Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit

After reading chapters from Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit I found it very interesting. It gives great examples on how everyone is different and the numerous ways someone can be creative. An interesting chapter was about the rituals. Everyone has different rituals that they believe in one particular was when  it explained how athletes view rituals. "Athletes know the power of a triggering ritual" "By making the start of the sequence automatic, they replace doubt and fear with comfort and routine." I never really thought about the word "ritual." The only thing that would come to my head is believing in something religious or famous rituals that people speak of.

"Creativity is Boundless"
It was easy to relate to this ritual because when I played softball in high school going up to the plate to hit I would always do the same stance or swing before actually getting ready to hit the ball. This was my own unique ritual because I consistently repeated this every game. It was my way of feeling comfortable so I can get a good eye on the ball. Another interesting thing I found while reading was facing your fears. I believe that this quote is very important "Where there was nothing, there will be something that has come from within you." When not being able to accomplish something it is a very common thing to give up. This quote explains that everyone has something to give no matter what it is. We all have our own ability at being good at something. What I would love to discuss in class is how everyone views certain quotes and words. It is interesting to know how some words have a variety of effects on people. Creativity is a word made up of a million things. How do you think of it?

Video Project: Being safe at Southern

After, finishing my second Video project about why I feel safe at Southern I can proudly say that I did not struggle as much as my first video project. While doing my first video project I had a hard time with putting all my information together and making it into a full video. The worst part was the fact that not many people could help me. I ended up figuring some of it out but it was a long difficult process. This time I took my time and since I had plenty of time to do it I could fix things and re-adjust anything I did not like. My strengths in the video were the amount of information I was able to find on the Southern website. It really helped with explaining the different programs. Another strength were the pictures I was able to find to put in my video. I tried to make it less boring by adding more visuals. Some weaknesses were finding the right song to go with my video and making it so when I was talking in the video the music would stop. I ended up figuring it out but, it got me frustrated. I also had trouble getting the time right for when I went to record myself. I had to make sure the duration was long enough for what I had to say. 

The progress's I made while doing this project was getting the opportunity to get a better feel at working with iMovie. This will help me for future purposes and whenever I need to do another video project for Inquiry. I found it more enjoyable and fun when I actually knew what I was doing rather than not having a clue. This allowed me to take up less time while getting more done. This time I can actually say that I look forward to my next video project!

Lorraine Warren Visits Southern

 With Halloween less than a week away everyone is getting more and more excited to dress up, visit haunted houses or even go through the trail of terror. On October 24th Lorraine Warren visited Southern Connecticut State University, she is one of the best American Paranormal Investigators. I tend to get very scared easily so it made it even worse attending this event. Lorraine attended this event with her son-in-law as well. They showed videos on the Animty Ville horror stories, pictures of ghosts, exorcisms, and they also showed Lorraine and her husband Ed talking to spirits. I always believed in ghosts but I never really had proof on how they existed. After seeing all the visuals during the event I realized that they are very real. The most interesting thing that Lorraine talked about was the doll named Annabel.

Annabel was given to a younger daughter and was possessed by a demon. The mother of the daughter whom it was given to contacted the Warrens to take this doll and figure out what was wrong with it. When Ed Warren put the doll in his car to bring it to his house his car would swerve and try and cause him to crash. He eventually had to throw holy water on the doll to calm it down and un possess it. This seemed to have worked but, one day a man came to their museum to see all the artifacts the Warrens had. He looked at the doll and did not believe what he was told, so he touched the doll. Three hours later this guy was pronounced dead in a motorcycle accident and his wife became paralyzed. This story made me realize how scary these situations are. For those of you who enjoy hearing about scary stories I advise you to go next year. Lorraine is a very brave woman to still be involved in these investigations.

Was the amount of effort you put in worth it?

After looking over my midterm grades I was satisfied but not very happy. I felt as if I could have definitely put in more work and effort to get better grades. My GPA would have been a 2.7. I only put in about two hours of study time in a day for each class. If i studied more I would have definitely gotten better grades. The thing that upset me the most when looking over my grades was the fact that I got a C on my math midterm. If I used the proper resources and took time out my day to get a tutor this could have benefited me to getting a good grade. A lot of students do no like to try new things. Due to the fact that I always used my friends as tutors I did not feel as comfortable to go to the tutoring center. But, after taking my midterm and realizing that I should have gone now I know for next time that I will definitely get one. I hope to make better decisions and think wisely before hanging out with friends, so I can put in the right amount of study time I need for my classes. I also am going to the library more to get work done so this will help me stay away from distractions. I encourage students to take advantage of the resources here on campus because it is well worth it in the end.

Rain Column

The Rain Column at Southern Connecticut State University is located on the Side of Engleman Hall. The person who designed this column is Mikyoung Kim. This artwork is very interesting to me because it is a very unique piece of work. I have never seen anything like it. The column is made out of stainless steel so it is very unlikely for it to ever get ruined. What I most like about it is that it reminds me of ocean waves. Since I love going to the beach it allowed me to always think about the memories I have from summer when walking past it. Most people I know never really knew what exactly it was or what it meant. I believe that this is supposed to represent how rain travels. Depending on the weather you never know how hard it is going to rain. The rain column captures water and causes a different appearance. I enjoy looking at this piece of work because it reminds me of different things relating to the ocean. It kind of looks like some sort of sea creature, artwork like this allows it to have more of a meaning. Next time it rains outside try and look at the column!

Helpful Resources on Campus

After, going to the Writing Center located in Engleman Hall room A-012 I found it very beneficial. I was kind of nervous about going in the beginning because I have never gone for help on a writing assignment before. Especially, somewhere on campus. I had asked them to read my paper to give me feedback on any errors I made or how they recommended me to make it better. I thought this was going to be a difficult process or I was going to have to do a lot of editing but, I was wrong. I was only there for about an hour and they answered all the questions I had. It definitely was a stress reliever because I was having difficulties when writing it, but now that someone helped edit it for me I can re-assure myself that I did well on it. If I had to rate my experience from a 1-10 (10 being the best) I would give the writing center a 10. I was very pleased with how nice everyone was and how helpful they were to me. I would recommend this center to people who have difficulty writing papers or anyone who wants constructive feedback on their paper. I plan on never hesitating again to make an appointment because it was not as bad as I thought it would be. It is always good to try new things because you never know what you can get out of it. 

October Festivities

It's that time of the year again where most freshman students at Southern try and keep their Halloween traditions going. Being someone who loves fall I look forward to this time of year. There is so much to do such as going pumpkin picking, apple picking, pumpkin carving, making candy apples, dressing up, and eating an absurd amount of candy. Not being able to be at home during the fall makes it harder for me to do all these things. Now that midterms are coming to an end everyone needs a stress reliever, mine was decorating pumpkins.

My friend and I went Pumpkin picking over the weekend and got mini pumpkins. Here on campus we decided to paint them. It was such a fun time to get in the spirit for Halloween. My birthday is also the 28th so I know that I will be celebrating it with my close friends on campus. Although, you may not be able to be with your families and enjoy the traditions you can always make the best of it with your friends. Coming up on campus (Wilkinson Hall) there is an event that allows you to pick pumpkins, carve them, and get free food. Such as fried dough and other snacks. This will be great for many southern students who want to get in the spirit. It allows you to not only have fun but at the same time you are getting involved in the activities southern has to offer. I hope to see students taking advantage of this and enjoying the many festivities during fall! You never know how fun something may be until you try it. Get involved :)

How much work are you really putting in to do well on Midterms?

It is now towards the middle of the semester many freshman along with other students who go to Southern are busy studying for midterms and nervous to see their final grades. Unfortunately, rather than getting my midterms over with none of my classes have had their midterms yet. I have one midterm scheduled for Wednesday and another online exam that is due next Monday. I have been trying to prepare myself and study as much as I can. I also plan on not procrastinating when doing the online one. Since I have never had an online exam I do not know what to expect. Thankfully, I have taken good notes for that class so I am thinking positively about it.  Some setbacks that I am trying hard to stay away from are the distractions from my friends. I noticed that I do not work well when my friends are in the room. They also always peer pressure me into doing something else non-school related which cuts my study time. I plan on saying no next time they plan on hanging out or going shopping. That way I can focus more and have a better result on my schoolwork. 

Some successes that I have had were getting most of my work done on time. Since I am now used to having a schedule and marking down the daily goals I have it has become easier to me to finish my work at a reasonable time. People who stay up late and wait till last minute don’t necessarily put in their best work. Well at least not for me. Another, success that I will continue to do is to put my phone in a place where I can’t see it. Since this is the biggest distraction for me I know that this will definitely help me study or do whatever I have to do without going on a social network , or having the urge to text my friends. I plan on changing the way I study for exams by making note cards more often and sorting my notes in order from what I don’t really know to what I am good at. That way I can have a better understanding and spend more time on what I really need to be studying. Hopefully, these things will allow me to get good grades so I can prove to myself how smart I really am.

WSIN Radio: 1590AM

After visiting the radio stations website here at Southern I did not seem to find any shows. The website was very vague and barely gave me any information. Although, I did notice that they are looking for members to join. Such as being a Sports Director, New Director, Promotions Director, Production Director, Music Director, Programming Director, and a General Manager. I advise other students to get involved with this radio station because it may not only be fun, But depending on your major it may even look good on your resume. I know someone that is part of this radio station and he always says good things about it.

Even though I could not find any schedules of shows I noticed that they talk about what is going on in the news and other events that are happening on campus. I even listened to their online show that talked about halloween, costumes, and what they are going to wear. It was very interesting because you can even see the cast on webcam so it makes it a live broadcast. The songs that are played on this radio station have a wide variety. One song was a popular hip/hop-rap song and the others were old classics. I do not know if I will ever listen to them online again but, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe next time they will update their website so people on campus can get a feel for what exactly they do on campus. While listening they even gave out their number so people can call in as well. That way other people can participate in what they talk about on air. I recommend you to listen if you are not familiar with the show

A Child's Mindset

Failure can be taken in many ways. There were different examples in the book Mindset that showed how certain people handled failure. In chapter 7 there was an example of a younger child who took failure differently. When a child is young they do not know the importance of rights and wrongs. How you talk to a child is very important for example when a child does something wrong it is better to tell them the right way to do something rather than tell them what they did wrong. The book states how important it is to boost a child's self esteem. The book also mentions how giving constructive criticism is the correct way to handle failures with a child. This will allow them to not have such a fixed mindset and feel judged. Since everyone is different you never know how exactly they are going to take failure and the meaning it is towards them. Kids are unaware of the difference. That is why it is so critical to get taught at such a young age on how to handle failures. 

"Children pass on messages" I believe that this is true the wisdom that a child is taught is passed on to other kids. This creates a more open mindset because the child is taking what he or she knows and is passing it along to other students. Having the right mindset develops at such a young age. In the readings online "Are people getting Dumber" it mentions how a child is asked more complicated questions where as back then they would be asked a more simpler question. It all has to do with how you are taught when you are younger. This will develop the kind of Mindset you have. Although, some people's mindsets change you can start to notice certain Mindsets while growing up rather than at an older age. 

To become successful most people have to do a variety of things in order to get there. How you accomplish all the little things will allow you to look more into the reason why you're so successful. Today people focus on bigger things rather than the smaller things. We tend to look at what is in front of us rather than the things it took to get there. This can relate back to the article "Innovations will change your tomorrow". 

Together not Alone

Before my college experience I was really nervous about having a roommate. Since I never knew who my actual roommate was going to be I could not stop thinking about the nightmares I hear. People would always tell me bad stories about having a horrible roommate. This did not make me feel any better. Eventually, I ended up finding out who my roommate was. Her name was Jaquie. We talked for a couple weeks before school and we seemed to have gotten along pretty well. When school started Jaquie only stayed for a week. She ended up going back to Long Island and I was left with no roommate.

At first I was excited because I did not have to worry about the bad experiences and situations I could have dealt with. I also I did not get the feeling like everyone else. I met many people on campus who were close to their roommate. I wish I had that experience. Soon enough I ended up getting asked if someone can room with me. I thought this was a great idea. I now have a roommate named Robyn and I can not ask for a better one. We get along just fine and I have no problem sharing anything. I thought this was going to be an issue, but having a roommate is not as bad as everyone says it is. We not only have the opportunity to share our college experience together, but we developed a strong friendship as well. Which allows me to work well outside of my comfort zone since I never had to share a room with anyone before.

How helpful is your professor?

When I first received my schedule for Fall semester 2012 I was not expecting to be put in a computer science class. I was nervous about what to expect because I am not exactly good at dealing with technology. During the first couple of days it was kind of confusing to me, But after paying attention I now have nothing to worry about. Instead I am still wondering what the point of this class is. So I decided to ask my professor a couple questions.

Questions: 1. What are the benefits of taking this class?

2. What is the main goal you are trying to get students to learn? 

Michael Clark responded to the first question with: "The benefits of taking Intro to Web Technology is to get a better understanding of how different programs on the internet work. It also allows you to see what exactly computer tactics are made up of. There is more to computers then just the basic internet sources people know of."

He responded to the second question with: "My main goal is to get students to learn how to use the internet in a special technologic way and how to take advantage of the helpful programs on the internet. You will also develop your own website that allows you to use what you learn and put your skills to a test. This will show you how to properly put things together to develop something so big. I hope to encourage students who enjoy working with different forms of technology to move forward with it. There are many things you can do" 

Michael Clark does not have an office on campus but you can contact him via email Clarkm3@gmail.com 

Freshman 15: ways to stay healthy on and off campus

Now that I accomplished making my first video project of the year I learned what I should and should not do. For example, when interviewing each person in my video I found it kind of awkward because I did not know some of them. I realized that there are going to be many things in my college career that I will not be exactly comfortable with. It is okay to work outside of your comfort zone. I also realized that interviewing ended up being the easiest part during my project. I had a lot of difficulties with iMovie which is probably because I did not put my video together until it got closer to the due date. Next time I will prepare myself and have more of an experience with the program, so hopefully it will not take as long.

I tried making my video interesting and affirmative by adding many clips of people getting interviewed and also by adding music. I hope to attract attention by the title and with the information given. Although, I did not speak as much next time I will try not to be as shy. The conclusion of my main argument is the ways to properly avoid freshman 15 in college. Due to the fact that many first year students do not know the truth about it, they will be very surprised after hearing the different opinions in my video. Please watch and enjoy!

What's your Mindset?

After reading chapters 1,2, and 3 in the book Mindset I found the arguments very interesting. One argument that kept coming up was the fact that most people believe differently about failure. We each have a different point of view when it comes to succeeding and failing. An example of failing for most people would be studying hard for a test and receiving a grade that was not exactly what you were hoping for. Which was just like one of the examples listed in the book. Another argument was the meaning of being "smart". It is unfortunate how many people are judged due to something that is not considered smart. In the book it talked about how different age groups were challenged to puzzles and each child did not believe in failure. They believed that they were all learning. Where as older people would think of it as failing. Since most people do not thrive at taking challenges we tend to lose interest in what we may be learning. This relates back to "failure" or being "smart." In order to consider ones self as being smart we need to challenge our selves to things that we are not used to. In other words things that are not considered easy to us. In order to do this you need motivation.

How do you get through something without motivation? We all have different views of motivation. Some people believe in negative motivation. This is when you look back at failing to get you to do better. Where other people believe in positive motivation. You simply look at the success in the end that gets you to accomplish your goals. As I keep reading the book Mindset I will experience the different arguments and experiences people face. This will help me by giving me ways to get through certain situations. It always depends on how you handle the situation to determine whether or not you are successful in the end. Do you have the right mindset?