9I: Be like a sponge!

On Monday the 21^st I attended the Sonia Sotomayor event in the Lyman Center.  This was a very important event because Sonia wrote My Beloved World , which was our common read over the summer.  I will always look back and remember attending this event because Sonia is a very important figure and is the Supreme Court Justice.  Sonia answered some questions that students submitted to her.  I thought this was very interesting because it showed that she wanted to talk about what we wanted to hear, instead of just talking to us in general.

Sonia gave some great advice to all of the students in the audience.  She told everyone to follow their dreams and do what they want in life.  She made me really appreciate that I am attending Southern.  She said to use the resources around us to better ourselves.  Every professor at Southern is here to help us students be successful people and to pursue our dreams.   She mentioned to “be like a sponge.”  I thought about this for a while, and even after the event it entered my mind.  This statement really stuck with me.  Sonia’s advice is perfect.  To be successful in life you need to listen to the advice that is given to you.  Don’t just hear it, but let in sink in and really listen to people when they are trying to help you.  Sonia also said to take courses to broaden your horizon.  She said take classes that interest you or classes that will just overall better you as a person.  This is great advice to help students become well rounded successful people.

It was a really great thing for Southern to hold an event like this on campus for first year students.  Sonia uses her own experiences to help others live their dreams just like she is doing.  Through all her struggles in life she never gave up.  She explained that yes, she has doubted herself at certain times in life.  But the incredible thing about Sonia is that she didn’t let the negativity affect her in the long run. 

9A: The Real world

College is much different than high school in many ways.  It is a bigger atmosphere, there are all new people, and you are on your own and independent.  Teachers in high school often give you work to complete and directions on how to complete that work.  I have found that college is much different in this aspect.  Professors expect more out of you once you reach college, they don’t draw everything out for you like they used too in high school.  Professors now expect more critical thinking.

The real definition of critical thinking is the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.  This can also be understood as thinking outside the box.  In college, professors don’t lay it all out for you, and they do this on purpose.  They want students to actually think and analyze things on their own now.  I have noticed that all of my professors do most of the same things.  We take a lot of notes and when the test comes, I have to study all of it because they don’t tell me what specifically is going to be on it.  Back in high school all my teachers would give us study guides and problems to practice so we knew what exactly was going to be on the test.  I had no practice critically thinking because of this.  I didn't have to dig deeper and really learn the material.  I would just study and learn strictly what my teachers would say I would be tested on.

Now I have realized real life is not like that.  There is not always going to be someone there giving you the answers or telling you exactly what to focus on.  This is where critical thinking comes in.  Now that I am on my own I need to rely on my own thinking skills to study and learn.  It’s definitely a hard concept to grasp and I haven’t totally gotten the hang of it yet.  I need to do extra things at home, like read chapters before class, and question things I don’t understand.  Once I get my brain in the habit of critically thinking I know it will be an easier thing to do for me.   For now I am just trying my best.  My grades from my first few tests were a wake up call to me.  Not every answer is going to be there right in front of me anymore.  Thinking critically on my own to solve problems and doing extra work to help me understand things better will help me get those test scores up.

Education Program Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ss3noq6zZ8&feature=youtu.be

8I: Majors expo

         This past Wednesday I attended the Majors Expo taking place in the Adanti Student Center.  I went to go take a quick look around 1:30 that day.  The whole ball room was filled with tables.  There were so many people there!

          I found my way over to the Education Program table.  I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher and the ladies at the table made me want to even more.  Everyone in the education department is super nice and friendly!  They are willing to help with anything.  They explained to me how to get into the education program and that Southern, unlike many other schools, does not have a limit for how many students they accept into the program each year.  This information made me feel really good.  I couldn't imagine meeting all of the requirement and then not being accepted into the program of my dreams due to no more space! The Majors Expo was very informational and I ended up spending more time there than I thought I would.

8V: 10,000 rule

mas·ter·y comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment

          When I was younger my whole life revolved around gymnastics.  I always wanted to learn and perfect new skills.  My coach would hand out purple ribbons when she thought we had “mastered” a skill.  The best feeling in the world was bringing one of those purple ribbons home. I would be super excited to show my mom that I mastered a new skill.  It didn’t mean that I just learned the skill; the ribbon meant that I had learned it perfectly.

          In order to master something completely a lot of work has to be put into it, 10,000 hours, or 10 years to be exact. According to studies it takes someone ten years to be perfect at what they do.  It can be a job, a sport, or even playing a musical instrument. In an article we read "How to be Great: Rising Above the Talent Myth" it explains that you’re not born with all the talent you can achieve.  If you deliberately practice you can become great at something.  If you do this for about ten years, you can even master it!

          Some other words that are important are expertise and moxie. Expertise means a special skill or knowledge: the skill or knowledge an expert has.  This word closely relates to mastery.  In order to be an expert at something you have to master it first. Moxie is courage and determination, the ability to be active.  You need to show moxie as you are practicing.  Moxie is what separates practice from deliberate practice. Practice is just going through the motions.  When you deliberately practice something you are showing moxie. You have determination and you’re actively fixing and working on errors.

          

8B: six words will never be enough

          My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor was assigned as common read this past summer.  Everyone who attends Southern had to read this book and come up with their own six word memoir.  My six word memoir is very simple and self-explanatory.  Six Words Will Never Be Enough. It means that there is so much to see and do in life it can’t be concluded into six short words.  I think that everyone should live life to the fullest and just take chances.  When an opportunity comes your way, take it.  When a door closes, open a new one.  You should live life now because later in life you will only regret the things you didn't do.  When I am older and asked to sum up my life, all I can hope is that my answer will be “Six words will never be enough”.  All I can hope is that I live my life how I want to, and that I take opportunities before it is too late.

          Sonia definitely was able to live her life the way she wanted to.  She ended up being very successful in life even though she faced a rough childhood.  Sonia was very poor growing up and had to work for her family.  She also had diabetes and lost her father and her grandmother at a very young age.   Even though she faced all of these terrible things, she never gave up on herself. I think that this is why My Beloved World was chosen for the common read.  She never gave up on who she was as a person.  She was the first to attend college in her family and now she is the Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

          First year, or any year, college students can learn from Sonia’s memoir.  She teaches us that no matter what challenge you may face in life if you keep pushing you can get through it.  College is definitely difficult, especially the first year.  Instead of breaking down and giving up, which seems like the easier option, Sonia teaches us to stand tall and keep moving on.  The next time I feel as if I should give up, I am going to think about Sonia’s childhood.  If she could get through all the hardships in life I could succeed too.

8A: Mastery of blogging

          I think in the beginning of this semester blogging was definitely a challenge for most people.  I know it was for me.  I had never had a blog before so I didn't even know what to expect.  Now that it is already week 8 and almost everyone has a good grip on blogging. When I blog I usually look at what other people write too, I find it enjoyable to see what their personal opinions are and sometimes it also helps me get my own ideas.  Two blogs that really stand out to me and show A+ work in my opinion are Briana Quintiliano and Paige Slack’s blogs.

          I think Paige’s blog shows mastery in blogging.  Her blog (http://paige2017.blogspot.com/ ) is very colorful and draws you in before you even read anything!  Her text is easy to read with a white background so it’s not distracting to your eye.  Paige usually writes a lot for each her blogs.  Sometimes this can make the reader not want to read the whole thing but I don’t think this is a problem in her case.  She is great at using detail to make the reader want to read on.  I noticed that she adds a concluding paragraph to most of her blog posts.  She sums up what she has already said and ends the post in a clear way that really flows.

          Briana’s blog also is A+ material in my opinion. (http://brianaq.blogspot.com/)  Brie’s blog is very colorful, and she uses a very creative font.  I've noticed that Brie really puts in a lot of detail in her blog.  Just by reading them you can tell that she doesn't rush through them or do them just to get them done.  She puts a lot of effort into each post by using quotes, adding more than one picture, and putting in her own opinions.  She often asks questions to the reader, which really makes them think and connect to her writing.  The things I like most on Briana’s blog are her vocabulary posts.  She first puts her own understanding of the word, then the real dictionary definition, and she explains in detail what the word means.  I can tell she puts a lot of time into her vocab posts every week.

          These two blogs definitely show A+ work and mastery of blogging.  They are full of color to grab the reader’s attention, they are clear and easy to read, they include pictures to go along, and they also show a lot of effort and detail in every post.  I think everyone should work towards the goal of mastery of blogging!