Today in class

Today in class, I was asked to do a personality test. The results that came back, for me were extremely accurate. It's good to know that my desicions for my future are right on tract. They say if you do something you love you will never have to work a day in your life. There is no greater passion for me than helping animals.

Blog #3

As some of you may already know, this is my first year of college.  I feel that my situation, while not unique, as there are many people my age that go back to school a little later on in life, deserves a closer look.  I would like to ensure that my time at LaGuardia is productive, my schedule is well managed and that I have a good time as well.  I want to get the full experience of college life, as well as keep my focus on the result, which is a satisfying career in animal services.

One of the things I believe will assist in this goal is to learn to adapt to the different teaching styles of my professors.  I learn better in a structured teaching environment in which I am given very specific instructions.  Creative freedom frightens me.  This is especially true in mathematics.  Not all professors have the time or the patience to teach this way.  I understand that they have scheduled lesson plans as well as time constraints to which they must adhere.  One of the ways I intend to resolve this is by getting tutoring.  LaGuardia College offers many tutoring options.  There is group study, where several students get together and work on a particular subject.  There are tutors available in all subject labs almost every day of the week.  For students, such as myself, there is a program for disadvantaged students called “College Discovery” that offers free one-on-one tutoring in every subject.  I have also found that professors are a great source of information to overcome these obstacles.

One of my biggest hindrances towards enjoying school is this perception that getting an education is nothing but hard word, hard work  and more hard work.  Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has done extensive studies on the formula of “no pain, no gain.”  Csikszentmihalyi speaks about the theory of “flow”. Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is a state in which one is immersed in an experience that is rewarding in and of itself, a state in which we feel we are one with the experience, in which “action and awareness are merged.” I like to refer to this as being in “the zone”. We are all familiar with this concept. It happens when you are doing something you really enjoy and time gets away from you. For me, it is building Lego projects, reading a great James Patterson book, and playing with a dog. I can get lost in those feelings. For some reading is a chore, therefore the feeling like reading is something to be avoided. When I read I am learning something. Even if it is a great fiction book, I am still sharpening my vocabulary. When I build Lego projects, I learn about math and when playing with a dog I learn about love and purity. That school is a chore, is rooted in us all from a very early age. It is referred to as “school work” and “homework” Evening fun is cut short because you “have to go to school in the morning”. Your told, “don’t go out to play in your school clothes”. I know when I was a kid, no fun was had until homework and school tasks were complete. Csikszentmihalyi feels the term “no pain, no gain” should be expressed as “present gain, future gain”. I agree. In my short time here at LAGCC, I have worked hard at all my studies. However, I can honestly say that I am enjoying and having a good time with it. Occasionally, I become distracted and bored, but never in my English 101 class.

Another thing that will help me to achieve my goals is to learn that criticism is not personal.  School is a place of learning.  Part of learning is receiving feedback.  Feedback, as define by Webster’s Dictionary is “the transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process to the original.”  If I have learned something incorrectly or there are ways I can improve, feedback should be considered a positive construction and not negative criticism.

Something else that may help achieve my ultimate goal is accepting my abilities as my abilities.  I come from a very driven and well-educated family.  I have a cousin, who has just entered graduate school.  She is studying to get a PhD in Child Psychology.  She is very bright and I tend to compare myself to her.  We have similar academic personalities in that we are both perfectionists but she has more experience in the education process.  I think it is best to learn from her study practices yet understand that we are two different people.

One more thing I think I can do to make this experience better is to engage more in class.  I have found that in the classes where students participate, they get more attention from the instructor.  This also can help to keep me from getting bored or distracted.  I also feel that this allows the professor to gauge the level of understanding that I have on the subject matter.  The only way to verifying whether the professor has made their point is to engage with me. 

I watched a very interesting clip of a speaker at the Ted Conferences. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas worth spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. (I thought it was named after a guy named Ted)  The clip I was watching is from a motivational speaker named Tony Robbins. I remember many years ago, I would watch him on late night TV and knew that if he stuck with it, he would become famous.  Anyhow, his main point in this clip is to find out what motive forces you to action. Mr. Robbins feels, and I agree, that the invisible force of internal drive activated is the most important key to success In other words, if you believe you can achieve. You can be very intelligent, but if you are not emotionally connected to your dream, you will fail. In my goal of having a happier education, I will always remember what my motivation is. I want to be an Animal Control Officer. I want to enforce and create laws that will protect all animals. I believe that I was born to do this.  It is my passion. 

In closing, I have listed just a few of the goals I have set for myself so that I can have more fulfilling college experience.  I have traveled a very long way to get to this point in my life.  I still have a journey ahead of me.  I do believe that with perseverance, good time management, academic self- esteem and a good plan, I can go very far.

I still think a good breakfast is key to a good education.

Blog #2

As some of you may already know, this is my first year of college.  I feel that my situation, while not unique, as there are many people my age that go back to school a little later on in life, deserves a closer look.  I would like to ensure that my time at LaGuardia is productive, my schedule is well managed and that I have a good time as well.  I want to get the full experience of college life, as well as keep my focus on the result, which is a satisfying career in animal services.

One of the things I believe will assist in this goal is to learn to adapt to the different teaching styles of my professors.  I learn better in a structured teaching environment  in which I am given very specific instructions.  Creative freedom frightens me.  This is especially true in mathematics.  Not all professors have the time or the patience to teach this way.  I understand that they have scheduled lesson plans as well as time constraints to which they must adhere.  One of the ways I intend to resolve this is by getting tutoring.  LaGuardia College offers many tutoring options.  There is group study, where several students get together and work on a particular subject.  There are tutors available in all subject labs almost every day of the week.  For students, such as myself, there is a program for disadvantaged students called “College Discovery” that offers free one-on-one tutoring in every subject.  I have also found that professors are a great source of information to overcome these obstacles.

Another thing that will help me to achieve my goals is to learn that criticism is not personal.  School is a place of learning.  Part of learning is receiving feedback.  Feedback, as define by Webster’s Dictionary is “the transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process to the original.”  If I have learned something incorrectly or there are ways I can improve, feedback should be considered a positive construction and not negative criticism.

Something else that may help achieve my ultimate goal is accepting my abilities as my abilities.  I come from a very driven and well-educated family.  I have a cousin, who has just entered graduate school.  She is studying to get a PhD in Child Psychology.  She is very bright and I tend to compare myself to her.  We have similar academic personalities in that we are both perfectionists but she has more experience in the education process.  I think it is best to learn from her study practices yet  understand that we are two different people.

One more thing I think I can do to make this experience better is to engage more in class.  I have found that in the classes where students participate, they get more attention from the instructor.  This also can help to keep me from getting bored or distracted.  I also feel that this allows the professor to gauge the level of understanding that I have on the subject matter.  The only way to verifying whether the professor has made their point is to engage with me. 

In closing, I have listed just a few of the goals I have set for myself so that I can have more fulfilling college experience.  I have traveled a very long way to get to this point in my life.  I still have a journey ahead of me.  I do believe that with perseverance, good time management, academic self- esteem and a good plan, I can go very far.

Breakfast… I think a good breakfast every day would help too!