Bulldog Blog
by Nina Ordukhanova
11/20/08 - English Class
I never liked English in high school. Those classes just seemed boring and slow to me... and to lots of other students. I would generally sleep in class or do homework for other classes. Yes, I admit it. I did. I thought that college English wouldn’t be any different from high school, but I was very wrong. First of all, we don’t get as much homework. Yes, we do write essays pretty often, but I don’t consider them homework.
I just found out that I actually enjoy writing essays. I somehow like to spill my thoughts on a piece of paper and then share it with a class. I also like hearing other people’s experiences and interesting life situations. The class is small and there are about twenty people. We all got to know each other very well. I can name every single person in that class, no problem.
Our instructor, Ms. Christiansen, gives us different kinds of papers to write. The first assignment I got in that class was to write a description of a place you like. I chose Wild Waves Theme Park because there is a lot of action and a lot of things to describe. The second paper was a love/hate essay. I was only allowed to use two verbs throughout the whole assignment, and they were “love” and “hate.” The third paper had to be a life story, something interesting and catchy. I wrote about one of the Halloween parties I went to and everything that happened to me that night. It was a funny paper. I made everyone, including the teacher, laugh. Some of my classmates shared very personal and sad stories. One of the students told us a story about his buddy getting shot in the head. His paper was very powerful, to say the least.
Today I had to go to the Library media center and watch a video tape on spelling and mechanics. I have to say that this is not one of my favorite class assignments. I found it very hard to stay on track, since I already know all this information. Nevertheless, I still like this class. I may even look for other English classes as electives.
11/14/08 - End of the Quarter Looms Large
The past two weeks have been so very busy for me. We get lots of homework assigned in classes now that the quarter is almost over. FINALS ARE COMING UP SOON!!!!!!! I’m stressing out already. I had an appointment with a counselor, Sandy, last Friday. She helped me so much with making a decision on what classes I should take for winter quarter. I’m majoring in Diagnostic Ultrasound and am currently taking the prerequisites. I took Math 99, English 92, and Sociology 101 this quarter. I went to a web site that lists all the needed classes I have to take in order to get into a program. It had a bunch of biology classes listed as well as physics, medical terminology, higher levels of English, and anatomy. It took forever trying to figure out what biology classes I had to take before getting into the higher levels, but my effort was decidedly pointless.
That is exactly why I scheduled an appointment with Sandy. My advice is to make an appointment with your advisor to decide on your classes. Don’t register for classes unless you are a hundred percent sure that you have to take them. Do not waste your precious time taking classes you don’t even need to take, unless you are looking for that spark that lights up the pathway to your passion that you haven’t found yet. Maybe that’s the time to take electives. Anyways, the appointment only lasted fifteen minutes, and I not only figured out what classes to take winter quarter, but Sandy also told me a lot about the Diagnostic Ultrasound program. She told me that I would possibly need As in all of my major classes in order to get into the program. She also told me that I should have a Plan B just in case I don’t get into the Diagnostic Ultrasound, since a lot of people are trying to get into this program.
I gave it some thought and decided to start taking some of prerequisite classes for a degree in Nursing, just in case I don’t get into Diagnostic Ultrasound. I have so many friends who experience the same kind of problem. As I said earlier, FINALS ARE COMING UP!!!!!!!!! People start preparing for them now because time goes by faster than you think. I already found out the date for my math class final. It will be held Wednesday, December 12th in the A building. Oh, by the way, my registration for classes is on Thanksgiving day--GREAT!!!!!!!!!
I already started studying for finals. I made flash cards for Sociology and Math – yeah, old school but it works. My English final is just an essay, so I won’t worry about it that much. I know some people who find other ways of reviewing more helpful, but I just love my flash cards. Getting in a group and studying for a test together is also a good idea…. well, unless your study buddies like to chat.
Talk to your advisor and decide on your classes now!!!!!!
10/31 -- The Economics of College
There are good and bad things students face as they enter college. Good things would include: independence, new friends, cool classes, being your own decision-maker, etc…
But independence has a deeper meaning than just being on your own and enjoying freedom. Once you get independence, you get a bunch of expenses that come with it! First of all, tuition is something that should concern students who are independent. I don’t want to say that tuition here at BCC is impossibly high, but when you add it to all the other college expenses, it comes up big. Lots of students move out and rent apartments on their own or with roommates. In addition to that, most students have cars, which need to be filled with gasoline almost weekly and maintained. I know a lot of students here at BCC who work three jobs in order to pay their bills. They always tell me how hard it is to keep up with school work when you barely have time to do your homework. Yes, going to college does change your life and makes you work harder, but there are some ways to make your experience easier. First, apply for financial aid. It pays for your books and tuition, and you also get extra money to spend on whatever you need for college. Bellevue has a page on their web site explaining all about it, and you can go to the FAFSA.gov site too to get started. Any time. Just do it!Second, take AP classes in high school (or tell your friends and siblings to do it if you’re already at college). It helps students get familiar with college-level work and you get college credit if you score well on the exams.
Third, apply for scholarships. Extra money would never harm you. Find a job that pays more than a minimum wage. Get a planner and follow a schedule. Try to manage your working hours so you could spend some time on homework. Independence, with all its freedom, also brings the need for discipline and planning. If we get used to it now, we will be successful after college as well!
10/17 -- Nina Explores the Computer Lab
Don't laugh, but the student computer lab is probably my favorite place in college to go to when my classes get cancelled or when I get a break. Some students want to hang out in the cafeteria or the courtyard, enjoying a latte or socializing. Not me.
Instead, I usually head to the lab to write my blogs for our BCC web-site or finish up my homework. I like the working environment and availability of resources. This would be a surprise for high school kids, but at BCC no web sites are restricted (including MySpace)!
I remember back in high school we would waste our time trying to figure out codes and web sites that would allow us to go to restricted web sites. Now that I’m in college it’s much easier. I can type in any web site and the server takes me there. You never see icons coming up telling you that the following web site is prohibited by the administration. Isn’t that cool? Another step toward governing ourselves.
I have to say, I also like the way printers work in the computer lab. Back in high school students would print out their papers at the same time and they would get messed up with each other. Here, in college, when you send your work to a printer, it doesn’t print it until you give it a command. In other words, your job gets sent to a computer that controls a particular printer, so whenever you are ready, you can go up to that computer, type in your user name and choose which papers you want to print and press okay. Only then does the printer print your work and you get your papers right away without it getting messed up. If you have problems with your computer or logging in, you can also ask one of the lab workers. They are always available and ready to help no matter what your problem is. This seems like tech heaven after the constant headaches of high school. Sure, it may seem normal to others, but I’m still in my first quarter so it all is new and really awesome.
10/10 -- Parking lots at BCC
Crazy-making -- parking seems to be tough at any college campus.
I want to start out by saying … BCC parking lots are RIDICULOUS!
Not only is it almost impossible to find a parking space in the morning, but it is also the main cause of students’ being late to their classes. I noticed that for some reason starting this Monday there were many more cars in parking lots so obviously finding a parking space got that much harder.
This Monday I got to college at 9:10 and drove around everywhere trying to park, but my effort was pointless. Finally I kind of gave up on the idea of finding a spot so I stopped my car and waited until people would start leaving and empty the parking lot a little bit.
So I sat there and waited for what seemed like forever. Finally people started leaving at 9:23 or somewhere around then. Since I was the first one in line for parking (yes there were a lot of cars lined up behind me), I got a spot pretty fast. But as you may have guessed, I was late to my class (not significantly late), but I still interrupted my instructor when I came in and I missed being called on in attendance-taking.
We really should do something about parking. Maybe get more lots for students. I noticed that a lot of teacher parking spaces are empty, especially the ones by the R building. Now, I’m not saying that we should limit employee parking spaces, but maybe there is a way to expand student lots. It would be very nice to get to school knowing that you will for sure get a spot and get to class on time.
10/8 -- Thoughts about Diversity
Look around today with openness and curiosity.
Today I want to talk about my thoughts on the diversity of our campus. It is so very awesome how we have people representing all parts of the world and different cultures. Every time I walk around the campus I see people of different skin colors, of different religions. I just love diversity! It somehow makes me happy. I could never imagine our world if all people looked the same and followed the same beliefs and even ate the same kinds of food. I really want to get to know people and find out more about their lives.
I myself am Middle-Eastern, but I grew up around people of different cultures. My boyfriend is African-American, my aunt is married to a Syrian, my friends are Asian, White, Black, Latino, European, etc… I don’t restrict myself to one race. And now that I have joined the BCC community, I see even more diversity than I did in high school. This fact makes me very happy.
10/6 -- Adventures in the Writing Lab
BCC is not just about sitting in class -- it's all about student success, I found.
Last week I had to write a paper for English class. The paper had to be a very detailed description of a place -- any place. The catch was that the place had to be real and have a lot of action. I picked Wild Waves theme park because that place is just the best! I can’t wait until next summer to go there again. Anyways, “The Park” absolutely fits my assignment because it holds a lot of action and excitement and there are a lot of things that could be described in detail and not bore the reader. It took me about two days to finish the paper only because I had a hard time deciding what attractions I want to describe. The second part of the assignment was to underline verbs, subjects, and the grammatical subject. To be honest I am very bad at finding the grammatical subject, so I decided to get some help from the Writing Lab. It is located in the D Building on the second floor. I was very relieved when I found out that there was no line and I could get help on the spot without an appointment or waiting. One of the staff went over my essay with me and corrected all of my mistakes. I still haven’t gotten my paper back, but I’m sure I did just fine because of all that help I got from the Writing Lab. My advice to all BCC students -- if you have difficulty with writing essays, just go up to the D Building and get some help! You have nothing to lose, so do it!
9/22 -- The First Day – So Wild!
Entering college is a significant step in our lives. Ever since junior high, we all look forward to being college students. Like most new freshmen, I was excited to finally graduate and enter the real world.
My first day at BCC was on September 22nd. I was very nervous on my way to college. Thoughts kept on going through my mind: What if I don’t like my teachers? What if my teachers don’t like me? What if I get lost and don’t find my classes on time? What if there is no parking space? What if I have no one to talk to or even have lunch with? Or…what if it's all great?
I arrived at college a little bit later than I should have. As I learned later, the garage empties out at 9:20 when some students leave after the first class. I got there at 9:30 and decided to take a chance and look for garage parking. As you may guess, there was no parking left. Totally jammed! So I parked on the fifth level (ummmm...also known as employee parking). Oops. Maybe they won’t notice on the first day. I parked my car and headed to my first class.
Campus looked so alive and full of different people that I totally forgot about my earlier thoughts. I felt relaxed and ready for Sociology.
I got Denise Johnson as an instructor (at community college, it is "instructor," not professor or teacher -- something to remember). She prefers to be called Denise. She is very nice and is good at communicating with students. There were at least thirty seven people, but I felt at home. I already recognized several people I met during the FYE session. The class was interesting and I got to know many new people. So far so good.
My next destination was Building R. Both of my other classes are in that building. I got Ms. Christiansen for English. The classroom is a lot smaller than the Sociology classroom and there are fewer people. Okay then. Easier to get to know each other.
After English I had a one hour break. This could be a perfect opportunity to eat a snack, relax, or even get the last of homework done. I decided to just walk around the campus and get more familiar. I discovered that the N Building (also known as the computer lab) is across from the A Building. It took me about seven minutes to get to the other side of campus. I also found the library and the copy center.
The line to the bookstore was huge! It went all the way outside the building and almost to the parking lot. I was so totally happy that I had bought my books online and didn’t have to stand there for one or two hours! If you are reading my blog at all for tips, the BEST TIP – is buy your textbooks online!
Time to head to my last class. Ms. Stevens is my math instructor. She explains mathematic concepts very well. And since I love math, this class is my favorite. The school day was over at 1:20, which felt a little weird since this was the first time in my life I only had three classes in one day. It’ll be easy to get used to, I guarantee it!
I headed back to the garage to get my car and discovered that I DID get a parking ticket. It was totally my fault. I thought I would get away with parking in employee parking, like get a notice or some kind of warning. It felt like I was wrong about everything that day, good or bad, but I was relieved to have nothing I had worried about take place.
College is actually fun and there is nothing scary about it. I liked my teachers, I enjoyed the environment and diversity of campus, I met wonderful new people, and I’m excited to finally be a college student. And next time, I will park in a student spot.
