Orientation 2012 at Stonehill!

The Training:

This was my very first orientation experience as a peer mentor. All I can say is, love it, love it, loooveed it! The training itself was over all an entirely different experience of its own. I walked in late to the first meeting due to my Stats class and was put on a complete blast. My brother from another mother Johnny Jo figured it would be amusing to get all 60 people to clap for me the second I arrived. I have to admit I did feel a little embarrassed but at the same time I felt honored. That moment was really the beginning of a great week to come. Favorite memories, I would have to say are all of the night time activities. From salad bowl to capture the flag, to where the wind blows, to sardines in the  Creepy Sem, and my personal favorite, touch someone who. Salad bowl was just hilarious as hell. That’s about the right way to sum it up. Capture the flag was fun and all but it was not in comparison to the intensity of RBTV’s old school capture the flag. The RBTV’s old school capture the flag course consists of giant cinder blocks that can be used as shields. It makes the game twice as intense but also forces you to be more alert when running. Then there is of course the newer version, on an open field, much like the capture the flag played at orientation. Where the wind blows is basically the best way to expose a person’s privacy. You could walk in with your deepest and darkest secrets and by the end of the night pretty much everyone will most likely know your business. It’s also a way to call out a friend or to be called out. In the words of the great Paul Burton, “busted and disgusted”. God knows I’ve been victimized many times. The worst call outs are those indirect ones where it’s not directly targeting you but yet you were somehow involved in the act. Somehow it is the group’s favorite activity. You just got to love it!  Touch someone who is my personal favorite because it’s really a way of recognizing who has had a positive impact on your life.  For example, “touch someone who made you smile, or touch someone who you admire.” Aside from the recognition aspect, it is nice to know that there is someone one out there who appreciates you for just for being you, making a difference in someone else’s life. Personally for me, I get pleasure out of doing good deeds for people, or just making someone smile.  There’s really no better feeling than that. I heard the values game was pretty intense as well but I unfortunately wasn’t able to participate. I was too busy studying for my stats exam back at home. The info sessions were most definitely my least favorite. It really wasn’t that bad, I’m just not a fan of listening to long conversations in a million degree weather. My concentration goes from 100% to 0%. I‘m actually surprise I stayed up in almost all of the sessions. The small groups in the form of speed dating really did the work, or else I would have been dozing off in every session. It truly was a learning experience, although it was mostly information for the mentees. I feel as if I know more about all the opportunities offered at Stonehill more now than ever.  My overall personal favorite part of the orientation training process? The FOOD! What else can it be? The food really wasn’t all that great but it was all free! I really can’t complain and no other PM should either because it was all given.  Besides, all it really takes to make this man a happy camper is food.

Orientation, The Stress!

First day of orientation was quite a mess thanks to someone who I thought I could depend on. Well, it really all started the Sunday before the first orientation and my stats final. I left earlier that morning to go home and prep for my final; which I did, all hours of the day until 3am. Rewinding a week before, I had asked a friend of mine to give me a ride back to school ASAP after my Stats final. He texted me saying “blah blah blah… I’m not working on Monday I got you with a ride.” He’s always been loyal to me about rides, about everything, so I had no reason not to trust him. The week had flown by, it’s the day before my Stats final and the first day of Orientation, my very first Orientation, the day I had trained hours and hours for. I texted him, “hey buddy you still got me tomorrow?” No response. Called, no response. “Hey is everything alright? Can you still take me tomorrow?” Zero response. At this point I want to get nervous but I don’t have the time to get nervous because I needed all the concentration on my study. It’s now 10pm and I’ve gotten no response so I thought I would send him a quick message on Facebook. “Hey buddy I’m not sure what’s up with your phone but I hope you can still scoop me tomorrow. I really need to be there...blahh blahh pick me up at FSU at blah time and I’ll be ready to go blahhh blah blahh.” I went back to my studies until 3am. Exhausted and brain dead, I decided to check my Facebook for the last time, hoping I finally got a reply. Well, I did get a reply, it was more like “blah blah my phone broke, blah blah I’m going to try and get a new one tomorrow, blah blah sorry I can’t give you a ride, blah blah blah.” Holy crap if I wasn’t stressed enough before for my exam, imagine how I was feeling now at that moment. My emotions? Angry, betrayed, angry, confused, anxious, more angry, angry and very furious! It’s 3:00am, who in the world can I call or text at this moment that’s actually going to pick up? The most I could do was text a couple dependable friends, hoping one of them would come through for me. 7:30am and I still haven’t heard from anyone. Then all of a sudden, almost back to back, I get a text from 2 people stating that I was basically out of luck. I dressed up, went to my exam, hoping I would get lucky with the last guy. I most definitely felt like the luckiest man alive because I received a text on my way to FSU saying, “don’t worry Tom, I got you”. My very last hope of making it to Orientation. Everything I’ve worked for, the interviewing process, the essays, the evaluations, and the hours and hours of training. Everything I worked for since January was almost taken away from me only because of one person’s selfish, unprofessional act. Basically who knows what could have happened if I chose to assume I still had a ride and hadn’t Facebook messaged this individual? That would have been the end of it for me. But hey, I recently read a scripture; “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32 This scripture definitely made me realize that I do have forgiving problems. I mean I think I am pretty forgiving but I really don’t forget. So basically what I am saying is that I no longer have any anger against this individual, but I am also no longer willing to trust this individual.  At this point there are really only a few people outside of Stonehill and the Ron Burton Training Village, that I can call trust worthy friends.  It doesn’t bother me much because that’s just the many Realities of life.

Orientation, The Fun Begins!

Though it was such a hectic process to get there, I did make it, and yes it was hands down my best experience at Stonehill by far. I don’t think I have ever been so consistently enthusiastic about anything. I didn’t know what to really expect of the kids arriving so late, but I couldn’t wait to get to finally meet them. I got there, introduced myself and all I really did from there was be myself and kept it real.  Within a short period of being there I noticed how fast they were coming around. I was no longer the random new guy in the group. Well never mind the fact that my lovely partners surprisingly made a flat head of me on a stick to pass around to the kids until I got there. I came and they all already knew what I looked like, the most hysterical occurring of the week. While at the store trying to figure out how we can bring MTKC alive, we came across a slap on bracelet that said “Be your-self”. The “Be Yourself” Bracelet was to be passed onto a group number who was being themselves at any point during the orientation. Being yourself could mean stepping out of your comfort zone and getting to know someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. This idea was inspired by one of the many silly PM activities called the “Awkward project”. The mentees really grasp the idea of the bracelet which made Mama Kristen aka KK very proud! I say this because I was surprisingly given the bracelet by one of the girls. I was in complete shock but yet it was a special moment. Her reason for giving me the bracelet? According to her I came as the new guy in the group and didn’t really act much like the new guy. In other words, she appreciated my personality and me being myself in order for them to have a great time at orientation. We really lucked out with both orientation groups! We had awesome group of kids in both groups; they were motivated and excited for the overall orientation experience as well as the full experience at Stonehill. Of course there’s always that awkward elephant in the room at first but the awkward barrier was broken soon enough. It was really cool to see how they all transformed from awkward little turtles into their true personalities. What I found the most interesting about orientation was getting to see and experience the differences; differences as in orientation as a mentee, and orientation as a Peer Mentor. Being a Peer Mentor really is a piece of work, work that is completely under-rated. So much time, planning and excitement goes into it that you don’t normally see as a mentee. I mean, the excitement by itself can be exhausting. I have so much more respect and appreciation for it now that I’ve personally experienced it.     

Group Name/ Partners

Hands down the classiest group name of the year! The name MTK was created the first day we were introduced to our partners. Yes it only took us one time and maybe five minutes of knowing we were going to be working together. Now that’s connection and team bonding. The meaning of MTK is as obvious as it gets. M as in Mallory, T as in Thomas and K as in Kristen. As simple as it is, we take a lot of pride in our group names and slogan. MTK was later expanded to MTKC when the mentees became involved. Well towards the end of training, using the lottery method, we were told to pick from a list of words that could potentially be our group names. Being a first year Mentor, my partners chose me to do them the honors of choosing a word out of a brown paper bag. The word was “Classy”!  “Oh we classy huh?” This phrase later became the group’s slogan, slightly stolen from the original song “oh you fancy huh”? The group then became MTKC, with a twist on the “classy”. The word “classy” was replaced with “Crew”, Mallory, Thomas, Kristen and Crew! Pretty creative group of classy leaders aren’t we? Well the creativity didn’t exactly end there because Mal and KK decided to come up with another meaning for MTKC, Mighty Tighty Kids with Class! Yes, lots of thoughts and creativity when into the full group names. Why, cause we keep it classy! I personally emphasized the word class to the mentees because I really wanted them going into the their first semester at Stonehill being smart and thinking twice about their decision making. Not being the typical freshmen and get transported or documented for dumb things but having a good time with class; and if they do choose to drink, drink with class.  

As for my partners? I honestly could not ask for better people to be pared with for my first Peer Mentor experience. The both of them are so special in their own way it’s difficult to explain in words. KK aka Kristen Kennedy, hilarious! So relaxed and just a ball of energy. So many times during orientation I found myself being more and more like KK. So responsible, so real but most of all, she just goes with the flow. If something doesn’t work out, Oh well, things happen; let’s make the best of it and move on. No one is perfect. I love that mentality! Well, mostly because that’s exactly how I am.  A then there’s Mal Mal!  Coming into the group I had no idea who Mal Mal was nor did know what to expect of her. Now I literally cannot come up with the right words to describe Mal’s personality. I guess the best word for it is beautiful! Just always calm, peaceful, so organized, so relaxed, so mother like. Let’s just say if it wasn’t for Mal being there to keep everything under control, who knows what would have happened? Guess we will never know! Why? Because Mal was right there leading us as the most experienced in the group, keeping everything under control at all times.  In terms of leadership, we are all so unique and so creative in our own ways. At the end of the day, end of orientation, our individual personalities and creativity came together as one, MTK, which later became MTKC (Mighty Tighty Kids with Class).  "Oh We Classy HuH?!"

Final Reflection/The Full Experience #2

Conclusion/Introduction: Controduction

 In conclusion of the first semester, it was quiet and experience. Not exactly the kind of experience you would consider pleasant, but it was most definitely a life changing experience. I almost feel as if I am a new man. I live my life differently, and maturely, if that makes any sense. I just overall have a different perception of life. I am more appreciative of life in general, not that I was ever not appreciative prior to the incident, but I thank God for every morning I wake up and I am alive. And what other ways do I feel alive? Seeing other people smile, seeing other people happy, because you just never know what someone might be going through. One move on your part can either greatly impact someone's life or it can lead to their demise; like in the case of bullying. But that's a whole other topic I would rather not get into. Plus what can you possibly lose from making a great impact in someone's life? Absolutely nothing.


Academic/Overall  Accomplishments:

 Second semester was academically a huge improvement. I Love Science, specifically Bio but I couldn't do Chemistry to save my life! Withdrawing from General Chem. with a C- after midterms, I was questioned; "But why did you leave? You should have stayed with it, it gets easier as you go..."Well....See..the problem is...I know myself pretty well and I know what I am capable of academically and there's no way that I could have survived Gen. Chem. I, II, Organic Chem. I and II, successfully. The word is successfully. Not a D- or a D or a C-, successful as in an A-, B or B+. I can no longer allow myself to be an average student; I just refuse to let that happen. Yeah I did not have the best grades in high school nor did I have the confidence. But guess what?  I see high school as "That was then, This is now!" One of my favorite books of all time by the way. Anyways, switching from Bio to Healthcare, I thought life was going to be a piece of cake! I wouldn't have to spend my whole entire college career in the Shields Science Center, not a lot of homework, and more socializing with friends. I did expect some reading and writing in Literature and Philosophy. Was I right? Of course I was! As for picking up a minor in Studio Art, I really had no expectations in terms of difficulty. I was just overjoyed to be able to get back into something I was absolutely born to do, especially at a college level. My intentions were to make it more of a stress relief factor, but that was actually not the case at all. Taking Portrait Workshop and Figure drawing back to back actually became more of a stressful activity, especially during finals time. Both professors were absolute experts in their fields and had expectations like no other. They truly introduced me to the world of getting out of my comfort zone as an upcoming Artist and feeling more comfortable and confident in challenging myself to that next level. The level didn't think existed. My overall GPA first semester wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be. I did not expect it to be my best, but I also did not see it being as low. So low I cannot publicize it.  Second semester was a complete turnaround for sure. A 3.43 from a low 2 GPA? That’s some serious improvement if you ask me! The dramatic improvement did bring up my overall GPA but not to where I wanted it to be. If I am not mistaken, my one of my major goals for the second semester was to bring my GPA up to a low 3, at least in the 3 range. I unfortunately came short of it for obvious reasons. It was extremely unrealistic, especially having a low of a GPA as I did. I mean it would have been realistic if I was a straight A’s student.  As much as I do not want to publicize my overall GPA, I will admit that as of now it’s at 2.88. Would it cross that 3.0 mark after my summer Stats class? I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see. Besides, I am not ashamed to publicize my GPA because it is only temporary. Aside from my lack of confidence coming into college, I did make a lot of mistakes in terms of time management and study strategy. But I did learn from my downfalls, I did discover what works for me and what doesn’t academically. And as for time management, ask anyone who knows me on a personal level. Like how the great Michael Jackson was the king of pop, I am the king of time. My whole entire life as of January 2012 has been about time. From the moment I wake in the morning until bed, time, time and TIME! And why is this relevant? Basically what I am saying is that I am not ashamed of publicizing my overall GPA because as of this moment, it is just going to increase. I know what it takes to become a successful student after all these years and I cannot wait to see how much more I am going to grow academically, and socially over the next three years.


Although I did not accomplish the goal of bringing my overall GPA up to a low 3, I was successful in everything else. My other goals going into the second semester were, apply for the ALANA-A Big Brother and Sister, the Peer Mentoring program and to participate in KRUP, the Katrina relief community service in New Orleans. Went through the whole interview process and was accepted into both programs. ALANA-A I felt like was more of a given because I was a part of the IEP family all year. And they knew me well and what I was capable of in terms of leadership. Peer mentor on the other hand was more of a, “leadership had been implanted into my head for the past eight years at the Burton Camp, so let me give it a try and see what happens”. It surely was worth the try because that is really where some of the realest people at Stonehill aside from my ABS family. People I can fully trust and depend on in difficult times. I cannot forget my Bible Study crew of course. Those dudes really keep me sane; talking about guys I can fully give my heart to. Talking about my Bible Study crew, KRUP was hands down the best experience I’ve had at Stonehill without being at Stonehill. Talking about NOLA, I recently made a comment to a coworker about not being like the others and she responded, “I know right? A kid from beaver, in college, full time”. Beaver being the “ghettoest” part of Framingham, where I guess everything goes down. This comment goes a long way because it reminded me of a quote by Pastor Burnside whom I met while in NOLA for Spring Break. It goes “Sanctification by association”; meaning making an impact on your surrounding and not letting your surrounding impact you. Like a close friend once said, “you’re hungry for success”. That explains it all. It’s been an awesome year and I cannot wait to see where Stonehill takes me in the next three years or so.

Final Reflection/The full experience #1

Introductin:

One statement about this past academic year? The Roller Coaster ride of a life time! From losing a friend almost directly in my own hands, to withdrawing from a class for being endanger of failing, to getting one of the best jobs on campus, to Spring break in NOLA, to becoming an ABS leader and a Peer mentor, to being awarded First Year Class Leadership Award, to just going all out and beasting academically this semester. This blog is basically the final reflection of my first year at Stonehill College; first and second semester.

First Semester:

I went in three weeks earlier as a Biology major through the Summer Bridge program and it was quite a wake up call for what was to come. From a load of reading to lots of writing, to four hour lab clases to hours and hours of lab reports. It was a pain to be in class three weeks earlier than the rest of campus on the nicest summer days, but it truly prepared me for the real stuff. It made the academic transitioning alot smoother than most incoming froshes. I felt like I had been on campus for years by the time everyone else got there. I knew alot of great people, had a couple friends, and I was known as the Brace kid because I was the Bridge kid who mostly hung with the ACE kids. Talking about ACE kids, I am actually living in trailer housing with six of them for the next couple semesters. My brother from another mother Austin Alfredson, Kevin Zuniga, John Lamb, Stephen Pike, Julian Ramos, Bobby Dickey, Tom Wood, and the newby George Farah. George wasn't apart of the ACE program but it's all good, he's still family.
 The overall first semester was a struggle, especially being a Bio major. Bio was a peace of work, I had no clue what was going on in Chemistry even tho I had one of the best professors on campus, and because both of those classes took so much of my time, I started slacking in the others. Between history and religion, I had an enormous amount of reading every night and I couldn't ever keep up with it because I was too busy doing Chem or Bio homework or lab reports. Yeah I had school work and all but that wasn't really the end of the story. I am no longer a varsity athlete and so I had no major commitment outside of academics. I am also not much of a person to sit around and study all day, never have been. So what was my alternative? I figured I'll occupy my time by getting involved in the Stonehill community. Hands down best decision I've ever made. One of the first clubs got involved in was the Good News club aka Bible study group. Through the club I met some of the realest group of guys on campus. I love the college life and I love to have fun and all but I went with the intention to not lose who I am, where I am from and how far I've come. As a Ron Burton scholarship recipient, I know I definitely can't  afford to screw up. It is the opportunity of a life time and the best I can do is take full advantage of it. I depended on the Bible study group to keep me in check at all times and that's exactly what it did. I got the opportunity to go on a couple retreats, something I never got a chance to do in high school. It surely was a blast from the past and I loved every minute of it. I was also involved in other clubs such as, Diversity Committee, MOSAIC, and the Holy Cross' E-Board as a Publicity Coordinator. Intramurals and working out was obviously in the picture because what can I do without sports and exercise? Not much as far as I know. I over all had some great experiences and met some really cool people, but it still was a struggle. In other words, the transitioning wasn't as smooth as I hoped.

 Tragity of a Life Time:

Reality truely checked in for me at the end of the semester when a hall mate/friend of mine committed suicide in his room. I have never really talked about this publically but here I go...It was about that time of the year, AKA finals were around the corner. It was the Wednesday before finals week to be exact. I spent the entire morning working on Bio note cards until another friend of mine hit me up to go work out at 2:00pm. While getting ready to head out, I heard alot of commotion outside. My first thought was, "its a typical day out in the hall". Well, it really exactly the typical day I expected because the comosion did not stop. I listened closer and heard "some one call the RA!" I ran out scared out of my mind and asked what had happened. Another hallmate shouted, "....hung himself!" My first thoughts? Ohhhh crap, I've never seen a dead body before. How did I know this individual was already dead? I didn't, it was fear of the worse. I stood in shock, and did not know how to react. I felt like I needed to do something but I could not find the courage to move until the RA's roommate ran into the room and requested for someone to help get the body down. I ran into the room not knowing that my life would never again be the same. My entire experience from that moment is something I can not publically discuss, for obvious reasons. What I can say is, that experience marked the begining of my life as a mature adult. I felt like it was almost my induction into man hood. Before this incident, I had never seen a body, nor did I ever go to a wake or a funeral and never did I anticipated on doing so. All that innocense was gone in a matter of seconds. In such situations a person usuallt questions.."Lord why me?" I couldn't do so because God definately placed me in that situation for a reason; I was literally seconds away from leaving to workout. What really hunted me for days was the gilt. Guilt of not being there on time, guilt of not being able to bring him back, and the gilt of facing his parents. I cried for hours and hours and hours, not because I knew the kid or because I was friends with him. I cried because of the guilt of not doing enough. Obviously it took me a while to fully forgive myself, but it was an experience I would never forget, even if I wanted to. I remember waking up two days after the incident at 5am and writing a journal. I am usually not the journal type and I hope to never again have to write a journal, but that's not the point. I havn't gained the courage to revisit the journal but what's in there are the questions that flows in my head once in awhile. Questions like; how bad can life possibly get in order for a person to take their own life? How can such a thin piece of metal hold up a 200 pound  kid? Did he even try to fight his way out? What were his last thoughts? These are all obviously profound questions that can not be ansewered. I guess only God really knows.
  .

It's about that time of the year!

Rando!

"First off I just wanted to give a shout out to my brother, Austin. Roomies next year in Sagamore, it's going down. Get it poppin! RB in the building!" I obviously did not write this quote, but nice try Austin, you got busted! Still love you though...we need to get started on that bucket list ASAP! Anyways, I have been slacking on updating my blog on time, no doubt. It's that time of the year, the time where academics take over your life completely.Yes, finals are officially around the corner. Lots to do and less time for bloging.

Academics:

Although I hate admitting to having easy academic weeks at Stonehill, I will say that last week was a little less stressful. Doesn't mean I did not have much to do last week, it just means I didn't stress as much. Because last week seems so long ago, it is best to just go down the line in order of days and make life easier for myself. Well, it is finals season and I am currently working on my portrait workshop and figure drawing finals. I think I did dicuss how complicated my portrait workshop final is a couple blogs ago. It has been about two full weeks going to three weeks since the project was assigned and I have not put in as much time as I should for a couple weeks worth of work. Apparently so did the rest of my class because the professor almost lost her mind last week in class. We presented the  working progress and lets just say, she was not too please about it. She got so angry she could no longer afford to see our slacking fases. Her solution was to send everyone home for the day to continue working on the final projects and submit it at 4:30pm the following day. Lets just say I have been working my ass off on the project since that incident.  For some reason I have been on a role in terms of grades over the past couple weeks. I got my literature paper back after like three weeks of Howe holding onto it, and I got a B+! The paper was about the use of  satire in Gulliver's travels. Although I did well in analyzing Swift's use of satire, I made the silliest mistakes to man-kind. I did not include a title and I forgot to cite my source. Thats about as silly of a mistake as it gets. I am not sure how it affected my grade but I surely am Glad about the B+, especially know how tough of a grader Howe is. Definately one of the toughest I've came accross by far. I also got a 90% on my healthcare quizes, well for the second week in a role. Since the first couple quizes, I always feel like I did terrible, because I am not studying as much, but yet I keep beasting on them.

 Favorite assignment of the week? My philosoply paper on beauty. Of all my options I chose to make a theory on beauty. No wonder I handed it in late, I couldn't think of anything to write about! When I finally got my act together, it came out very philosophical. The entire paper was basically about me indirectly rejecting Kant and Burk's theory of beauty as sublime. It went something like this; "My perspective is that beauty is not always sublime or cute and charming (Burke). It is not always overwhelming or some kind of mental obstacle that needs to be overcome, nor is it ever about fear and overcoming those mental fears (Kant). Beauty can be subjective; an idea, or  the act of something; or an objective, it is tangible or sight". Pretty bad thesis, but I always kill the arguments with my philosophical thoughts. I think I need to see the Thesis gods or something because I truly suck at writing it. Well, I just gonno have to wait and see what Velazquez thinks. I can not wait for my last bi-weekly paper. Now that's going to be a blast because I will be analyzing the biblical scene where Satan  manipulated Adam and Eve into eating the apple, in comparison to a stranger/rapist/creeper tricking a child with candy. Now that's exciting!

I unfortunately didn't get to creep on any applicant's college essay this past week because I didn't work. I was caught up in doing last minute school work and I had a Doctor's appointment on friday. Talking about Doctor's apointment, I actually barely made the appointment. I made it thirty second before the deadline. And as for the rest of the weekend? Well, it was Spring Weekend. That basically explains it all. What matters is that I am still here and ready to go hard in the books for the rest of the semester. Lots of plans going on this summer, I can not wait to blog about it!





Week Back From Easter!

Easter Break, The Benefit of a Catholic School

I had so many plans for staying ahead with work and catching up with rest during the easter break. Like usual, that plan went down the drain. I requested to be scheduled for work all week. From wednesday, the same day I left the Hill, until monday before returning to the Hill. I think I may be the craziest person I know but oh well, there's no such thing as rest for an individual who is hungry for success. Of course I did not work on Sunday, it was my only day of rest. Much like God who worked all six days, rested on the 7th day (Sunday), and nothing like Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Random connection but I just thought I would test my Biblical skills a little. The last thing I actually got to do all week was rest. I was literally hopping from place to place socializing with friends, and family. I did not once open a notebook to attempt catching up with school assignments. Well, atleast I taught about it a couple times? Just thinking about it definately did not  help me much coming back to school.

Academic Week 

It wasn't that bad of an academic week, suprisenly. Actually I lied, what I meant is I did not stress as much as I usually do, but it was still a challenging week. Major assignments; Reading Response for Literature, a Philosophy paper, usual Healthcare chapter assignments, a quiz and a Scenario. For the literature reading response, I had to write about an artlcle called SF and the Human Imagination. In the passage, the author basically questions; “Why do we so frequently put monsters at the edges of the maps, or under the bed and also_in some of its form_in stories of the adventure-romance type?” Such an interesting question. I Basically responded by admitting to never being aware of monsters being frequestly put at the end of maps. I also testified to only being aware of monsters only being associated with darkness and how they are usually known for living under beds and in closets. The passage then went into Utopia, Distopia, and all that good stuff. I personally love Philosophy because it always requires writing about cool topics and putting my Philosophical skills to the test. For my bi-weekly paper I chose to basically make my own theory about morality. My thesis went something like this; "Much like Burke, I believe that we as humans have similar morals on a basic level. On a complex level, we tend to have different views of life and develop different morals due to individuality". Looking back at it, it is somewhat of a weak thesis but I think he got the point cause I got a "B" on it. I didn't do as well as I expected because I guess I did not provide enough objective. Or atleast I did not gave a detailed enough objective. Besides getting a 90% on my last Healthcare quiz, my Scenario went pretty smooth. The task was, I'm an adult who recently moved into Chicago, Illinois. Because I am new into the environment, I am responsible for finding an Insurance, a Hospital, and a Primary Physician. I did a couple researches through google, came across a couple good government websites, but they weren't relevant to the info. I needed. So I called up an emergency plan, my cool friend Vikki aka Victoria Kane who is actually from Chicago. Well, she basically got on the phone with her mother and just like that, problem was solved. As for my art classes, my overall work from this semester will be publicized soon. Most likely on facebook. At this moment I am working on my final project for portrait workshop. It is pretty difficult to describe in words but it is definately going to be one of the sickest projects I have ever done! It's going to take three pages of 24X26" papers. Yes very big, very exciting, extremely creative, lots of time but very worth it!

General Taughts:

So once in a while I tend to creep on a couple applicant's college essays so I can find something interesting to write about. Last week while doing my usual job, I came across a kid who is basically living my dreams. Literally, this kid has the almost perfect life every adult wants, but he is living it at only 17 years of age. He was born in England, raised in Ireland, and currently an American citizen. He speaks three languages, English, Irish, and French. He also understands lating because he's been studying it for six years! What the hell? You would think, how the hell is this kid only 17? But thats not enough, it doesnt stop there.  He plays Scoccer, Lacross, Football, Rugby, and Tennis! What?! What is he, Superman? Well anyways, This kid is the official traveler everyone wants to be like when they grow up, and he's not even grown! Why? According to him, he has been to Asia, Europe, and obviously North America. Where in Asia? China, the Forbidden City, Terracitta worriors (not sure who they are), the Olympic stadium in Beijing, Walk on the great wall of China! Hong Kong, and Bairritz, France! This kid is seriously living the Dream. According to him Stonehill has a good rep. world wide. How exciting is that? That's how he found out about stonehill. Oh of course his Gand Uncle was a student here in the 1970s. Now thats some good facts. Well thats it for last week. I am loving this blogging stuff more and more every week, and it is getting longer and loger every week. Lets see how what this week holds. Spring Weekend coming up! Woop Woop! Lord have Mercy. 

My NOLA Experiences: The series V

Part V: The Story of Paster Robert Burnside

Direct/Meaningful Quotes:

"I Love People!"

"It's not about religion, it's about your personal relationship with Christ"

"Sanctification by association"- Making an impact on your sorrounding and not letting your sorrounding impact you...

The Story of Forgiveness:

The story of Paster Robert Burnside is one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard, if not the most inspiring. Talking about an individual who has overcomed obstacles. Paster Burnside is the man behind the scene, the reason why most residence are gradually getting their life back in the community of the 9th ward in New Orleans. He has devoted his life to his community (the 9th-ward), by rebuilding houses as well as the lives of ressidence who never thought it was worth going back. Hint: the 9th-ward of New Orleans suffered most of hurricane Katrina. Paster B. himself was strongly affected by Hurricane Katrina. He unfortunately lost his mother in a nursing home. Him and the rest of his family left to Mississippi after being warned to evacuate the city. He left with the intentions that his mother was going to be transported to Mississippi. The person in charged was selective about who was to be transported and who was to stay. Unfortunately, the Paster's mother was one of those who was left behind. According to him, he never got to say goodbye to his mother, never got to open her casket or have a proper funeral. There were many questions that couldn't be answered. Now Paster Burnside lives an anger free life, with full unconditional love for the man who was responsible for his mother's death; while his sisters still live with anger and hate. Truely an inspiring story of forgiveness.

The Full Transformation:

 Paster B. was saved, AKA became a christian 19-years ago. Before discovering God, his life was a total roller-coaster. Long story short, Paster Burnside got caught up into the street life like most under privilege kids; robbing banks, dealing drugs and living the life of crime. Paster B now carries the burdon. As of today, four of his nephews are incarcerted because of his influence and introducing them into the drug game. In other words, he thought them everything they know. Paster Burnside was also an ex-convict, charged for second degree murder. The roller-coaster life continued for Paster B even when he became a paster. God truly had a purpose for his life because with the the kind of life style he lived, he probably shouldn't be alive right now. Paster B shared with us a couple shocking stories about his life as a christian. According to him, he once met a man who confessed to attempting to put a hit on him, AKA get him killed. "Man..I have been trying to kill you all along, but I just can't. I can never to seem find you". Well the quote is not exact, but it went somewhere along those lines. Point is, he truly had God looking over him because not too long after the confession, the same individual put a hit on someone else who got shot in the head in broad day-light. Paster Burnside also shared a story of a gang member he once knew name Chuky. According to him Chucky had 3-bodies; meaning Chucky was accused for killing three people, but not found gilty at that point. During the lowest point of his life, Chucky made the decision to turn to God. He was saved and became a christian. Unfortunately, Chucky was killed three days after he was saved. How insane is this story? Where did Chucky go? Heaven or hell? Guess we will never know...Couple things I took from Paster Burnside's story; If God says no, no one else can say yes. He is in control at all times, no matter how much others want you dead. Also, life is short, and you just don't whenyour time is up. Crazy stories like the ones Paster B. shared reminds me of the TV show, a 1000 Ways to Die. One second you're here, and the next you're gone..Such a crazy and cary taught, but that's just how life works. NOLA definately opened my eyes to all the realities of life. 

 

Truly A Week from Hell

General Thoughts/Academic

Two people read my mind extremely well this week. They mentioned exactly what was going through my head all week, "the week from hell". First person was my good friend/study buddy Ryleigh who's status stated, "This is the hell week of all hell weeks" Friday at work, I over heard one of the admission counselors saying "this is the week from hell". It is amazing how when you think you are alone, you realize that there are people who are going through the same struggles or possibly having it worse than you. There is no better feeling because it sucks having to be alone in any situation, not only through struggles. Where am I coming from with this? well, it really has been a sucky week. Academically, not so much socially. But then again, isn't every week sucky academically? True, but this week was by far the suckiest of all, if thats a word. Healthcare killed me this week like usually does. Switching from Bio, I didn't think I would have such a busy semester academically. Healthcare, Glavin and my Art classes definately proved me wrong. Had my usual 10 hours homework for Healthcare along with an article, summery and reflection of the next chapter,  on wednesday, two chapter quiz on friday, and a research paper that was originally scheduled for Sunday at 5:00pm. Thank the good Lord he porsponed it until Tuesday at 6:00pm  because it would have been an impossible task. Just when I thought the week couldn't get any worse, I found out last minute I had to have my Literature paper on Swift's use of satire in Gulliver's Travels, done by thursday for an in-class workshop. Life would have been even worse if it wasn't for Valazquez's late three day policy. Why? Because I also would have had to turn in a Philosophy paper! It makes me angry talking about it. All this madness doesn't even include my art projects for class. If I hadn't used my time wisely by skipping a couple unnecessary classes, I wouldn't have been able to turn in anything on-time this week. And of course after having such a sucky week you would think I would have all the time in the world to finally get some rest over the weekend. NOPE, I had an ABS Training from 9-5 on Saturday, and PM training from 12-2 on Sunday. Now it makes more sense why it would have been an impossible task to have my research completed by 5:00pm on Sunday huh? Mhm...Though it may sound like I am complaining, don't get me wrong though, I am not complaining. Well maybe academically, but I love the ABS and PM programs. This week just really got me thinking of my mentor Paul Burton's famous quote, "I wish..I had..more Time". Exactly what it is, can't explain any better.

ABS Training

One of the activities we did for the traing was to draw the idea Image of an ABS leader. Not going to get into details about it but one major charateristic my group's little ABS leader had was being open-minded. We literally drew him open-minded with symbols coming out of his head. A globe, a peace sign, a gay pride flag, and the cross and other religious symbols. The point is,  I have always been an opended peoson, but since I've been at Stonehill and involved with the Diversity program and ABS, my mind has been expanded. Well, mostly in a different way I can not explain. Being at stonehill definately made me realized not everyone come from the same walks of life. AkA not everyone grew up in a diverse environment, we all have different backgrounds. I am constantly reminding myself, mostly through Aristotle's philosophical theory of the identification of catharsis. AkA putting your  self in someone else's shoes and identifying with that person. This help me understand majority of the time where people are coming from when they are being ignorant. In other words, stay patient and keep my cool. Patient and cool is definately not what the high school Thomas would have done. The aggresive, homofobic, sometimes ignorant and unaware Thomas. The don't give a dam what you think or say about me Thomas. In other words, I thought I knew it all.   

My other favorite activity wasn't much of an activity, it was a movie called "The Walkout". It was basically a documentary about five students from East L.A who decided to make a difference. They stood up for their rights to a better and equal education against the school district. Persistence allowed them to continue to push on, despite the police brutality attempt to stop them. Despite all obsticles, they won over the school district and the public by starting a walkout. All it took was five brave and determained high school kids.

The gneral story reminds me of my own personal project, starting a wrestling club at Stonehill College. I currently have the support of Dean of Admissions Dan Monahan who is willing to coach, if everything go as planned. Unfortunately the Athletic Directors refused to get on board with us. Their excuse? "Budget cuts..Too many clubs, blah blah blahh..." Typical excuse they've given to students in the pass who attempted to start a program. Thanks to determination of those five students, I am not giving up anytime soon. I have three more years to make it happen!