5V Agency

Agency: refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.

The term Agency relates to the time study assignment we did in Inquiry. Making our time study schedules showed us how we spend our free time. I learned that during my free time I like to relax so I have to start spending my free time wisely. Agency also relates to my Inquiry class in general. Inquiry is a class to help us prepare for college. In Inquiry we are supposed to take action and be engaged in class.  I think that everyone has a different Agency. Everyone makes their own choices and acts they way they want.

New Vocabulary:

In my English class I learned two new vocabulary words:

• Communal Relevance: relating or teaching something you believe in to others.

In class we are writing a paper about one of our beliefs. My teacher wants us to talk about how other can relate to our story.

• Narrative: a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.

In our paper we have to talk about an event that made us have this belief.

5I A Day in New Haven

A few weeks ago me and my friends took the bus into downtown New Haven. We thought it would be fun to walk around town, shop, and get some lunch.  Before we took the bus we went to the Wintergreen building to get our free Upasses. We took the bus a bus around 11:40 and got into town around 12.  While we walked around we went into some stores and shopped for a little.  Yale University is right by the city so we noticed a lot of Yale students walking around while we shopped. After we were done shopping we wanted to stop to grab some lunch. Someone recommended that we went to a place called Bar Pizza. Bar pizza was located on Crown Street. They had so many different topping for the pizza. These toppings included, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, chicken, shrimp, clam and many others. My favorite was probably the bacon pizza. The pizza was awesome! and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Spending the day in downtown New Haven was very fun and I am sure I will be spending many more days hanging out with my friends downtown.

5B Are you using your time wisely?

This week in Inquiry we had a time study assignment which was very beneficial to me. I had to make a weekly schedule of what I did each hour of the day. Such as sleeping, eating, socializing, doing homework, etc. This assignment was supposed to help us manage our time and show us if we are spending our time wisely.  Overall I think I am being productive and spending enough time doing my homework. 

All together I spent 25 hours doing homework which is pretty good but I think I should try to get at least 30 hours of homework in during the week. On the other hand I had a total of 35 hours of socializing and relaxing which might be a little to much. In order to get 30 hours of homework done I think I should do a little less relaxing and a little more homework. So when I have an hour or two in between my classes I am going to start getting as much homework as I can done during this time. I also think when it comes closer to friday and my work isn't due until the next week I start to procrastinate. When friday comes around I usually say to myself "Oh this is due monday so that means I can just do it on Sunday night." And then when sunday comes around I have all this work to do and I get mad at myself for saving all of it for sunday.


Since I am an athlete I am pretty busy during the week with practice and it can be overwhelming at times.  With practice starting at 3 everyday I usually don't have much time to do homework after my classes and before practice.  Then when practice is over I am usually too tired to do all of my work. So I came up with the idea to start getting up at 8 in the morning when I don't have class until 9:30 to get some of my homework done. Although I am not a morning person, I think it will be a good idea to start doing this so I won't have to stay up late at night to do all of my homework. 

5A The Next Chapter

It's crazy to think that I have been in college for a month already.  Coming into college I knew I had to learn how to use my time wisely.  Managing your time is not the easiest thing to do, especially when your playing a sport.  In high school I worked hard and got the grades I wanted to and I knew in college I was going to have to work a lot harder if i wanted good grades.  So far I think I am doing pretty well with managing my time but their is definitely some things I need to change.  For example when I have time in between my classes I usually just lay in my bed and relax. Instead of doing this, I think I should try to start doing work during my free time in between classes so I am not cramming all of my homework in at night. But other than that I am pretty content with the way I am managing my time.

Everyone knew that college work is more challenging than high school work. Even though I did know this coming into college, the first couple weeks were very stressful with all of the work.  All of the work wasn't necessarily hard it was just a lot of reading and taking notes.  My problem is that sometimes I read what I have to read and then I don't comprehend what I ready. So every time I read I have to take notes which takes awhile but it is the only way I will comprehend my reading.  I think that having to go to study hall because I play a sport is really helping me. Not only is is helping me do my work but it also helps me manage my time.  I get most of my homework done during study hours and then whatever work I still have to finish I come back to my dorm and finish it up before I go to bed. Now that I am in my fifth week of classes I am comfortable with all of my classes and everything is going very well.

One thing that I do want to start doing is going to the library.  I usually do most of my work in study hall and in my dorm room but I think the library is also a nice place to do your work.  Sometimes when I am doing work in my room I get distracted by my roommate and then I end up taking forever to do my work because of all the distractions. If I start doing my work in the library, it will always be nice and quiet and I wont be distracted by anything.  When some of my big tests start coming up I will definitely start to spend most of my time in the library studying.

4I Day of Service

Today I participated in the SCSU Day of Service with my lacrosse team. We met at the student center at 9am to sign in and eat breakfast. Then we went outside to wait to find out where to go. We took a bus to the park and had to spread mulch all over the patches of dirt. I believe we started around 11 and finished around 1.

When I found out that we were participating in the Day of Service I didn't really know what to except. I figured we were just going to go to a park and clean up garbage. When we arrived at the park I saw piles and piles of mulch and a bunch of rakes. So immediately I was like great this is not what I was expecting. But it turned out to be really fun helping out with the community. The guys that we were helping with the mulch were so happy we were there and so appreciative. It was also nice bonding with my team during this experience. I will definitely participate in something like this again because it felt great knowing I was helping out the community.

4V Can you Resist the Temptation 

Delayed Gratification: the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants.

In inquiry this week we read articles and watched videos on "The Marshmallow test." This is tested on four years olds to see if they can delay their gratification. For this test you simply place one marshmallow in front of the kid and you say, "if you can sit here for fifteen minutes and not eat the marshmallow then I will give you a second marshmallow but if when I come back into the room and the marshmallow is gone then you don't get the marshmallow." Most of the children did not wait and just ate the marshmallow. I think at such a young age you don't really understand the concept of delayed gratification. Even if you put a candy in front of a kid that doesn't really like candy I think they would still just eat it. As you get older you learn to be more patient and start to understand the concept of delayed gratification. 


New Vocabulary: 

Scarcity: basic economic problem that arises because people have unlimited wants but resources are limited.

In my economics class we are learning that scarcity refers to unlimited resources. These resources are the inputs of production.

Identification: A state of agreement that exists with another when we share a similar way of viewing the world.

In my media class we are learning about how persuaders try to persuade audiences into believing their ideas and some audiences agree with the persuaders.

4B Inquiry Questions

1. If someone knows that they procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework, what can they do fix this problem?

One of my biggest problems with school is that I always procrastinate. Sometimes I don't even realize that I am doing it until someone asks "Hey did you do your english paper?" Many college students have this problem and it is something that I believe is curable. Coming into college I told myself that I was going to fix my problem with procrastinating and so far I have been pretty good with not waiting until the last minute to do everything. What I have been doing was cutting myself off from doing anything until I finish my homework. For example on the weekends I like to watch football so on sundays I don't let myself watch football until I get most of my homework done. So if you are having problems with procrastinating you have to tell yourself that you can't go anywhere or do anything until you get your homework done. I know it doesn't sound too easy but once you start to get the hang of it you will always get your homework done and you will feel accomplished.

       2.  How does one build their self-control?

Self control is the ability to discipline the actions you take during your everyday life. Having self-control over a decision you make or an action you take is not an easy thing to do. I find that being on a diet and having the self-control to not eat any junk food can be difficult. One way to solve this problem is to think of the positives and negatives of eating whatever junk food you may be craving. For example when you are in the dining hall and you see a plate of cookies and a plate of apples, which one do you go for? The positives of eating a cookie are that they are probably a lot more tastier than an apple. But the negatives are that eating a cookie is more calories and you may regret it after you eat it. So after coming up with the positives and negatives of eating the cookie you might decide to be healthy and eat the apple. Self-control is not something that comes easy to everyone but when you put your mind to it you will be able to turn down the cookie!

"The power to resist temptation — to pass up dessert, to endure an unpleasant experience, to defer satisfaction — is our 'greatest human strength,'"(Resistance Training For Your 'Willpower' Muscles)

4A Patience is Key

Waiting for something you really want is not one of the easiest things to do and I am sure a lot of people can agree with that. Ever since I was a kid I never wanted to have to wait to get something. When I wanted something I wanted it right away! I remember when I was a kid my mom would say "if your not patient your not getting it at all." Even though I think I became better at being patient I still think patience is something I am lacking. There are many things that are worth waiting for and I know that everything my future brings will be worth waiting for.

One experience I have had with this was when I was in eighth grade. I had a cell phone that I did not like at all. Everyday I would beg and beg my parents to get me a new one and there answer was always "you have to wait until you get an upgrade." I did understand where they were coming from because if I got a new phone right away my parents would have to pay full price for it. The only problem was my next upgrade wasn't until four months. I finally gave up and stopped asking my parents everyday if I could get a new phone and I just waited until my upgrade. When the day finally came I got a new blackberry and it was definitely well worth the wait. I got a brand new phone and my parents didn't have to pay a lot for it because I waited for the upgrade. 

I believe that us Americans are overly impatient. We are always in a hurry and everything we do is always at a fast pace. When we want something we will do whatever we can to get it. I think this can be a good and bad thing. I think it is a good thing when people know what they want and they are compassionate and will do anything to get it. On the other hand this could cause a lot of competition because everyone wants to be the best. If someone got a new iphone 5 then the next person is going to wait and get the 5S so that they are better and have the cooler phone.


This leads me to my last thought, I think that technology plays a role in Americans being so impatient. Now a days you can do so much with technology. You can listen to music, text your friends, watch videos, check twitter or Facebook, etc. Everyone relies on their phone to do everything for them and I think that is a big part in why us Americans are extremely impatient.

"In the short term, self-control is a limited resource. But over the long term, it can act more like a muscle." (Resistance Training For Your 'Willpower' Muscles)

3I GO OWLS!

Last weekend I went to the first football game of the season with my friends. Southern played against IUP(Indiana University of Pennsylvania). The game started at 1:00 pm and there were about 3,000 people at the game.  Everyone got free t-shirts to wear to the game! There were many people cheering and holding up signs and some people even painted their faces blue&white. It was a very close game which made it very intense! After the first quarter the score was 7-0 IUP. In the second quarter Southern scored two touchdowns and IUP scored one to make the score 14-14 at halftime. In the third quarter IUP scored another touchdown but missed the extra point so the score was 20-14 after the third. IUP went ahead again in the fourth quarter to win the game and the final scored was 30-20. Even though Southern lost I had a fun time watching the game with my friends and I am excited for the next one!

3V What Motivates You?

Motivation: a force or influence that causes someone to do something

Being motivated can take a lot out of someone because some people simply don't have the drive that others may have.  In blog 3A I talked about the two different ways people can be motivated: intrinsically and extrinsically. I would say that I am more motivated intrinsically. If I enjoy doing something and I put my mind to it, I don't need a reward in order to be motivated.  On the other hand, since History is not my favorite subject and I am not very good at it I may need someone else to motivated me to want to do better. In my opinion, I think that if you really enjoy doing something you should not need a reward or prize to motivate you to want to do better, you should intrinsically motivated and want to do well on your own.

Other Vocabulary:

Identification: A state if alignment or agreement that exists with another when we share a similar way of viewing the word.

• In my media class we are learning about persuasion and how persuaders use symbols to make audiences identify with the sender and message.

Resources: a service, or other asset used to produce goods and services that meets human needs and wants.

• In my economics class we have been learning about they four types of resources:

1. Land: All natural resources
2. Labor: Physical and mental efforts of people
3. Capital: produce means of further production
4. Entrepreneurship: risk takers who combine goods and services in new way

3B Sporty Girl

 I would say my life basically revolves around sports.  my life I have played five different sports.  Throughout my life I have played five sports. These sports include: soccer, basketball, lacrosse, softball and volleyball. My dad was an athlete throughout his life and he wanted to raise his kids to be athletes. Little did my dad know he was going to have three girls. He was lucky that my two sisters and I enjoyed playing sports.  Not only did our dad raise us to be athletes, he was our coach for soccer all the way until middle school and he was our basketball coach in high school. Having my dad as my basketball coach had its ups and downs. But I was very grateful to have got to play for such an amazing dad and coach.

I honestly don't know what my life would be like if I didn't play sports. The sports that I played in high school and the ones that mean the most to me are soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.  I already miss high school sports so much already. Luckily I decided to go on and continue play lacrosse in college. If someone told me six years ago that I would be playing lacrosse in college I would think they were crazy. Before playing lacrosse I play softball, which wasn't really something I enjoyed so I thought why not try lacrosse? So in sixth grade I decided to buy a lacrosse stick and try out for the lacrosse team. I picked up the sport so fast and I loved it. In eighth grade I got moved up to the varsity high school team which was cool because I got to play with my older sister for two years.

When college came I knew right away that I wanted to continue playing lacrosse. Although I am very excited to start lacrosse I am a little overwhelmed. I know it is going to be difficult balancing out school work and lacrosse practice but I love lacrosse so much that I am willing to challenge myself.

3A Motivation & Mindset

"There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so" -- Shakespeare

We attach meaning to every thought or experience we have everyday.  As we do this, we label our experiences as either good or bad.  What this quote is saying, is that there is nothing good or bad about a situation, it is our thinking that makes us think we are doing something good or bad.  I disagree with what this quote is saying, I think that people have but themselves in situations that have been bad or good.  I think that if you are about to so something and you think "this might be a bad idea" then it is probably a bad idea.

Intrinsic motivation is when you want to do better for yourself and you are internally motivated.  Someone who is intrinsically motivated does something simply because they enjoy doing it.  For example, say a student does their math homework and then after the finish the homework they do more practice problems, this is what you would call an intrinsically motivated student. Extrinsic motivation is when you are motivated because you get rewarded for what you are doing. An example of extrinsic motivation is when a teacher gives everyone in the class a good grade on the homework for just trying. The quote relates to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation because someone could be motivated to do something bad and they might not realize they are in a bad situation. But if they think about what they are doing then they would realize that they are in a bad situation.

Growth mindset is when you are open minded and you learn to better yourself.  People with a growth mindset believe that they can achieve something through hard work and dedication. Someone with a growth mindset might not be very good at English but they believe that if they put their mind to it and get extra help with the teacher then they will improve in their english class. Fixed mindset is when you believe that you are born with your intelligence and talents. An example of a person with a fixed mindset is if a student gives up in english because they believe that they aren't going to get any smarter. This quote relates to these mindsets because your mind controls the decision you make in life, whether they are bad or good.

(2V) Initiative 

Initiative: the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do.

Taking the initiative is having the power to do something on your own. Sometimes people don't want to take the initiative but they know they have to. For example, say your in the dining hall eating dinner with your friends and you see and girl sitting by herself and you decide to invite her to sit with your friends. That would be taking the initiative to invite the girl to sit with you. Taking an initiative occurs in many situations and I'm sure some people don't even realize it. Now that I am in college I have to learn to take the initiative to do things on my own. I have to take charge in doing my work ahead of time and not waiting for the last minute to do things.

New Vocabulary:

Rhetoric: speaking and writing to communicate effectively.

Rhetoric was a new vocabulary word that I learned in my english class. It is an example of a figure of speech.

Persuasion: The coproduction of meaning achieved when the sender of a message succeeds in audiences identifying with that message.

In my media class I learned that persuasion is really achieved with symbols, images, and language.

(2I) New Student Convocation:

Yesterday I went to the New Student Convocation in the Lynman Center. Going into the convocation I didn't know what to expect because I didn't really know what it was at the time. I learned that a convocation is kind of like graduating but instead of graduation out of the school you are graduating into the school.

When the convocation began, the deans, presidents, vice presidents and student representatives walked into the stage in a single file line.  During the ceremony we listened to the vice president for academic affairs, the president of the senior class, and the president of the Student Government.  Everyone talked about how important it is to get involved during our four years at Southern. After all the presidents and vice presidents spoke, there were six student representatives from our class that ended the ceremony by reading something to all of the incoming freshman that we had to agree to.

(2B)  Meeting New People

Coming into college and knowing you have to make a bunch of new friends was very overwhelming to me. Although I was excited to meet new people I was also scared of leaving all of my old friends and having to make new ones. I guess I have always been the shy type when it comes to making new friends.  It's not like I didn't want to make new friends it was just the thought of it.  What if they don't like me? Will they think I'm weird? What if everyone else already knows each other? I would always just over think the whole situation.

So one of my goals coming into college was to be more outgoing and to put  myself out there when meeting new people. I started off a little shy in my first class on the first day of classes.  But when I got to my second and third class I met a lot of new people and I tried to get to know some girls in my classes.  It is important to put yourself out there to meet knew people because you don't want to go through college being shy and then later on regret it.  I think it is also important to get someones number in each of your classes just in case you go to do homework one night and then you have a question about something.

I have learned that when you are coming into college you aren't the only one trying to make new friends. So now I know making the change into college is nothing to be nervous about because everyone is in the same position. I am glad that I told myself to not be shy the first week of school and to be more outgoing because now I made so many new friends and I am so much more comfortable with where I am now!

(2A) Advice for Incoming Freshman

I have learned a lot after reading these articles.  Going from being a high School student to a college student is a big transformation and a lot of freshman don't know what to except.  One thing I did know what that the work load in college is a lot different than high school work, this is what I was most nervous about.

One of the articles that was very helpful to me was the "College Advice, From People Who Have Been There Awhile." This articled stated that you should make sure you get the right teacher for all of your classes.  Some of the ways the articles said to do this were: ask your adviser, poll older students, or search the internet.  I didn't really do any of this to make sure I got all good students but I am happy with all of my professor's. But maybe next semester I will keep this in mind so I don't get stuck with a bad teacher because I think it is very important to have a good teacher that knows what they are doing.  For me, it is difficult for me to learn if my teacher is boring and it makes me not interested to learn.

Another article that I found valuable was the "Work Hard or Work Smart" article.  This article talked about how important it is to work hard and push yourself in order to work at your full potential.  This article had a quote that was really inspiring to me, "work your tail off. Work harder than you thought possible. You have way more in you than you can imagine. You are stronger than you think you are, you are more creative than you believe yourself to be, you are infinitely more powerful than you believe you are and you can reach that summit."  This quote is basically saying you challenge yourself because you are smarter than you think and in order to become a better student you have to push yourself.