Cultural Event

For my cultural event I attended the SPICE chess tournament. I have never imagined witnessing a game of chess or anything to that extent. First walking in you know it's going to be intense. The weird part is, you think it's intense for football and basketball players to make that field goal or final free throw when the crowds are going while, but this was more crazy and the fans were completely silent. Before this experience I had no thoughts about the game or anything just because it was something not interesting to me. The fact is, I watched the players for at least 30 minutes in just awh. It really was an enjoyable experience. A player named Ray Robson was trying to become the youngest grandmaster ever at his very young age. It was amazing considering he was a kid surrouned by adults. Ends up he did not win and a man named Ben Finegold was the winner. Just because something is new to doesn't mean you have to totally disregard it. You never know what you might enjoy. This experience was a real eye-opener in the fact playing chess(if you know what you are doing) could really be a fun thing to spend time doing. i am really glad I got the chance to witness this occasion.

Final Paper

Dear College-Bound Senior,
Most incoming freshman believe that college is finally the time they can get away from home and do whatever they want without any parents getting in the way. For the most part that is very accurate. Being on your own in fact is actually a little overwhelming at first. Things seem normal at first when your parents finally leave and you say your final goodbyes. It’s fun, almost like you are a at a summer camp. Without your parents here telling you what to do you need to be responsible in balancing everything involved in your new life. When entering college three key important things to remember are manage your time, change procrastinating habits, and set goals.
Time-management is key to your success in college and the idea will be repeated constantly due to its importance. With so many options of different things available to students you need to take advantage of every opportunity. It is difficult do it all though, and the things you do chose make sure you plan carefully. There will be parties, intramural sports, studying, and other various things that will fill your time. Pay attention and create schedules so everything gets done that needs too. Time- management habits will also help you throughout the rest of your life.
Next, definitely changing your procrastinating habits if not completely getting rid of them is important. I know as a senior I didn’t do any work for at least the last six months of school. Even before that I always put off my studying and homework until after I was done playing. My grades did not drop because senior year was easy but college is a whole different story. You go to each class either twice a week or at most three and that is not that often. This means homework on a Thursday is not due until next Thursday. This means you don’t have to even think about it for a couple days right? Wrong, because you will get homework in your Friday class that will take up all your time leaving no time to get that assignment done by Tuesday. The point is, Mom and Dad are not there to nag about getting your work done. Be disciplined and get your work done.
Lastly, set goals to be successful, some need to be big and some small. You need to make a few long term challenging ones so there is always have something to work for. The smaller ones lead to these big ones. If you don’t achieve your main goal at least there is a possibility to reach the small ones to save your confidence. Aren’t we going to college to achieve that main goal of graduating? Anyways, goal setting is huge in your college career and life itself.
College will be an amazing time and a whole new scary but fulfilling part of your life. Stay focused and do what you have to have to in order to be successful. Knowing you have to have time-management, not procrastinate, and set goals, college will be much easier and more rewarding.
Sincerely,

Jarrod Roof
Class of 2009

College Based On Movies?

Movies are by far the most inaccurate depiction of what college is really like. Movies like Old School and Accepted are a few examples of this misinformation. Yeah there are parties pretty much every night somewhere but I am assuming they are not as wild as the ones in these movies. These movies, especially Old School, are only full of sex and alcohol and based very little on the education aspect. If every college experience was like that no one would graduate obviously. One difference that I really enjoy between highschool and college is the maturity level of every student. I have seen absolutely no drama go down or bitchy girls. Coming from Plano that's all you see everyday at school. Everyone tries to out-do everyone in highschool but like someone said in class, no one cares about you in college. We are all too busy with our academics. It's way too expensive to let stupid distractions like these get in the way.

Memories

My most memorable moment in college so far has been the night when my roommate and I were woken up by obnoxious girls. Our best friend was hanging out with two girls and at 2:30 in the morning decided to come show us how much fun they were having. The bad part is my roommate and I were already asleep. We woke up to them pounding on our door shouting "wake up". We let them in hoping to put a stop to what was going on; the "fun time" just migrated from the hall way to our room. I finally woke up to 3 people people sitting on me and a steady stream of water drenching my face and pillow. Within minutes, one girl shouted "WATER FIGHT" and it was all down hill from there.

Using Your Textbook

First off, you need to study somewhere where you can actually read your textbook and comprehend what you have read. For me personally I need complete silence because any noise will distract me. If I dont completely concentrate on what I'm reading, nothing seems to stick.
Second, read the chapters before you go to class. This gives you an idea about what will be discussed that day. Also, I have noticed when you do this you know what the teacher is talkin about and you feel smart. If you read before class and then hear the same information within the same day it's sure to stick.
Lastly, don't read in bed. For me reading already makes me tired so if I read in bed that is definately going to lead to a nap. Focus is key when reading so you actually know what you read. Do it right the first time so you don't have to re read it.
In general with having a multicultural society different people will come together and learn something new about each other. People are ignorant when it comes to people different than themselves just because they really don't know. With such society, questions can be answered and different cultures can spread.

College-Bound Senior

Dear College-Bound Senior,
Most incoming freshman believe that college is finally the time they can get away from home and do whatever they want without any parents getting in the way. For the most part that is very accurate. You in fact are on your own and it is actually a little overwhelming at first. Things seem normal at first when your parents finally leave and you say your final goodbyes. It’s fun, almost like you are a at a summer camp. Without your parents here telling you what to do you need to be responsible in balancing everything involved in your new life. When entering college three key important things to remember are manage your time, change procrastinating habits, and set goals.
Time management is key to your success in college and the idea will be repeated constantly due to its importance. You have so many options of different things available to you as a student and you need to take advantage of every opportunity. You cannot do it all though, and the things you do chose make sure you plan out what you are going to do carefully. You will have parties, intramural sports, studying, and other various things that will fill your time. You need to pay attention and create schedules so you can in fact get everything done that needs to get done. If you manage your time well you will not get behind and do complete everything you wanted too as a college student. Time management habits will also help you throughout the rest of your life.
Next, you definitely have to change your procrastinating habits if not completely getting rid of them. I know as a senior I didn’t do any work for at least the last six months of school. Even before that I always put off my studying and homework until after I was done playing. My grades did not drop because senior year was easy but college is a whole different story. You go to each class either twice a week or at most three and that is not that often. This means if you get homework on a Thursday it is not due until next Thursday. This means you don’t have to even think about it for a couple days right? Wrong, because you will get homework in your Friday class that will take up all your time leaving you none to get that assignment done by Tuesday. The point is, mom and dad are not there to nag you about getting your work done. You need to be disciplined and get your work done.
Lastly, you have to set goals to be successful, some big and some small. You need to make a few long term challenging ones so you always have something to work for. The smaller ones lead to these big ones. If you don’t achieve your main goal at least you could possibly reached the small ones to save your confidence. What is the point of going to college if you don’t want to achieve anything? Aren’t you going to college to achieve that main goal of graduating? Anyways, goal setting is huge in your college career and life itself.
College will be an amazing time and a whole new scary but fulfilling part of your life. You must stay focused and do what you have to have to in order to be successful. You now know you must have time management, not procrastinate, and set goals. If you do those three things college will be much easier and more rewarding.
Sincerely,

Jarrod Roof
Class of 2009

Helpful Hints From Others

In Abbey's blog something that really stuck out to me was goal setting and confidence building. She talked about setting smaller goals leading up to a major goal so if you don't succeed with the ending goal you still feel accomplished with your achievments. This could be useful since sometimes when you fail something you lose your drive to want to continue. Also, when you accomplish things it builds your confidence in your work making you a more successful person.

From Angelica's post I learned about "Learning Styles Inventory" actvity in chapter 5 that I will do in order to figure out what kind of learner I am. This will help in the future and throughout my college career.

In chapter 6 is discusses time management and how it is essential. Kids tend to procrastinate and put things off til the last minute. When the time comes that everything is due or you have to study for all your tests in one night it creates stress which only hurts you more. Without time management you are only hurting yourself and won't be successful.