College and ME

caution: a long read, haha.

Hmm, what can I say about being an SFSU student? Well, I’m a freshman, so this is only my second semester at San Francisco State University, but it still gives me enough time to share some experience.

Let me start from the beginning of the whole college application process, it was junior year and the time to start taking action on our plan for college life. It was such a stressful time because of all the SAT and subject tests taking, applying for financial aid, filling out numerous forms, searching for scholarships, writing our personal statement essays, and making sure we keep our grades up all around the same time. Almost all students, whether applying to SFSU or Notre Dame, would know exactly what I mean and how overwhelming it may be. And that was only the getting in part! Imagine how nerve-wrecking waiting for the results was, and then finally attending college. I applied to SFSU because it was one of the nearest schools from where I live, the “city life” of San Francisco sparked my interest, and a state university was much more affordable than attending a UC or a private school like Notre Dame. It’s supposedly easier to get into as well. I realized that they didn’t require any written assignments, subject tests, or a really impressive high school and extracurricular activities schedule. That process was just the kick start for a memorable college life.

As the baby of the family, I feel like there is a heavy weight on my shoulders to do well and graduate from college. My parents especially constantly stress the importance of education because they want me to get a “good” job (high-paying). It just seems so hard to achieve since I can’t even decide what I want to be, and at the same time make them happy or proud of whatever it is I will become. It’s like I may not come close to their expectations or needs. When registering for classes, I knew I had to take what I can get. I thought of taking more units, but I didn’t want to start off with more than I can handle, so I tested the waters with just 4 classes. I know most SFSU freshmen are trying to satisfy as much of the GE requirements they can as soon as they can. I believe most of the people who go to or plan on going to Notre Dame already know mainly what they want to do (declared a major) and probably know how to get it (knowing the classes they need). The students at Notre Dame seem to have it almost all planned out or something. As for me, I came to college not knowing what I really wanted, leaving me with an undeclared major and most likely more years needed to graduate.


I feel like SFSU is so much more fast-paced and that everyone is like busy in their own little world compared to Notre Dame. First off, I commute almost 2hrs total (back&forth) every day by BART and bus, since I live at home (trying to save whatever we can). I don’t think there’s as much students commuting to and from Notre Dame. There are always mobs of people rushing to and from class to get wherever they need to go, like work or extracurricular activities. I don’t have a job, so luckily I have a bit more time. I decided not to join any clubs (yet) because most meetings and events happened in the evening, and that doesn’t suit my schedule. I spent/spend most of my time doing school work then helping around the house (chores). I know there are SFSU students partying and drinking over the weekends, but I don’t take part in it. The students of Notre Dame seem to party hard way more than those here. I don’t have like 4 day weekends (Thursday being the new Friday) due to having classes all 5 days. Gotta look forward to weekends~ I do always try to make sure my Sundays are free for last minute homework though. I’m like a robot stuck in the usual routine of school being a top priority just with different assignments and random little things going on.

From the little experience I had so far, I noticed I hadn’t grasped nor come close to the whole college feel. Go Gators!? ;) Need more school spirit?? Notre Dame has more than enough..

My (last) Word!

Whew, finally finished reading it and Spring break is almost over. Boohoo~

Anyway, I must say that the fourth chapter is one long read, but it was nice to be able to relate to some of what Blum and the interviewed students said. I like how she refers to college as some bubble because life is full of all sorts of bubbles. Heck, you are in your very own bubble waiting to pop. Haha, now don’t burst my bubble! ;P Okay, back to Blum, it’s great how she acknowledges the fact that college includes countless distractions and expectations. She brought up GPAs, SAT scores- the whole college application process and college life itself, “resume padding,” and how students try the “work now, play later” or work hard and play hard thing.

In an interview with this “John Stamos” guy, he talked about note taking and some classes being a waste of time, and I agreed with him. He mentioned a class where his professor used slideshows, but refused to post them online, so Stamos had to worry about jotting everything down instead of actually listening to what the professor said. I totally know what he means because I experienced it back in high school (but with overheads) and I remember my hand hurting from trying to write all the notes down quickly while the teacher was speaking. As for the wasted time, it only seems that way because you are totally not interested in the stuff or it feels like you’re going over the same material again and again.

Blum pointed out that there are many students who look at school as a chore needing to done and over with, so plagiarizing wouldn’t be so surprising. She listed a few reasons for why students are likely to cheat: “makes things easier, helps them attain the grade they desire, class work is not their primary priority, they have a number of obligations and goals to meet, and they are surrounded by other students who scorn the “nerd” or “dork” mentality.” I think this list is actually right on key. Doesn’t it sound like everyone cheats or has before? Gee.. When Blum wrote about the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations of learning, it reminded me of the authentic and performance self. A performance self would have extrinsic motivations such as a passing grade while an authentic self would learn for the love of knowledge. I figured those two types would be brought up again somehow.

Oh yeah, I mustn’t forget about the story of one of Blum’s students who didn’t realize her mistake until the third try (you can find it in the conclusion). The girl had plagiarized a paragraph from some source in her first paper and was given a second chance to revise and re-do the paper, but then she still included plagiarized sentences from another source. You would think she’d learn by now because that’s a second violation! Fortunately for her, Blum let her have a third and final chance to do a new assignment. The student was able to complete it without plagiarizing, and finally learned her lesson.

Blum sure did show me that plagiarism and college culture are very much related…

So, what ya reading?

"Ohh. Uhhm.. nothing?" Oh wow, boy do I feel silly. I don't really read for fun.. Don't kill me! ;P
My hate for reading began in middle school because we always had to have group discussions and write summaries like everyday. Remember SSR (silent sustained reading)? Teehee. I remember my preference of a SSR book in sixth grade was with poetry. Short&simple, awesome. Arghh! I just can't remember the title or author, but I know the books had simple drawings as covers.. one of them had a green cover with an apple tree on it, I think. Later on in seventh grade, there was the book Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, our teacher read aloud in class that I remember liking. I wanted it to be a movie, haha.

No worries, I don't hate reading anymore. Well, at least not reading for fun. I'm not including all those textbooks and articles reading for school, although some may have been quite interesting at the time. I wish I could have written down all the books I've read and liked before I forgotten them.. Anyone else planning on visiting their local library to check out a couple books or even better, DVDs? It's going to be one busy week of spring break~ homework and all.. REMEMBER TO TAKE A BREAK and breathe HERE AND THERE!
I plan on reading more, and I should(: I'll continue to read whatever I'm simply in the mood for at the time... it varies from realistic fiction like teenage love stories and all that mush, knights and fairies, greek gods and goddesses, how-to books- oh, and anything that'll make me laugh (out loud)! I love how someone would just burst out a laugh when they're surrounded by silence. I never really thought of how you can get so into a book, and it's like the perfect escape from reality.. *content sigh*

Anyway, before all the bashing or obsessing, let me say that it's only a consideration of a suggestion. I think I'm going to start reading New Moon by Stephanie Meyers (I should probably read Twilight first though). My brother's girlfriend suggested to check out the whole series(; For those of you who have read them, what do you think? There are plenty books turned to movies or vice versa.. "Don't judge a book by its movie." ;D I'll gladly take any other recommendations too~