What's Your Opinion?

This time I decided to take a new approach. Instead of video, I used quotes, and it seems to flow better. I also explored how to make my video flow with transitions, and I think this came out a bit better than my first one. 

Campus Safari #6: We Have a Radio Station?

Listen to WSIN radio 1590 AM 

Looking through my INQ syllabus to the ‘campus safari topics’, I never knew that our school had a radio station.  WSIN 1590 is our school radio station, which is located in the Student Center. I decided to check out their website, as opposed to going there once again like I did back in October to find that they hadn’t yet started up. Now that the year has gotten on track, their website has the station playing live. At this moment, their list of shows isn’t yet posted so maybe that will happen soon, or by next year. From my point of view, it seems as though this station plays a variety of music that appeals to everyone. It also looks as though they are still looking for positions to fill in order for shows and segments to begin airing as well. 

It's time for habits to break and things to get done

Getting my midterm grades, it became evident to me that my high school days are over. I did fairly well, I think at least. My highest grade is ironically enough in the class that I thought I’d do the most poorly in, math. Maybe learning it again really is helping me more than anything. Considering that most of my class grades are based on participation, I feel I deserved what I got because I’m not one to participate in class, especially when I have nothing to say or anything to ask.  My midterm grades ranged from a C being the lowest to an A-, which I think is fairly good. I wasn't and don’t ever hold myself to any standards other than to do my best, and that’s all anyone should ever ask from themselves. If these were final grades, my GPA would be somewhere around a 2.9, which is fair considering the amount of work and effort that I put in, which was very minimal. I definitely need to step up my game for the second half of this semester and quit putting things off. Some of my habits need to break and make room for better ones. I had thought that because I was in college, I’d be more focused on schoolwork, but that ended up not being the case. My view of how I saw myself before I started college is so much different than it is now. I’m the same person I was in high school, putting my well-being first, and not my schoolwork. I really don’t like that, it’s time for these roles to switch places and have school take priority over anything. Working under the clock works for me sometimes, but not always like I think it does and it definitely shows. I've let myself down in more ways than one this first half of the semester, but mostly with my schoolwork.

It looks like Fish

I have passed by this quite a few times since I've been on campus, and it’s always caught my eye. But until tonight I never truly looked at it. This sculpture is called “H2O: Liquid Zone” by Mikyoung Kim. If you've ever passed on the outside of Engleman Hall, you’ve probably seen this.  At first glance, this looks nothing like its title suggests, and it looks more like large leaves you’d find on trees in the rain-forest or fish. It seems to be made out of a steel or wire-like material that keeps it sturdy. I personally like this piece quite a bit. It makes you think because at first you aren’t even sure what you’re looking at. Depending on how you see it, you can interpret it in many different ways. Like I said, it could look like giant leaves in the rainforest, or possibly fish. I’m not entirely sure how the title of this came to be, in no way does it resemble water in any form. But I guess that’s the beauty of art, it doesn’t have to be correct. This sculpture could represent how much like water we are as people. Water has no definite shape or size, and neither do people. The randomness of how this piece is designed, it seems like it’s flowing and repeating itself. The pattern can go on forever. As a society, we do the same. Every day we live by a schedule of some sort and it repeats itself from day to day. Sure we may change location and direction, but we essentially are doing the same thing each day, just like water may flow from a stream into a lake, into some even larger body of water. It’s in constant motion, just like humans are. Since the title of this is “H2O: Liquid Zone”, it’s assumed that water is seen in its liquid state where it’s very amiable to any situation- just like we as humans are.

Campus Safari #3: Breathe in, and breathe out.

envisioning scenes like this can also aid in relieving stress

Let’s face it, we’re freshman in college.  Some of us are away from home for the first time, and we may feel lost. This isn't all too uncommon. Stress happens to a lot of us during the first year while we’re getting used to the adjustment. I visited the health center on campus and got some information on stress and ways we can cope with it. Stress comes in many forms (such as physical pain) and from anything (such as trying to balance school and work). Some of the ways that we can relieve this stress could be by: using relaxation techniques (like meditation, sitting in silence for a while, or yoga), exercising, crying, and planning a schedule (if you feel like you leave everything to the last minute). The information on stress at the health center is really something to look into, this way you’ll have an idea about some of the warning signs to look for. 

Visit the Health Center online!

"Jealousy, yes jealousy, will drive you MAD"

One of my favorite songs from the movie ^

For most of us, midterms have already started and some of us have already gotten some grades back. Midterms have only begun for me, so I’m not entirely stressed out.  I like to take things as they come along, step by step.  Between making time for homework, studying, and actually going to class, there isn’t much time for me to just wind down on my own, so going out and doing something on campus isn’t really what I look forward to. Instead, I’ve decided to relax in my dorm room and have a movie marathon. I haven’t gotten a chance to actually sit down and have the ability to watch a movie without having to worry about other things that I SHOULD be doing. Movie marathons are something that I haven’t really attempted, but there’s a first chance for everything and this week is a perfect week to try it I think; one movie after each midterm to wind down and relax at the end of the day. Tonight, I chose to watch one of my favorites, Moulin Rouge. Musicals are definitely one of my favorite things, so this movie is on the top of my list. I haven’t seen it in a while, so I figured that now was a good time to break it out again. The songs and the storyline keep me entertained, and I don’t have to think so much about what’s going on to keep up. I like the whole story within a story plotline that this movie has (the play in the movie, is basically the story of the movie). I feel like doing something on campus requires you to have some form of energy, which I definitely do not have after taking a huge test. The one thing I look forward to is going back to my room and just crawling into bed and sleeping, so watching a movie is something I have the energy to do.

"I wrote the book on procrastination" and Other Goals

It’s the middle of October, so all this midterm talk is very new for me. I've got all of my midterms this week, so it will begin soon. As far as personal goals for the beginning of the first semester, I feel that a few of them have been achieved, from finding my way around campus to getting all of my homework done; they seemed to be the easier of the goals I've set. One of my goals was to branch out and meet new people and try new things. It isn't as easy as it sounds; I have met a few new people though and I have been to quite a few things that I never would've if it wasn't for persistent hassling of a couple friends, but I’m glad they did. In college, it’s a time to explore and take risks and find out things about yourself. I've learned quite a bit about myself in these past few months, and I wouldn't trade anything for it. For the second half of the semester, some of my goals include participating more in class and procrastinating A LOT LESS. The procrastination goal is probably going to take effect sooner than later (she says hopefully). As of now, I will probably continue my homework habit, because I make sure to get it done. To achieve these goals, quite a bit of change will need to happen with myself and how I manage my time.  As of now, I like to multitask while doing my work and that usually leads to majority of my procrastination. If I got rid of distractions, my work would more than likely get done faster. Applying some of the time management strategies that I learned earlier in the semester would definitely help me as well, because then I’d have a schedule set for each day of things that need to get done and I wouldn't have to worry about “am I supposed to be doing something important?”