SheraMe project =)

    To be honest I really didn't know what I was doing with my project. First I was going to write a poem kind of like spoken word. But when I started to write my "poem" it ended up being like a speech instead of a poem. Then when I was practicing my speech I felt like I was preaching. So it's whatever I guess, it is my creativity. In my speech I talked about how I thought I was so prepared for college. I knew I was going to struggle a little bit because at my old high school the teachers babied you. I always did my work and I ALWAYS asked for help since nobody in my class didn't know what was going on. I thought I was ready for stress and zero sleep and crying..nope I definitely wasn't ready.
     I think my stress level is to its peak because I work on the weekends and my job is pretty intense. If I didn't have to work then I think I would be less stressed out. Then on top of that I really don't get the proper sleep that I need, so now I get at least 6-5 hours of sleep. When I first came to Converse I honestly thought I was going to make an A- in my classes. But theory and musicianship really messed me up. I started failing my classes and I knew that I couldn't fail because I have worked so hard to get into Converse. So in class I started asking questions until I completely understood what was going on and I even asked for help. I paid for my education and I am not flushing my money down the toilet.
    Now my grades are pretty descent, my lowest grade is a C+ and I can deal with that..for now. In my presentation I also introduced that I never was Sherami when I was singing. Before Converse, I imitated people because in my ear I sound like a little girl instead of an 18 year old. My private teacher Mrs. Turner told me that I need to be myself and that I need to embrace who I am. Now I understand because no one can ever be me. Being here at Converse helps me realize who I want to become when I Graduate in 2018 or even 10 years from now.

Common Sections

    I actually enjoyed 3 common sections out of this year. The 3 I enjoyed is public speaking, having your own brand and personal finance. Usually common sections or programs we have to attend are really boring. I'm just going to throw that out there because I am always tempted to go to sleep. But I know that I can't because that is disrespectful. However, I really enjoyed public speaking the most because the lady that was speaking was actually entertaining! I wish I knew her name but she kept me engaged the whole time. I liked how she demonstrate vocal fry and how people try to speak all high and proper. I know when I do public speaking I try to speak high because I have a low voice and sometimes it is monotone. From this common section I gained a since of being an authority figure when I speak instead of “stereotypical” young lady who needs to speak high in order for people to listen what I have to say. President Flemming’s common section was helpful by telling us to have our own brand. Or to create and expose our brand. I think this is really important for music students because WE need a lot of publicity and exposure in order to get where we want to be at. She also talked about personal appearance which I already had a good idea of. For example, If people seen me in sweat pants and a sweat shirt, they might think I am lazy and I don’t do any work. But if I was wearing a skirt with heels and a cute ruffle shirt, people are going to think I am a business person and I am a diligent worker. In my opinion, I think it just depends on where you’re location is in order to judge someone’s appearance.Personal Finance is one common section where I really stayed engaged because I work a job on the weekends and I need to know how to finance my money. I have a really bad habit of not saving my money when I have money and spend it on a new jacket instead of putting it in my savings account. This common section also opened my eyes on what insurance I need to get when I start living on my own. Plus what I would like to invest in order to have extra money when I really old.

 

  

Converse College Traditions

Hello and Welcome to Converse College !
At Converse we enjoy having new and incoming freshmen. The events and traditions at Converse are invigorating and a great way for students to communicate with each other. One of my favorite and old traditions I love is the Class of  Pink Panthers and Red Devils. The Pink Panthersa re the even number graduating class, such as 2014. The Red Devil are the odd number graduating class.

With incoming freshmen the juniors begins to "stalk" the freshmen and determine which one will be their little sister or little sisters. This is called Big sis and Lil sis, it occurs during the month of September . Big sis little sis week occurs during the last week in September and Monday through Wednesday your stalker, I mean your big sis will spoil you and give you gifts. By Wednesday night, the juniors will reveal who they are and the freshmen will meet their big sis ! Doesn't this sound exciting.?!!!

A small tradition we have at Converse is purple blue bell ice cream. Not frozen artificial ice cream, it is the real deal ice cream. With the ice cream you can eat it out of pink panther bowl or a red devil bowl. Once a month in the cafeteria, we have a day called "sugar attack". Sugar attack consist of sweets galore. Forget freshmen 15, its all about freshmen 50 ! I am kidding...maybe. BUT, at least we have a lot of sweets. So, Willy wonky ain't got nothing on us.

I know at Converse College we used to have a requirement of convocations which is 6 total. We have reduced that to 3 convocation. The 3 convocations does not have to be 3 different categories. The 3 can be in the same category.

My Flock

Hey Pink Panthers !
     I can imagine how tired and overwhelmed you are. By this week when I was a freshmen I was on the edge of giving up on school. I wont say dropping out, it was more like switching my major to something much simpler...like a history major =). The reason I say that because my "non-music" friends had very little work. Music students has twice as much work compared to a biology major.
     But I knew that I couldn't give up because I have worked so hard to get into the music program at Converse. What helped me stay sane is managing my time. I always kept a journal with me 24/7.  I wrote out my whole day out as soon as I woke up. If I did not have a set schedule for my whole day, I was extremely disorganized. I looked like a squirrel on heroin.
     Even though college is time consuming, you still should go out and have fun. However, do not go to a party if you know you have a test the next day or if all of your assignments are not done. I went out on a Thursday and it was not pretty. I was exhausted and 5 hour energy drinks are disgusting and I took two that day (ewwwww). After that situation I did not go out anymore when I had work to do. When I did not have work and did not feel like going out, I took power naps which lasted for 4 hours.
     I was and still is a commuting student. It was hard to be a commuter my freshmen year because I did not have a car or a drivers license. I had a certain amount of time to finish ALL my work. My mom gets off at five and she picks me up around 515-530. All my classes end at 2:50. So 2 hours was all I had to finish my work..that was impossible for me because I like to take my time doing stuff. If I had a car my freshmen year, then I would have stayed at school longer. Its hard for me to get my work done at home because my brother and sister are always fighting. I get distracted very easily and that's why I love doing my homework in the library because it is so quiet.
     Now that I am a junior everything is much easier. I can manage my time without worrying about "if" I have enough time to do anything. All it takes is patience and start creating good habits with managing your time. I promise you that school will get better and it will eventually pay off.
  

Ticking Time Bomb

 My biggest time management challenge is managing my time ! I always make the excuse of never having time for anything. Even though I know there is time for everything. It's funny how I'm always complaining about never having time for my school work but I always tell my boyfriend "you can make time ! There is always time !" I am literally a walking contradiction. Now that I am in college I have come to realize that managing my time is so important. I am usually OCD about writing stuff down and making sure that I do a certain assignment on time. But since I'm in college, its a whole different ball game. I always have to FORCE myself to write them down because I forget about stuff easily.
A main time management tool I use to help me out a lot is my handy dandy sticky notes. I love my sticky notes, without my sticky notes I really don't know what I would do with myself. Like if I have to clean my room or vacuum my floor, I always put a sticky note on my door because in order for me to get in my room I have to use and look at my door.  Another tool I am trying to use is writing my schedule out as soon as I wake up. When I write out my schedule for the whole day with specific times, I will be able to finish everything I have to do that day. I always have to trick myself into doing my work at a specific time because I will not do my work until the last minute.
If you are having trouble managing your time, the best advice I can give to you is sit down and write down everything you have to do. It is better to write down the things you have to do than trying to do everything at once and getting overwhelmed. Once you get every thing you have to do written down, you should divide and conquer the small things on your list. If someone told you to eat a big giant elephant, you wouldn't eat the whole thing in one bite. You would divide that big beast and eat it a little bit at a time. If you would take the time =) and figure out what you have to do for a day, week, month or even a year, you should be successful in managing your time.

    I decided to go to college because I knew that college would open up opportunities for me when I graduate. Another reason why I decided to attend college because nobody in my family went to college except my Grandma and Aunt. To me is like they are handing down the torch or I'm starting a new tradition by going to college. I always wanted to go to Converse when I was a little girl.  Converse is a prestigious music and plus they lowered their tuition, so that even increased my interest in going to Converse. I also wanted to prove to people that just because I'm black I would still have equal opportunity in getting into the school. When I was in High school, this career counselor told me that I wasnt going to be accepted into the school because of my grades and that I was black.
    When I heard the career counselor say that, that pushed me even more. That incident pushed me into becoming a Converse Connie =). I wanted to study music at Converse because I knew that I would find my creativity. Right now as a freshmen I feel as though I haven't reached my full potential.  I hope when I'm a senior I will reach my goal at being better than what I expected.
   Converse is a small school which means teachers will be able to pay special attention to their students.  Teachers will connect and get a better understanding with each individual in their class. I agree with everything Jullian Gordon said.  I liked how he said that we as students should pave our own street instead of taking the easy street. For instance,  I want to be a vocal performance major. I already have a 50% chance of being an Opera singer traveling around the world. But I also have the other 50%of being nothing and working at a minimum wage job.
    This video made me think of what I want to be or go when I graduate from college.  One main point I gained from this video is to keep working for what I want and to make my own Street.