Planning, Preparing, Weighing Options

Looking Ahead & Preparing

Spring 2023 Semester

    Long before open enrollment became available for Spring 2023, I had my classes selected.  After all, I need five classes to graduate.  The last three core classes are of high importance because I have to take those classes in order to graduate.  Electives gave me wiggle room to play with. 

    The biggest concern with classes at CSN in my personal experience, they are very limited.  Another concern is that there are classes that will not happen, even if you were enrolled.  A day or two prior to classes starting, you will notice the class was cancelled, then you can end up scrambling to find a replacement.  This is a fact! It happened to me for COM 101 for the Summer 2022 semester.  Luckily, I found a replacement for a later time of the day.  It could be due to low enrollment, change of staff, or any number of reasons.  Curriculums change occasionally.  

    My process to getting the right schedule and classes is long and tedious, but I've learned the hard way that it is a necessary process to get the classes you want and need.  If you don't enroll immediately, some classes can fill within the first few hours of open enrollment.  That happened to me twice already and it is frustrating to find classes to fit your schedule, especially if you want to have in person or hybrid classes, which I enjoy more than online classes.

    After enrolling, at least once per week, I check on the class enrollment numbers to get an idea of where the class is heading.  By this time, I noticed one class I really wanted to take was actually dropping in enrollments.  Another class changed and was no longer available.  To make a long story short, I had to change a total of three classes to get the schedule and requirements I need to fulfil my educational requirement for graduation.  I can say I am content with what I have now.  I am looking forward to graduation!

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/graduation-speech-examples/

Brag But Don't Brag

Keep The Accomplishments Coming!

    The purpose of this blog post is not entirely to "BRAG," but in a small way it is.  If that doesn't make sense to you by now, let me explain.  

    When I was a young child in school, I lacked the desire to be successful in school.  Not because I didn't try.  I had good grades all the way through high school.  My mother wasn't always an enthusiastic person who got happy to see my good grades.  Her response was always, "you could do much better."  Regardless of my good grades which were mostly A's, B's, and an occasional C, it was not good enough.  She might have been right, I could do much better.  Coming from a time where parent's weren't directly involved in kid's education and when kids fended for themselves, (latchkey kids) I believed it was the best I could do.

    This gave me a mindset that it didn't matter how much I tried or how well I did, I'd never make anyone proud of me for doing my best; therefore, I shouldn't try so hard.

    Being back in college has taught me that the only person I need to make proud of me, is ME.  The only person I can brag to about my accomplishments, is ME.  Sure, I can tell family or friends that I am doing great in college, but they are not really going to care.  After all, my accomplishments are not going to affect them in the long run.  Only ME! 

    The point I am trying to make is that even though there might not be anyone to brag to about your accomplishments, you always have YOU.  Brag to yourself, be proud of yourself.  And occasionally brag to the world that you are doing great things even if it doesn't affect them directly.  It doesn't make a person egotistical or self-centered.  It let's people know that we are proud of what we are accomplishing.

    With that being said,  as you know, I had a long project that some of you participated in.  The survey was for a professional report assignment.  I am grateful to those who took the time to participate by the way.  The second part of the assignment was a presentation which I completed.  I have my results from both assignments which I am very proud of and I want to share them with you all.

Graded Professional Report and Presentation Remarks.

    I was excited to see my results; therefore, I am proud of myself.  Those of you who took the time to participate are also the result of my grade.  I couldn't have done it without you.

My next brag, but not brag is my successful pass on my PowerPoint Presentation exam which I took this past Sunday.  This was the easy one.

Lesson in Obedience

MUSIC TRIGGERS MEMORY

    Before you read my story, I would like for you to listen to this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXvQvDb1I7A&app=desktop           

    I’ve been listening to this song since 2009.  I’ve always found it fascinating in a bizarre kind of way.  At first, I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics.  I like the almost psychedelic music and tone to it.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I carefully listened to the lyrics.  Much to my surprise, I knew exactly what the song was about.  I knew about the story behind it.  A friend of mine’s family member was a participant in one of the original experiments.  This blew my mind in so many directions.  The attraction to the song made sense to me now.  I connected the missing link.  I’ve read so many of the articles and stories about it and it goes something like this..

    A psychologist at Yale University, Stanly Milgram.  In the 1960s conducted experiments on obedience.  An individual’s conscience can be overridden by a situation, he confirmed.

    From all social classes, people from different backgrounds participated in Milgram’s studies after they agreed to receiving a small hourly compensation.  They thought the study was on learning and memory.  A doctor in a white coat instructed them to act as teachers by reading a list of associations to a learner who was out of sight but could hear.  As soon as the learner got an association wrong, the teacher would shock him with an electric shock, increasing the voltage with each answer.  The first shock was labeled SLIGHT SHOCK- 15 volts.  After the last shock, it was labeled DANGER SEVERE SHOCK-450 volts.

    What they did not know, Milgram wanted to see how much pain the teacher would inflict on the learner.  This was the real experiment.  One of the participants, an actor, cried that he could not stand the pain.  At 300 volts, he refused to participate, there was silence at 330 volts.  It turned out that 65% of the teachers reached electrical shocks to 450 volts regardless of knowledge that the participant might have mild heart condition.

    The white coated experimenter encouraged the teachers to continue despite their moral reservations, despite their sweating and biting lips.

    According to Milgram's research, ordinary people can be persuaded to commit acts of violence simply by being in the presence of authority figures.  Milgram also discovered that the more psychological distance the subjects had from the victim, more likely they were to perform the acts.

    Later experiments with both men and women, despite of adult age, social ethnicity, level of education, and financial standing, followed in similar results. 

Where was all this found?  In a society that values independent thinking and free will.

Its Not Magic, Its Excel

It Has Come To Pass

Excel did not beat me, I beat Excel.

    Over the weekend, I put so much time and effort into completing my practice Exams A and B.  Oh my goodness, did I have a hard time on a few questions.  After much research, trial and error, teeth grinding, and headaches, I was at a point of giving up.  Sunday evening, I received an email from Mr. Wu saying he had an open slot for me to take the exam between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.  I wanted to crawl under the darkest place of the universe. Fear!  My fear of the Excel exam tried to pull me down.  But no, I said to myself, I can do this.  I explained to Mr. Wu that I did not feel comfortable taking the exam because I was having issues with some of the questions.  After all, I hadn't even started on Form B at the time.

    Can anyone guess what happened next?  Correct!  Webex meeting. 👍  Mr. Wu helped me figure some of the problems in Form A by giving me subtle hints and I was able to get the problems correct after a few times.  By the time we finished, I decided it would be best to wait till today, Monday, November 7, 2022 to give myself time to Finish both Form A and B practice exams.

    Later this afternoon, I tackled Form A and got 100%.  I also started on Form B only to encounter a terrible =IF function on a couple of the questions.  These were strange, needless to say.  Then, I get a text.  Guess who from?  Correct again, Mr. Wu!  Webex meeting 2. 👏 <--(clapping)  We go over some of the problems I was having and figured them out.  After disconnecting, I worked on Form B some more to improve my score and eventually completed with 100% after a few more tries.  

    I contacted Mr. Wu, told him I was ready.  I completed and passed the exam on the first try.  What excitement I felt after my accomplishment.  I've never been so happy to finish an exam like today.  Thank you Mr. Wu.  You are the best.

    Excel has been tough on me, but I Excel'd and conquered.

Close Your Eyes and Let Go

 What Are You Afraid Of?

        The younger version of myself was trapped in constant fear because no matter what life brought, it brought fear with every step.  It kept me from seeing and achieving my true reality and the greatest version of myself I could have been.

    Life has taught me that fear holds us back from accomplishing many things.  Fear keeps us from realizing our visions and full potentials.  Fear keeps our inner critics alive and our excuses valid reasons for failure.  Fear makes us surrender to lesser greatness and can lead to isolation and depression.

    As the years pass, I continue to learn ways on how to let go of my fears.  Letting go of my fears is a lot of work, but believe me, it is worth it. 

    My biggest fear, like many of us is failure.  In my reality, I've learned that failure doesn’t mean the end of the road.  It doesn’t mean I have to stop trying.  Fear doesn’t mean that I can’t try again and succeed.  It means that I have to try harder, I have to stop my inner critic from negative talk, I have to stop lying to myself, and that I have to hold myself accountable for my actions.  It also means that I can positively reassure myself that everything is going to be okay and quitting is not an option.  I stand strong with that as you all might know by now.

    I love watching TED talk videos.  The first of two most inspiring videos I relate to on this topic is by Isaac Lidsky.  If any of you are familiar with the late 1980s to early 1990s show, “Saved by the Bell,” Isaac played as Weasel Wyzell in the show.  That was one of my favorite TV shows, so to see him as an inspirational speaker, WOWed me to the bone.

    In this video, Isaac Lidsky talks about the struggles with fears and how he overcame his.  I hope you are ready to be surprised by him.

https://www.ted.com/talks/isaac_lidsky_what_reality_are_you_creating_for_yourself?language=en

    The second most inspiring video I relate to is a more recent one by Dan Harris, a former anchor and correspondent for ABC News.  He talks about his journey to improving himself and his relationships with others and his journey to challenge his demons and how he overcame them.

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_harris_the_benefits_of_not_being_a_jerk_to_yourself

    Moral of my story, be kind to yourself, let go of your fears, become the greatest you you can be.  For most of our lives, we firmly believe that we know what we want in the future but don't lie to yourself, because believe me, you don't.  Life changes at every turn and adaptability is our best friend.