Election 2008

This election is somewhat important to me.

I am not sure who I would vote for anymore, and I cannot even if I wanted to because I am too young to participate.

I usually only pay attention to who is running until it is down to the final two. After that, I find out from people around me about what is going on. I was also more aware of it last year because I had to watch the news for Model UN. While I was watching it though, I personally thought that it was more interesting when Clinton and Obama were debating together than McCain and Obama now.

There are a number of things that I care about, but there are two that I care about more than the others. Those two things are: the economy and the war.
I already knew that the economy was not in good shape, but for the past while now I have been watching the gas prices rise and fall continuously and hear about people foreclosing on their homes.

I also hear some things about the war that I wish never happened and everything could just end without causing something else worse to rise.

Study Strategy

This is the strategy that I am using to study for my IDC midterm. Before I received my study sheet, I reviewed all of the readings in my mind to see what I remembered. I then analyzed the guide and rewrote my notes to match the “identify” items that were specified on it. I also asked my professor questions about anything on the guide that I could not find and wrote down what she had said. After gaining all of my answers I then went to writing down ideas for the essay concepts in a T-chart to compare and contrast the ideas mentioned. When I received the question, I began a new T-chart using the knowledge that I acquired through my notes and previous T-charts. Afterward, I typed it and now I have enough time everyday to study for the midterm without worrying about the essay.

This semester I learned that time management is a very important. That is why I completed my notes and essay as early as I could so I could review them both and study without any stress. This has also given me time to study for two other tests that I have during the same week as my IDC midterm.

In Converse 101 I have also learned to prioritize my work. I now write down dates in my planner for assignments that are due in a week or two and star them so that I know to work on them a little bit along with my assignments due the next day. I also read each syllabus to know how much the assignments are percentage-wise for each class.

Something That I Have Learned About Myself

I learned some new things about myself by coming to Converse.

After meeting my roommate I learned that we can share a room easily. At first I didn’t know how I was going to be with sharing a room because I haven’t shared a room since I was about 10 and I have grown used to having my own. After meeting her though, I discovered that we have a lot of things in common with each other and sharing room is easy for us.

I also learned that I can talk with my professors about the classes. It’s easier for me to talk to my professors about my struggles than when I discussed them with my teachers in high school. In addition to that I discovered that I like to volunteer myself more to speak now than when I was in high school. I was usually very quiet in high school unless my grade absolutely depended on my voice. Nowadays I like to volunteer myself without even thinking about the grade pressuring me to do so.

Another thing that I learned is that I have grown used to seeing everyone here. In my high school, there were so many faces that I was only able to keep track of the friends I had. Now because this is a small school, I see the same people every day and it makes Converse feel more welcoming to me.

Lost at the Library...

This was not the first time that I have visited the library here at Converse…but this was the first time I decided to take a real look around. I wanted to find a study place, as it says in the syllabus, but I found myself walking around everywhere for quite a while trying to see what was here and there. I think I spent about 20 minutes just looking around on the second and third floor…most of the time I was lost though…

Yes, I got lost…as odd as that sounds. I forgot where the stairs were…I was trying to avoid the mannequin that scared me half-to-death...and it took me awhile to realize that she was actually near where the stairs were located.

After finding my way, I realized that I really liked the second floor. It was very quiet and I picked a study place that had a nice view outside. I think that for assignments that do not involve a computer, I will go back to my study place to work. It’s a lot easier to concentrate on what you are doing because there’s no distraction…which is what I need to keep up with my assignments.

My ideal study environment is exactly what I found at the library. I need the atmosphere around me to be for the most part quiet. The only sound that I do like is of the outdoors through the window, like the wind blowing or if it’s raining.

24 Hours of Complete Honesty

During the 24 hours of being completely honest, I found that it was very easy. There were no challenges about it because I was able to give my honest opinion, which I would have done anyway even if this wasn’t an assignment. I like to be honest with people because I want them to be able to trust me and be honest back.

I like being an honest person. I don’t like to lie to anyone because if I did I would then feel awful afterwards. I guess you can say that I go on a “guilt trip” because it eats me up so bad inside and I then stress over it. I also don’t lie because I know that it will somehow come back to haunt me and the consequence will be twice as worse.

Being honest about academics is extremely important to me. I think that cheating is wrong and I think that it would hurt the cheater more in the long run. I believe that even though life is hard at points, it’s better to find a solution on your own because you will feel so much better afterwards saying that you got through it by yourself.

The Organizations I Hope to Join

Once I get used to college life here at Converse, I want to be able to join some clubs. I need to balance everything first so I know that I will be able to take on another event in my schedule.

I liked being involved in numerous clubs in my high school and I want to be able to do the same thing here. I liked that I always had something going on almost every day after school. There was constantly something different happening each day because I had a different club each day of the school week. Plus, there was something new happening each time I visited one of my clubs.

I hope to be able to join the Art Club. I love art and I was in the National Art Honor Society in Valley Central HS before I moved to Fort Mill, SC and then I joined the Art and Photo Club while in Fort Mill HS.

I will also join American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). I plan on majoring in Interior Design so I think that this will definitely help me with my studies.

I think that I might also join the Campus Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout for ten years before I moved to Fort Mill and loved it. It would be nice to get involved with the Girl Scouts of America again.

I hope to join all of these clubs once I am used to college life.

What I Expect My First Semester of College to be Like

I will admit that during my first couple of days here I was really nervous about going away to college. I think it is because everything I was used to disappeared after I moved in. It was like starting a new life.

After the Freshman Orientation and the first week of classes, I do not feel that nervous about school here anymore. I was able to meet new people and my classes seem to be interesting.

I still have to adjust to the way my class schedule works. I have to get out of high school mode…

I expect that my first semester here at Converse will turn out well after all of the adjusting. I want to do well in all of my classes and keep up with all of the assignments that are given. My goal for this semester is to be able to balance everything a little easier so I do not feel so overwhelmed with homework, studying, reading, and keeping in touch with my family. I just have to learn how to speed read because I have a lot of books to read from all of my classes…

I think that I will like my first semester here at Converse.