final video project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4btnVZ3I6OQ

16: The Final Blog

This semester has been a complete whirlwind of emotions and I have to say that although there were some bumps in the road, these 16 weeks have been a great learning experience.  During this semester I have been happy, stressed, tired and so many other things, but I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything because it has helped shape into a stronger and better person. Now that this semester is over, I think it is the perfect time to just take a deep breath and look back on what had worked for me, and what things do I need to improve on before the start of the next semester and how.

I knew that in order for me to be as successful as I would like to be that I would need to create good habits to get me through this semester and those to come, and I think I did that pretty well. Leaving high school to come to college I knew that there was going to be more expected from me and that no one was going to remind me to do it, so I had to make sure that I stayed on top of it. I did my best to get the bulk of my work done during the week so I had the weekends to relax and spend that time with my friends and family, and that helped me to stay well rested and allow me to put my best work forward. I also took Ashley’s advice into consideration; whenever I had free time I made sure I was using it wisely. I always used that time to start something new so I never had to worry about pulling an all nighter and have to hand in something that I knew wasn’t my best. Although I think I created some good habits for myself, there I things that I think I could have worked on. Looking back I wished I had used more of the resources here, like the office of study skills to help me be better prepared for quizzes and tests; and I know next semester I will definitely be using those resources!

Now that the semester is over, I am very happy with how well I met most of my personal goals, but there is one that I didn’t meet and will be one of my main priorities for next semester. In the beginning of the semester I set a goal for myself that I would work hard and make good grades and I am proud to say that I did accomplish this goal. As of right now I don’t think that I have a grade lower than an A- and I am absolutely ecstatic about that! Meeting this goal just reassures me that my hard work paid off and I can do anything that I set my mind to as long as I have passion and the right mindset!! However there is one goal that I didn’t meet as well as I had hoped, and that is getting involved. Being a commuter I found myself making excuses as to why I could never be on campus, but I know that was just nonsense and I am only hurting myself. Next semester I plan on not only joining clubs, but also not leaving right after I get out of class. My not meeting this goal I am missing out on getting the chance to know the people on this campus and finding those lifelong friends that everyone says you meet while at college.

I have made some great strides in becoming the college student that I had hoped to become, but by no means am I done progressing. As the semesters come and go I know that it is up to me to continue to push myself to greater lengths and to challenge myself in ways that I have never done before. College, in my opinion, shapes you into the person that you are going to be for the rest of your life and it is up to you to mold yourself into the person that you want to be and can see yourself being.

16V Freedom

Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Recreation: refreshment of strength and spirits after work

Leisure: time when you are not working : time when you can do whatever you want to do

Now that last week was the last week of classes, and all of my finals are over, I am free!! The semester has come and go; and if I do say so myself it went really quickly. It seems just like yesterday I was sitting in my first Inquiry class, and now I am writing my last blog for this class and it is kind of bittersweet. Don’t get me wrong I am happy to have a month off to myself, but there is no doubt that I am going to miss everyone. I think because we apart of the learning community that it brought us as a class closer together and I will really miss that! So I hope everyone enjoys their freedom during winter break, and hope to see you all around next semester!!

15A Class Feedback

After watching the rough drafts of the videos in class, I found that listening to everyone’s opinions really gave me some good ideas on what I should do with mine. For instance Laura’s video had some really good information, and that is something that is lacking from my own video at the moment. Watching everyone’s video also gave me some more ideas on how to make mine even more creative. Watching Erin’s skit really made me laugh, and I wasn’t planning on making my video funny, but after that I definitely had some second thoughts about it that’s for sure!

When it comes time to do the revisions on my own video I know that I am going to replace the words on the screen with a voice over instead because otherwise that would be too much information for someone to read, and I don’t want them to get bored with my video. Another good idea that was given to me during class was to add thought bubbles, even if there were no words on the screen. I liked this idea because not only is it adding to the creativity of the video, but it is also making it more engaging for the viewer as well. I also liked the idea of using funny voices instead of just using the natural voice of the people I recorded.

As of right now my video is lacking the college-level thinking aspect of it, but I plan on adding that into the script. Since my video is about the struggles of choosing a major that is right for you, I plan on doing some research online about this topic; but also plan on using Southern as a resource as well. Academic advising is a good place to get information, but also show the clubs that are available on campus that a student can join and get more knowledge on a subject area that they are interested in.

15B let the finals begin!!

                                             

With finals just around the corner, I am very thankful that I only have to worry about three of them, and can use those extra days off to  study for them. My Math final is the day after reading day, so I plan on using that day as just a day for math so that way I will get two whole days of math review before it is time to take my final. 

I am very happy with the way the my schedule worked out, because the only final that I don't have a the day before off to study, is an open note final. Even though that final is open notes, I am not going to take it lightly and not worry about it. Over the weekend i plan on organizing my notes in way that is easy to follow and so on the day of the final I don't have to keep flipping through pages to find the answer and waste time. My last final is on the 16th, so that gives me a three day weekend to study and make sure that I know all of the material going into my Online Communications Final.

Finals is something that I am actually stressed out over because I like where my grades are now, and i know that in order for me to keep them there, I have to good job on all of my finals and can't take any of them lightly. Another strategy I have for preparing for finals is to study with a group. This will help get different perspectives on a topic, but also if I find something that I am struggling with there is someone there to help me out. So for the next two weeks leading up to finals I plan on using the majority of my freedom dedicated to my studying to ensure that I do well on all of them!

15V Autonomy

Autonomy: freedom from external control or influence; independence.
Self-Determination: freedom to make your own choices
Heteronomy: subjection to something else

before this blogging assignment, I have never heard of the word autonomy before, I couldn't have even took a guess if I wanted to! After searching for the definition I learned that word is associated with freedom. Autonomy means that we make our own choices, and that is a crucial piece of information for us as college students. We need to know that we are in control of our futures, not our parents, friends, or anybody else!! Only we know what will truly make us happy, so we need to know that we are free to make those choices that will lead us to that happiness. 

15I #13 The Writing Center

                                               

Having three papers due in my online communications class I thought now would be the perfect time to go to the writing center for some extra help. One area of my writhing that needed help was making it so that my ideas flowed nicely and didn't sound choppy, so that's what I went to the writing center for. I would definitely recommend going to the writing center because it was very helpful and it just made me feel more comfortable with my work. They gave mending helpful hints, like before i start writing my essays I should plan out what I am going to say and that will help me be more consistent with my writing and keep it from sounding unclear and confusing to follow. Overall my experience at the writing center was very useful and made me more confident in my writing abilities and I would definitely go again!