Safari Office of Study Skills Enrichment

The Office of Study Skills Enrichment located in Engleman Hall C 016 promotes time management skills, note-taking and study skills along with test taking strategies. The staff at the Office of Study Skills Enrichment Program was very helpful and more than willing to inform me about their services.  They work to impart useful personal management skills for school and for day-to-day life in addition to study strategies. Students of all ages and backgrounds use this service. Each year the numbers of workshop attendees increase.  This is a great resource to have on campus especially for the students who don’t have strong study skills.  I plan on going there to get help with studying for my finals when that time comes.   

Twyla Tharp

After completing this week’s reading assignments for Twyla Tharp Creative Habit so far I think it’s interesting.  Being a non creative person most of the concepts she talks about are all foreign to me.  Such as you can do exercises to get your creative juices flowing, she also talks about things that block creativity.  When I say I’m not creative I have a hard time thinking outside of the box and drawing was never one of my strong skills.  On the other hand I relate to her in some ways because she is a dancer/ choreographer, I've danced since I was two years old and now I assistant teach two classes on Saturday mornings.  However I couldn't imagine creating my own numbers and teaching them to students, that’s why I’m still an assistant.  After reading the first few chapters of Twyla Tharp a lot of my misconceptions were cleared up.  For instance I always thought someone who was good at drawing would be just as good at sculpting or pottery which is wrong.  She also goes back to the question of natural ability or practice.  In her research and professional opinion she believes there is no such thing as natural talent.  Using Mozart as a example he was not just a natural musical genius he practiced so much his hand were deformed by the time he was twenty eight.  Twyla Tharp makes a lot of good points in her book one of them being that having rituals is vital to leading a healthy life.  Because having a ritual makes you do the specific task that you know you should do but sometimes feel too lazy to get it done.  I find this to be very true in my life.  I try to go to the gym six times a week and the days where I usually go but didn't that day I find myself eating unhealthy things and more lazy in general.  

Video #2 Reflection

I think my second video turned out pretty average.  Nothing too extravagant but also had a sufficient amount of information.  One strength would have to be that I took a different approach to this video assignment.  I choose a topic a unique topic.  I wanted to choose something that would set me apart from my fellow classmates, but was still relevant to the assignment.  The student center was a perfect match.  I didn’t want to talk about a specific program or major and SCSU because I wanted to do it on something everyone uses and could relate to.  One of my weaknesses defiantly was the fact that I didn’t talk about the bookstore in the student center.  Two days after I posted my video I realized that I didn’t cover anything about the bottom floor, so that was a bit of a setback.  However I was very thorough while covering the other three levels. In comparison to my last video I’d say my second one was without a doubt better. I put my own personal voice in this one instead of just constant interviews of other people.  Also I figured out how to use Windows Movie Maker better so I could do more editing and animation than my first video.  All together there’s defiantly room for improvement in my second video, but it was better than my first one, as they say practice makes perfect.   

Safari Blog Radio Station

For this week’s safari blog I visited the schools radio station website and the actual station in the student center.  I listened to one of there shows it covered the last presidential election.  It was very informative but not very opinionative, which I was surprised by.  I would defiantly listen again to the upcoming shows.  Another thing I was surprised by is that they have a lot of job opportunities within the study, but obviously they require some experience working with the technology it takes to run a radio station.   

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Midterm Grades

I’m pretty satisfied with my midterm grades, I have two B’s, two A’s and one C.  Obviously I’m content with the A’s, but I’m not happy with the C.  If these were my final grades my GPA would probably be around a 3.0 3.2.  My grades do represent the amount of time and effort I put into each class.  It’s clear that I spend the least time preparing for my Spanish class therefore I have a C.  On the other hand it’s clear that the classes I do the most work in are the ones that I got A’s in.     However I’m not content with one of my B’s either because I know I could do better in the class.  All together my grades are okay and I’m very proud of my two A’s but the rest have room for improvement.

Sculpture

This sculpture is titled “H20: Liquid Zone”.  Its located in front of the Engleman Hall, its 15-feet tall, and 81-feet long.  The sculpture changes with the seasons, thanks to panels of stainless steel mesh. In warmer weather, rainwater collects in the mesh creating a micro-prismatic effect. In the colder months, the collected water turns to ice, lending a new look to the work. The sculpture was designed by Mikyoung Kim, an award-winning landscape architect and a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design.   When I first saw this sculpture outside of Engleman obviously at first I wondered what it was and also thought about how hard it must have been to make it.  My interpretation of this sculpture was something along the lines of blowing in the wind.  Especially because it’s right next to a tree it looks like the branches are swaying in the same direction as the pillars.  This to me, represents all of the different people who go to southern and each of their individual life paths, and how we may think we’re all different but were all similar in one way or another.  This sculpture is extremely intricate and artistically meaningful.  This could hold many different meanings to each person who looks at it and that is why it hold artistic meaning.   

Safari Blog CC

For This week’s Safari blog I talked to my own CC (community coordinator), Raysa, I asked her how she first heard about being a CC and she said while she was on the track team her teammates told her about it and the qualities you have to posse to be one.  You have to be an outgoing and well rounded person.  You have to be in good standing academically with the school and must participate in extracurricular activities.  When I asked her what some of the benefits of being a CC were she said obviously living for free on campus and getting to meet new people.  She said one of the draw backs was being responsible for a whole floor of girls.  For instance if an incident happens she has to get up and deal with it, also has to hold regular floor meetings and make sure that everyone is following the rules.  She said the worst part is being in a situation that someone’s doing something wrong but she doesn’t have a choice she has to report them.         

Balance Between Work and Play

Yesterday my friends and I went pumpkin picking.  One of my friends is a sophomore so he’s allowed to have his car on campus and we actually went back to our hometown to pick the pumpkins.  This was a lot of fun because it was perfect weather to be outside and enjoy the day.  Although we didn’t pick the pumpkins on campus the best part was decorating them outside of the resident hall Wilkinson.  We used paint and markers to give our pumpkins faces, one of my friends actually carved some of her pumpkin.  Considering Halloween is right around the corner pumpkins were a festive and seasonally appropriate choice.  This got my mind off the stress of studying for the upcoming midterms this week. Not only was it a fun activity, but I get to display my pumpkin out my window spreading the Halloween spirit.  Also my friend that carved her pumpkin took the seeds out, so we got to bake those in the oven of her utility room.  They were nutritious and delicious because we didn’t have any salt to put on them but they still tasted good.  Two other fun activities spiraled from one simple pumpkin picking activity essentially preoccupying most of my day so I didn’t have to think about studying or homework, which was a nice change.  Studying is obviously never a bad thing but balancing out work and play is essential to be a well rounded happy person.

Half Way Done With The First Semester

As we reach the half way point in the first semester I feel very proud and confident in my assignments for each of my classes.  My goal for this semester was to have at least an A or B in each of my classes and so far I do.  I’ve had the most success in this class and Anthropology probably because anthropology interests me and INQ being an English based course comes natural to me.  Also I’ve had success in my other classes because I do all of my assignments on time and for the most part prepare thoroughly for my tests and quizzes.  However I have had a few setbacks, on my first Math test I got a 64.  This is obviously not the ideal way to start off the semester.  This was pretty discouraging, but I decided to try to have a growth mindset and learn from it.  Before my second test I prepared more and did more practice problems and scored a 102 on it.  My second setback was in my Spanish class I received a 70 on my first test, although this isn’t horrible I wasn’t happy with it.  So I applied the same method I used for math.  I studied more and had my friends quiz me with flashcards.  On my next Spanish test I got an 86.  I have the same goals for myself as I did for the first half of the semester for the second half.  Spanish and Math have always been hard subjects for me, and usually id get discouraged and say it’s just impossible for me.  Although after reading the Mindset book I realize that this isn’t the right way to think and learning Spanish or understanding algebra isn’t out of my reach.  I’m going to try and continue to have a growth mindset and grow in my personal and academic life.     

Safari Blog Interfaith Office

For this week’s safari blog I went to the Interfaith Office.  I was curious to see if it was mainly just for catholic students but it really is geared to all different religions.  They we're very welcoming and informative. They take a lot of pride in appealing to students of all different religions.  I went to a catholic school kindergarten through 8th grade so I'm pretty familiar with the catholic religion but not a lot of others, so it was cool to go read about the different religions and there practices.  Another cool aspect of the interfaith office is they have a meditation room on the second floor of the Student Center for more information visit the main office in room 325.

Stepping Out Of The Box

At first I didn’t know what I was going to do for this assignment because not a lot of things make me uncomfortable. However over the weekend my sister asked me to go out with her to a karaoke establishment my initial reaction was absolutely not, but then I remembered that it would be perfect to blog about for this assignment and I might end up having fun.  I don’t really have an intense fear for singing but I usually only do it in the car with my friends but never in front of a room full of people I don’t know.  My sister and I ended up doing a duet to “My Boo” by Usher although we sounded awful, it was a lot of fun and I didn’t care what anyone thought of my singing abilities.  Although it’s not like I was auditioning for American Idol mostly everyone that did karaoke that night was at about the same level of singing as my sister and I.  This showed me that doing things that I wouldn’t normally do can be fun and I shouldn’t get anxiety over silly things such as karaoke, or stressed about what other people think of me.  I know I’m not a strong singer but I didn’t care because I enjoyed doing it.  As long as I’m not hurting anyone physically/emotionally or doing anything morally questionable I plan on doing more things I enjoy more than the things I feel like I have to do or just the things I think I’m good at.  The next time an opportunity comes up to do something outside of my comfort zone I plan on taking advantage of it because the feeling afterwards is rewarding.  I’m far from going sky diving but I’m proud of myself for experiencing something new and not being too nervous to do it.              

What Is Failure?

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In the mindset book they talk about failure and how it can either motivate or define you.  They go on to explain that the basic principle is saying “I failed” instead of “I’m a failure”.  Failure is painful whether you have a growth or fixed mindset, but how you recover from it is the important thing.  In our society failure is looked at as a bad shameful thing when in reality it’s just another experience to learn.  For example after reading the first chapter of this book the first person I thought of in my life with a growth mindset was my younger brother.  The surest way to motivate him to master something is to tell him he can’t do it, and he doesn’t do it out of anger to prove anyone wrong he does it to prove to himself he can do it.  I admire this about him.  My ideas about failure is that for some people it can be a great motivator but for others it just gives them an excuse to fail again, once again playing into the growth or fixed mindset.  However in some cases people may fail and for a time period after that they continue to fail, but at certain point the take a look at their lives and make a conscious decision to do better.  Failure is a choice.  You either choose to fail or choose to succeed.  There are measures you can take to prevent failure and other measures you can take to recover from it.  It’s true that people who fail usually continue the cycle but I don’t see that as an excuse. In sum failure means something different to everyone but to me it’s something preventable and recoverable.          

Safari Blog Career Center

For this week’s Safari blog I went to Career Services.  They were very willing to talk to me and help me figure out what career would be a good fit for me. They are located in Schwartz Hall 102 or you could call them at 203-392-6536.  A nice bonus that the career center offers is career counseling. This gives you the opportunity to meet with a professional to discuss career options, résumé writing, interviewing, job search strategies, selecting a major, and any other career-related topic. They are holding an event called Majors Expo on 10.10.2012 at noon-3 p.m.  After going to career center and seeing will they were to help I intend on attending this even and making a one on one career counseling appointment.  

The Impact of Mindsets

After reading the first three chapters in the Mindset book, I agree with the two main principles which are you either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.  I agree with this because I can see that I have a fixed mindset in certain aspects of my life.  This book connects to the 10,000 hour theory and the motivation behind it.  If you have a fixed mindset you believe that the skills that you were naturally given can’t be expanded or developed.  On the other hand a person with the growth mindset believes at any point you can master these certain tasks with hard work and practice, basically agreeing with the theory that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master something.  A person with the fixed mindset would rather do something simple and do well on it than try something challenging and have the possibility of failing.  I always knew that my mindset held me back from learning but only in certain subjects.  Math, for example, I rather do something I already know how to do than fail at something new. Therefore prohibiting my learning, however this is the only aspect of my life that I think like that.  The book states that you can change your mindset, even knowing the qualities of each mindset will change the way you think about things.  The examples given in the book are amazing, such as the man who was paralyzed from the neck down trained him to move his arms, legs and torso again.  If things like this can happen with the growth mindset why wouldn’t people try their hardest to change the way they look at things, and see stretching themselves as a learning experience instead of an opportunity to fail.  All together the first three chapters have already impacted me, and I can’t wait to keep reading.