Ending Post

So, this is the end of this little experiment in my U101 class. I've definitely had an interesting experience in that class to say the least but I think some of the information I acquired from it will be of use to me in my 4 year trek so I like to think I'm helping the University brush up its resume and stats. I will admit at sometimes I thought our professor was a little bit harsh on some of the assignments we had to do and some of the work I turned in but at the same time I recognize his reasoning behind it. I figure he was trying to show the kids of the class to take every class as seriously as the next one because in the end you'll end up doing better overall.

I'm definitely learning from this lesson he bestowed upon the class the hard way as I'm trying to pick up the remains of my grades and stitch them together to get something that is presentable and can be worked with for the next 4 years. I like Dallon, I think he was a great person, he laughed at my jokes and he knew the music that I listened to as well, but he did see Smashing Pumpkins live so I will forever envy him for that fact. Holland was a great assistant and she had A1 cooking, if her venture into her field doesn't go as planned I definitely recommend she go into baking, she could create an empire with those cookies, but I digress. All in all it was great experience and I'm glad to have been a part of it.

Until next time, Jordan.

Time Management

So, this facet of my organization is the worst. I have this ideology where I like to play first and then save all the work until the very last moment and I think having this way of doing things is definitely affecting me not only mentally but physically as well. The stress that I put on myself by procrastinating can not be a healthy level and it should be something that isn't really a big factor in my physical health, except if I forget the occasional homework or something, but it is becoming something that is physically taxing on me so I'm trying to make strides to be more mindful of when things are due and getting a head start on them so I'm not worried about when I'm gonna have time to do work but worried about when I'm gonna have time to get things for a party or do something for my enjoyment.

I've noticed this especially after the first break we had, a lot of the weekly work I had to do kind of slacked and I either pushed it completely to the side or saved it til the end of the year *cough* blogs *cough* and I'm really not proud of myself for doing this. It's so easy to just rationalize and convince yourself that you don't need to do it today you can do it another time or to simply push it out of your mind, it's a lot easier than just getting up and getting whatever it may be over with and done. I'm gonna try to do the latter and really take charge of my time management.

Visiting Home

So, home is definitely perceived a lot different for me now since I've been at college. I've only been home about twice since I left, once to my father's house in Hilton Head and once to my mother's house in Marietta, GA. Both have been a little quirky in the beginning but after a day or so I kind of settle into my old habits and it starts feeling like home. One of the harder things for me is splitting time between both homes so both sides of the family still feel like they're an important part of my life, and they are, but having that stress on me along with the other work I have will probably effect my decisions in the future years. I think in the future I'm not gonna visit as often except for the major holidays like Christmas & Thanksgiving. I don't think I'm gonna go for my birthday cause I'd much rather party with friends and celebrate. I think how I spend my summers is gonna change too, I won't spend as much time back at my parents house but go do things with my roommates. I think sophomore year into junior year will kind of be the lead on point for that cause we'll hopefully be living in the Woodlands which requires a 12 year lease so that heads into the summer months. Who knows? We shall certainly see.

Finals Week

So my initial freshmen semester is rapidly approaching its end and I'm kind of excited and nervous at the same time. I'm excited to say that I've actually experienced some college life and I have the knack of some of the things on campus but at the same time I'm getting really nervous about the finals I have approaching, we've covered a large amount of material this semester and albeit most of the stuff that I've done in these classes has been review from my high school courses I definitely want to do well on the tests so I can get a high grade for my initial GPA so I have a high level to start from and then I can just slack off the next 4 years and it'll still be good! No, but I would like to start high and maintain rather than start lower than I'd like and have to build up to the level. Maybe this is a sign I definitely need to make some changes in how I do my studying and take my courses seriously, maybe that will be my personal challenge next semester, Straight A's.

Capstone Conversation

One of the best Capstone Conversations I've been able to go to so far is definitely the Winning Game with Adam Carroll. This gentleman wrote a book about how to manage your personal finances and get to a level where you no longer have to worry about money. He started out in college acquiring a lot of debt on his credit card and when he got out of college he realized this was going to be a serious problem for him, so he and his future wife spent two year living very tightly in order to pay off the debt he had acquired. After two years he had paid off every cent he owed and began working on building his wealth. He began investing in stocks that were constantly increasing no matter the market and he also began making his money work for him. He now has the ability to go to his stockbroker after finding how much a car they want costs and telling the stock broker to sell a portion of their stock so they can buy it. That's amazing.

I hope to achieve this level of personal finance stability where I can go out for a night on the town and not worry about whether or not I'm going to be able to cover dinner. I'm planning on working on my financial duress right now by looking at scholarships and making a challenge to myself to apply to one every single day if possible so that I have a high chance of getting the money that's out there to be had for students like me.

Personal Challenge

So, Personal Challenge. This is something I kind of like about Capstone but at the same time I feel it might be a nuisance as well over the next couple semesters. I feel like I'm going to keep having to come up with personal challenges that aren't actually challenges to me just to fill this requirement to Capstone. Maybe I should actually sit down and take the time and look at what I want to accomplish at this university and what I want to accomplish in my professional career. Everyone says they want to impact the world but really doing something takes time and effort. My personal challenge this semester was to learn Arabic, and my definition of learn meant writing and reading the language. I feel that I've actually accomplished this challenge to its full requirement. I can fully read the language, and it no longer looks like random marks on a piece of paper, but it's also not to the level where I can read fluently. I can write it really well, and my calligraphy is slowly increasing as well. I'm actually proud of myself for completing this one cause in the beginning my progress seemed very bleak. Assalamu Alaykum

Hot Cookie Friday

So Hot Cookie Friday's are kind of a cool thing to do on Fridays, I usually go after all my classes finish around 2 and I finish in the gym around 2:45 so on my way back to Capstone I usually get some cookies and get then I go to Gibbes and pick up my lunch. The first time I went to Hot Cookie Friday they gave out 2 cookies instead of the 1 like the last one I went to, PLUS they had milk at the first one and I got the shaft on the second time I went because someone literally used all the milk before I had the chance to even try to get some. I hung around the Study Shack the first time I went to it and it seems like a very relaxed place to get work done plus there are a plethora of people to help you in case you need some information about the capstone program. I'm going to try to go to more social events next semester like the News and Views that the Vice President hosts so I can kind of be a current informed citizen than living in the bubble I'm in right now. But! Who can go wrong with some good cookies man? I think the man who discovers how to cook cookies and still have the edges soft like the center of the cookie will be a billionaire one day

College Update

College life continues to become a thing I'm getting used to. I spent the past Sunday traveling around the area to the different off-campus housing places with some of my floor mates who may be my roommates next year. I've definitely picked the Woodlands as my favorite because the 4 bedroom flat that we toured looked like a 5 star apartment, it had a island in the kitchen and all of the bedrooms had their own bathroom and walk in closet, I mean talk about living in luxury just to go to college. The Woodlands also had a very nice clubhouse with a built in movie theater, pool tables, gym, rock wall, and very sizable pool. My next on the list was The Retreat because it has that aura of living in a house. We looked at a 3 bedroom model and from what I saw it seemed to be the same size as the flat we looked at by Woodlands but the thing that made it drop to #2 was the distribution of the bedrooms where most of them were on the second floor and only one on the bottom floor. I feel that the separation of the floors will create a wall between my roommates living in the room. However, I'm excited to live off campus and truly live on my own and cook my own meals and work a job and study hard.

Breaks

Breaks are good. Breaks are actually amazing. I was wondering about this the other day how the school organizers in the early years of higher education came up with the ideas of breaks or if they even had breaks and if not who lobbied the organizers to create breaks for the students. I know in the past system that students would often live with their professor in the same household so who decided to talk the professor one day and just say "Yeah I think we should take like a week off man" and the professor was like "Yeah, doth be on to something here".

Anyways, my break has been nice. I actually haven't done any homework like I was planning to do to get ahead but I did get some new duds which is awesome. I'm glad to come back home and see my dad and sister who I haven't seen in almost 2 months and I think I've missed my dog more than anything which is just funny to me but I love him. Been working on my paper slowly but surely, 5 pages is more than I originally thought but I'm grinding through it. I'm nervous to see some of the grades from my midterms but I'm excited to come back to school. Anyways, until next week.

Goals

I have a really hard time maintaining goals. I want to blame it on the immediate feedback world we live in where we want instant results instead of working on something for a long time, and that's definitely how I see some of the things in the world. I just want the results now instead of working for them even though I know I'll cherish it even more if I take the hard work and time to get the results.

I see myself doing this when I go to the gym or when I'm studying for a test or practicing guitar or anything that takes a while. I see the other people in the world with the results already and I want that but I forget to realize that they spent time learning to do those things or get to that point in their life rather than getting it immediately like I want it. I see myself also becoming envious because of this inability to take the time, I want a good job and money but I'm envious of those driving these high profile cars and living high profile lives and again I forget to realize the work they did to get there so I'm trying to keep myself in check to achieve those goals.

Adjusting to College

So far I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far at adjusting to this college thing, the only major problem I seem to be having is getting up on time to go to my early class at 8:30. Today I did myself wrong by convincing myself that it was just conversation day of Arabic and I didn't need to go because we weren't learning anything new. However, we always learn something new sure it may not be a new letter or new short vowel marking or any of the other confusing stuff in that language but it's practice and it's hearing the correct pronunciation of words from a native teacher. I got lucky this time around and our teacher canceled on us at 7:20 AM this morning so I got lucky but it made me realize the rationalization I'm coming to in my head that sleep is more important than education, and while I certainly agree that in certain situations it's better to sleep than to study more but this morning is not a situation I condone.

I'm maintaining good grades in all my classes which is something I'm proud of, I'm hoping to achieve a 4.0 GPA this semester to give myself a good foundation for the next 4 years cause I remember being in Highschool and having to pick up and try to get back up from where I put myself initially so I definitely think I'm taking a step in the right direction. Anyways, off to work some more and then bed early so I can actually make my 8:30 class tomorrow.

The Postmortal

First Year Reading Experience was something I initially dreaded. I had been so used to having to read books or other literature over the summer during high school and I dreaded spending that time on something school related during a break. However, I decided it was in my best interest to get used to reading literature for no immediate result. I always enjoyed reading however the hardest thing for me is getting hooked into it so that I'll continue to read the book. However, I decided to suck it up and take the time to read the book and I'm glad that I did.

I actually read The Postmortal all in one sitting, I had a 10 hour drive down to Key West so I decided there isn't a better time to read. I actually thought that book was very well written and definitely gave a highly possible vision of a future where aging no longer occurs. I enjoyed the technology that was talked about in this book and how the author didn't just say, all the sudden we found the cure but that he actually provided background. The part I liked least was I guess what actually happened to the world as a result, initially everything seems howdy doody but shit hit the fan quick and it was kind of sad to think that's probably what would happen.

I think FYRE is a great experience for most college students, because students will have to do a lot of reading over the next 4 years for results they may not see initially but will help in the end, even if it is something as simple as recognition from a professor for actually doing the optional assignment. I recommend the university continue the tradition

Diversity

·         How have you experienced diversity in your life? How is diversity important? Has your relationship with diversity changed or been challenged since coming to USC? If so, in what way?

I went to school in the Greater Atlanta Area, more specifically the Gwinnett county area, and all of the schools I went to Caucasian people were the minority as far as demographics went. I've never had a problem with this and I never will, I feel as if having this has truly shaped my personality of open-mindedness and enthusiasm and general interest in so many cultures. I feel there is so much to learn in the world that why should a person constrict themselves to a small portion just because of someone's culture or color.

This semester I'm taking Arabic not because I got stuck in it but because I'm generally interested to learn the language and to travel to some of the Arabic speaking countries and speak the native language with the folks there. People are always more comfortable with someone who speaks their native tongue and fluently too. I want to be able to hear people speak not through translation but naturally so nothing is lost or gained, it's simply them.

The high school I went to was home to a large Asian-American population, more specifically Indian folk, and I've never met a greater collection of people. I've learned dances and music from them, I've learned about food and religion and holidays. I've worn traditional clothing because I've found it so interesting and usually I'm the only white person at the events hosted by Indian people and I've never had a problem with that fact.

Diversity is so important because it provides richness to everyone's quality of life. Everyone can benefit from learning, people make new friends, new ideas are shared, and compassion can be spread. Coming to USC has been quite a change from my high school. I've met a few indian people and they're some fantastic people and I'm getting involved in some dance groups for various cultures to learn more. Sometimes it can be challenging but I enjoy all the people I meet and I'm glad to learn what they know and teach what I know.

My Classes

This semester I am taking CHEM 111, BIOL 102, BIOL 102 Lab, ARAB 121, and UNIV 101. The class I'm most excited for is Arabic 121 because it is something completely new that'd I've never even considered studying until this year so I'm nervous for the examinations because it won't be simply review like a large portion of my classes are but I'm sure I'll be more focused for it.

The class I'm least excited for is BIOL 102 Lab because there is just so much work to do for this class it is unfathomable. I also despise ,with a passion, writing papers for classes which is why I decided to go into Medicine Practice mostly because I hated the idea of writing papers on miscellaneous work.

I actually got out of most of the first semester classes in my major because of AP tests I had taken in high school which felt really great knowing that I may be able to graduate a little earlier than some of the other people in my class and maybe shave a year off the long 12 year track to becoming a doctor.

Some of the classes are harder than I expected because I'm having to learn some study habits I never acquired in high school which is hard to be crash coursed into doing because habits take a while to develop but luckily they take even longer to get rid of. BIOL 102 lecture is the class I'm most worried about at the moment because the teacher doesn't assign homework and we only have 5 grades for the entire year. That's something I'm not entirely used to doing in highschool so it's brand new to me and it's difficult to adjust to but I'm succeeding so far. Anyways, off to class. Until next time.

Me

Of course my iTunes is playing New Kid in Town by the Eagles while I'm writing my first blog post and it seems only fitting. It's been 16 years since I've lived in South Carolina and the last time I was here I wasn't old enough to know where I was. It feels kind of sweet and nostalgic coming back to my hometown, my parents never skip a moment to show me the hospital I was born in and the exact room (from the street however) and the house I lived in for 2 short years before moving to Georgia, but I relish those moments.

I'm a BioChemistry major at the University of South Carolina, the alma mater for both of my parents, and I'm starting to feel good about the choice I've made. Back in Georgia I could never find any South Carolina apparel but coming to USC its a sea of Garnet and Black and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm becoming accustomed to the workload and having to study. I came from the #3 Public HighSchool in the nation and I took 10 AP Courses in my career there. Most of the classes were setup like college courses and definitely had the rigor as well. I had to write a 14 page research paper my senior year on something related to the internship I was currently at. I've had 3 internships already because of the highschool I went to and I'm glad I took that opportunity.

I'm just hoping this semester is easy so I become accustom to the college life well rather than being in a crash course like many people are. Anyways, I'm leaving to workout at Strom and pick up my books from the bookstore on the way back. Until next time Blog.