First semester is almost gone!

  Wow! This first semester is flying by. It feels like just last week I started school. At the start of the first semester I was pretty nervous. I knew it wasn't going to be anything like high school. Once I started getting work from all my classes, I began to get overwhelmed. I didn't know how I was going to manage all the free time that I had and I didn't think I was going to handle all the work that I had to do. I started thinking of ways that I could manage my time and work and I came up with writing everything on a to do list as i get the work that way I will know what has to get done. This also helps me focus on the task thats on hand.

   The goal that I have for myself this semester is to make sure that i get my work done and to learn how to manage the college life. I also plan to pass my classes with a B or higher but with just a B I'll be happy. With being half way through in the semester, I feel like I'm meeting somewhat of my goals. I think I could push myself a little harder. One class that I'm doing really well in is my English. But I do have one setback and that is my history class. I feel like I can push myself when we have our take home test every week. I think I'm going to find a friend to tutor me.

   But overall I feel like I'm having an okay first semester. I still think there is room for improvement. So for the rest of the second half I'm going to make sure I push myself.

Majors Expo!!!!!

    Do you have a major or are still undecided? Well which it is that you are, if you attended the majors expo you should know what Southern has to offer. On Wednesday October 10,2012 I attended the annual majors expo. Every major that Southern has, had a table set up with ample information. I already know what I would like to take up here at Southern and that is Early Childhood Education. So that was the first table that I went right up too. At the table I was able to meet the advisor for Early Childhood Education . She gave me a paper with all the course requirements as well as information about this major. Since I have to double major in the School of Education, she also gave me a paper with all the second major that I can take. This paper made my options a lot more easier to choose from. She also gave me the date in which I can meet with her to go over all the class for this major and that date is October 22.

    When I was done getting all the information that I needed, I went around to see if anything else caught my interest. The one thing that stuck out to me the most besides my major, was the study aboard table. I'm really interested in studying in another country so I took all the information that I can get. I took papers on the different places you can go as well as how much it would cost.

     Attending the majors expo was a good idea for me. If you weren't able to make it, don't worry about. I'm sure your INQ professor can help you out.

Oh how I dislike introducing myself to random people

   The one thing that I'm very comfortable with and out of my comfort zone is introducing myself to new people. I am a very shy person so I knew that this weeks blog post was going to be a challenge. To get out of my comfort zone I decided to go up to a random person who was sitting alone in the student center and introducing myself. I didn't want to do this because I felt it was going to be awkward. But I had to do it so I finally built up the courage to just do it. While I was walking over to the table where this girl was sitting I was thinking so many different bad things. Like, what if she's mean or she doesn't like talking to people?

    I was nervous for nothing. The girl that I introduced myself too was Tiffany Robledo. She was so friendly and open to meeting new people. Within the 15 minutes that we spoke, I found out that we have similar things in common. We both are first year students, we both dislike the same class, we are both from the same town and we both have the same major. We even exchanged numbers so that I can help her use iMovie. Tiffany is a really nice girl and who knows maybe a friendship might be built. I may have come out of my comfort zone for this blog post but I don't think that I will do this that often because not everyone may be as friendly as Tiffany.

Can parents set you up for "Failure"?

   When we're kids our parents try to protect us from "failure", but in reality they kind of set us up for it. A parent dream's dream would be to see their child become successful in life, but they may be the cause of the failure. In the book Mindset it mentions the messages a child gets when a parent tells the child the good and bad things about what they did. The parent says, "Wow great job!, Your so smart!", for learning something on their first try is good for giving the child confident but it can also be bad. When the child doesn't get something for the first time then they will think they are not the best anymore. On the other hand, if a child loses in a competition or anything else, and you tell the child it was the judges fault, then they will grow up blaming others for their flaws. These two examples also connect to the growth and fixed mindset. The child might have the growth mindset to learn and grow from the lose but also have the fixed mindset and believe that others are the fault and they can't change that.

   In my own experience when I was younger and did beauty pageants and didn't make it far, my parents would tell me that I was great and I'll get it next time. My parents never told me that it was someone else fault. What my parents told me I took as advice to work harder to actually win a beauty pageant. This too is why I believe I have a growth mindset. I worked at becoming better and learned that I have to work hard for what I want. But at the same time I kind of had the fixed mindset and only believed that the girls who won it was because they were meant to win. This changed when I came in second place and had the chance to go to Disney world when I was ten years-old. I worked hard and finally came to a place where I felt I was a winner. The advice my parents gave me were beneficial, but sometimes other parents may not have the same effect on their children.

Feeling Sick? Visit the Health Center on Campus.

   One of the great things about Southern is that we have an amazing Health Center on campus. When ever you are not feeling well and your primary doctor is to far, visit the Health Center that is a few steps away. If you have the school insurance you should have no problem getting the medical attention you may need. Or if you have your own private insurance, it works too. I myself have my own private insurance that I use at the Health Center. I recently went in to have my TB test done for my job. Everyone from the faculty to the doctors were so friendly. Not only that, but if you have any questions about your health or anything, they are very helpful. 

   In the Health Center you can find so much helpful information, from health to safer sex. As soon as you walk in you notice a lot of posters and paper on nutrition and safe sex. They even have free male and female condoms that people can take. The Health Center is filled with lots of useful information, as well as helpful doctors and staff. So if your ever feeling sick, stop by the Health Center to get checked out. 

Growth or Fixed Mindset?

The book that I am reading for my INQ class has me thinking about what mindset I have and what mindset others may have. This book is called "Mindset" and in the book it define two different mindsets that people tend to have. The first one is called Growth Mindset and is the belief that your basic qualities are capable of growth through effort. This can connect to the 10,000 hours theory that I have read about. The 10,000 theory is the theory that if a person puts in 10,000 hours of hard work and practice you will be an expert in your field of interest and in growth mind set a person believes that with hard work you will be successful. While on the other hand Fixed Mindset is the belief that abilities are set in stone and are unchanging. The 10,000 hours theory would not even be considered in this mindset because a person may believe that with talent they will be successful. I believe that a person can have both a growth and fixed mindset. For example, I believe my younger brother has both mindsets. My brother is an amazing baseball player from the moment that he started playing back in t-ball. But he also has put in practice to be where he is in baseball. This is why I believe he has both mindsets, from the moment he started he had the talent (fixed mindset), but he puts in hard work to be so good (growth mindset).

I believe that I myself have a growth mindset. I put in a lot of practice and hard work to be where I am today. Not only that, but I plan to continue to work as hard as I am to be successful. I take action in my life to make all my goals come true. I don't think that I have any special talent that will make me successful. I have to work towards being the person that I want to be in my life. Many people may believe the opposite and have a fixed mindset. Those people may believe in immediate success or have a talent. I guess it all depends on the person. So can what mindset do you have? A growth or fixed?

Living on Campus or Commuting? Which is Better for You?