make you succeed.  If you fail at something you do, it can make you a better person in the long run.  Some kids have those parents where if they fail at something then they get yelled at for it and punished.  I believe that if you are a parent that you should be happy with your child's effort.  If they fail, it teaches them the lesson to do better.  They can perform things better than they did the first time, therefore they won't fail the next time at what they are doing.

Many students struggle with certain subjects in school, and could have a failing grade.  I think that if you practice the material over and over that it will help just a little bit and it will increase their grade.  If the failing still continues then I would suggest a tutor or maybe talking to the teacher for extra help.  If a student is failing in school because of a hard subject they have trouble in, I believe that it will make them work harder and make them succeed more in the class.  If a student is failing in class because they never show up, never study, then that's a different story.  That's a student choosing to fail, rather than a student trying their best.  Some kids will be pressured by their parents to not fail or they get in big trouble.  Some parents help push their child, and then others might not even care about how their child is doing.  It's sad to say, but very true.

You not only can fail in school or a sport but you can also fail at being in a relationship too.  If you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, sometimes the relationship can fail because of one person doing something wrong or it's not working out.  That's the couple who has to try and work things out if they want to in order for the relationship not to fail.  People can also fail at their jobs sometimes.  Whatever job they have, their boss can be upset with you, or get mad at you for not doing something wrong.  This can lead to you being fired in some cases.  I think that if someone fails, then it teaches them a life lesson.  My mom always used to tell me that it was alright to fail at something once in a while.  Nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes once in a while, whether if their big or small.  Failure makes a person stronger.  If you fail at something, then it gives you the motivation to work harder the next time around.  In one of the articles called The Fringe Benefits of Failures by J.k Rowling that I've read in this week's readings stated a quote " and so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."  I think this quote is very important because I think this simply means when you have hit rock bottom in the situation the only choice you have to work your way back up and try your very best to succeed.

What a Great Experience (6I)

This past week I had an essay I have been working on and I wanted some help on it so I decided to go to the writing center for some help.  This was a great experience because It helped me a lot.  My session was great and it actually taught me how to write better.  It made me improve a lot on my essay and I'm happy I went and scheduled a session.  This experience was great and it actually made me get a good grade on my paper.  I would rate this session an 8 and would recommend it to other students as well.  I would most definitely attend a session again because I would like to continue on receiving good grades on my essays.

Being different (6B)

In these past few weeks as I am in first year of college I have learned and experienced many new materials and study habits in inquiry class.  I have learned in some articles last week that I read and took notes on.  I read about "note taking", how to write a better essay, and even how to not procrastinate as much. (if you do)  These articles really helped me and I actually used some of these methods in my school work this week.  Under the notetaking article it showed me how to be more organized with my notes and how to take them.  This was very helpful to me because sometimes I can be unorganized with my work.  In one article there was a quote that said "Understanding the material everything, and the only thing that matters.  I think this quote is very important to be because it's saying that you need to understand the material in order to be successful.

Speaking of successful, I read an article on Grit this week.  Grit means when you have determination to push through any hardships and challenges no matter what.  In this article Duckworth talks about gritty people.  She said that the intelligent students have less grit because they are determined and are willing to push themselves through hard work so they feel that they don't need to work as hard as others.  I feel that It would be nice to have grit because it shows you have to push yourself through your challenges and can be a very good lesson learned for someone.  If someone doesn't have grit does this mean that they aren't the same as others?

This refers back to fixed and growth mindset.  Someone with a fixed mindset could be the smarter students who don't think that they need to improve on anything and that they already know they are good at what they do and takes the test and gets an A and is happy with it.  Growth mindsets are people who want to improve.  This kind of has to do with being grit. Does this mean that people have to associate with just by what they are?  Some people have more grit than others, and some people have a fixed or growth mindset.  I believe that this doesn't mean that we can't interact with these people just because of how much grit or what their mindsets may be.  If someone has different beliefs than you, I believe that this can help someone and teach them different things rather than just being around the same people all the time.  It is good to reach out to people who are different from you.  

PERSISTENCE (6V)

Persistence

• firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.  

I think persistence means that you need to strive and keep moving forward whenever something in your life seems to get tough.  Being in college, everyone should be persistent in doing their work and making time to study and how they manage their time.  Yes, it is the first semester, and the work load isn't all too bad, but as time goes on the work is going to get harder.  You have to have that persistence in order to make your future what you want.  

When something is very overwhelming to you, and you feel like you just can't do it, you can't give up.  You have to be persistent.  You have to say to yourself , this is my future in my hands, I have to work for it, in order to be successful.  As much as you want to give up, just think of your future and it may have an affect on some people, but it may not on others.  It definitely has an affect on me!  I know I have to be persistent in college.  Persistent doesn't necessarily only involve school, it can be related to anything else in your life that is difficult.  

No matter what, it always pays off in the long run!

Other vocab

Synthesize-  to combine, form a new complex product.

We have to synthesize in every class we are in and on blogs.

Evaluate -

To examine or judge carefully.

We have to evaluate on school work such as tests, essays, homework and whatever we do.  It makes it easier to evaluate your work so you don't have second thoughts or receive a grade you don't want.

The Funk (6A)

Many people will come across a point in there life where they are facing challenges and don't know how to overcome them.  Whether if something small or big, it's still a challenge and some may want to overcome them.  I've had a challenge in my life that I overcame.  This challenge was me getting back into tumbling.  I have been doing dance and cheerleading my whole life and tumbling is part of both sports.   I started tumbling when I was seven years old.  I remember when I first threw my back handspring and I just wouldn't stop.  I would tumble everywhere and I loved it.  As I was growing up I started with the harder tricks such as tucks, standing back hand spring tucks and running tricks as well.  I had all of those tricks and I loved doing them and trying to perfect them every time I threw one.  When I started Varsity cheer as a freshman I was always in the front for the tumbling sequence.  My friend and I were the only freshman who had the harder tricks.

I tumbled all throughout my freshman year and competed through competitions and everything.  One day when I was tumbling at dance class, I found myself unable to do it.  My body was stopping me.  In my head I knew I could do it.  I was thinking to myself, "what is going on, this isn't right."  I started to get nervous and I just couldn't do my tricks.  My body wouldn't let me do them.  When I tried to do it I was just scared and I didn't want to throw any of my tricks.  My friends kept saying to me, "come on bri, you go it, you could do this in your sleep."  I would always say I know to them.  I remember this day like it was yesterday.

I decided that day that I was going to wait until the following week to just try again and to do my tricks.    That I was just having an off day and that the next time will be fine.  Soon enough next week came and I was right back where I was the previous week.  I just couldn't do it, I was scared.  I didn't know how to overcome this, I started to cry and got so frustrated because I knew I could do my tricks.  I thought to myself, what if I take baby steps.  What if I start from the beginning and start off with a back walk over ( a trick you usually get before a back hand spring.)  I figured that this method would work.  So that's what I did.  I started off slow.

This took quite a bit, maybe more than 2 years.  I was in a FUNK.  I couldn't get out of it and I knew that I had to.  I wanted to get out of it and tumble like I used to.  As time went on I finally started to get back into the swing of things.  I finally was tumbling again.  I never felt so relieved in my life.  I was such a great feeling.  I realized that this challenge that I was overcoming taught me how to be confident and to never give up on something that you strive so hard for and something that you enjoy doing.  It taught me how to be brave and to never doubt yourself in anything that you do.  It was a great lesson for me, and when I overcame it, it was the best feeling in the world.  It felt like a million weights off my shoulders and I wasn't in that funk anymore.  I have to say it wasn't easy overcoming it, I had to work really hard for it.  I did though because I knew that I wanted my tricks back and when I love something I'm going to give 100% effort to do it.  And thats exactly what I did!

Always believe, even when you think you can't do something... YOU CAN :)

Me time (5I)

Some people have different places that they find it's easier to study or how quiet it is.  They can either go to the library , their dorm or any other place.  I like doing my work in my dorm room.  Me and my roommate have completely different schedules, so when she is at class I am in my dorm doing work.  Even if she is in here it's never a distraction.  I love doing my work in my dorm and I find it easy to concentrate and I can do my work on my bed with my computer so I can relax at the same time !  I love it and it's the place where I like to study.  I live in Farnham which is the first dorm closest on campus!

Vocabulary (5V)

Agency 

When I looked up the word agency on good, it came up as .. 

Something that relates to a business or organization.  I also looked up agency on online dictionary and it gave me 

The condition of being in action, operation
The means or mode of acting, instrumentality
A business or service authorized to act for others

Agency meaning of being in action, or operation can relate to our time study that we did this week.  We applies ourselves and we were in action of what we were doing.  This can relate to the other definition of agency (business and organizations.)  Southern offers many agencies and if I ever want to be acting instrumentality I have to be in action with all of my school work to get to the point of being in an agency.  Agency applies to this class inquiry because we are always supposed to be in action and engaging with class and talking about certain things.  It's the mode of acting !

Other Vocab :

Juxtaposition:

• The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect

This word I discovered in my writing class and at first I didn't know what it actually meant.  I had to compare girls that were in the book we were reading with a relationship they had with neighborhood boys.  It was called Virgin Suicides and the girls actually ended up killing themselves, leaving the boys in mystery.  We had to compare the existence and life or death situations without the obvious juxtaposition.

Engage:

• Occupy, attract, or involve (someone's interest or attention)

This is a vocab word that everyone should use in the classroom and actually do it. It always good to engage in conversations while in the classroom. It not only gives you great participation points but it helps you become more comfortable as a student and comfortable with everyone in the class.