I think a majority of us can attest to the fact that in high school earning an A was easy. Acing tests involved minimal studying and really only required that you do your homework and complete assignments. In college, that is not the case. An A requires great effort. No one just stumbles into an A.
My first test I ever took, which happened to be in psychology, was a wake up call for me. I studied maybe an hour the night before and put little effort in memorizing vocabulary. When I finally took the test, I was in shock. A majority of what I was reading seemed like it was in a different language! I had no idea what Wernicke's area was and couldn't tell you what Sigmund Freud did. I left the classroom with my tail stuck between my legs.
Over the semester, I discovered that it was important to study for longer periods of time than just one hour. I experimented with my study schedule, some tests I would just cram a lot the night before and others I would divide into two parts. I used quiz let and note cards and wrote out reviews. Eventually I had developed a good method in making sure that I find success in my tests.
Fall semester finals was another challenge for me. I would need to learn how to equally distribute time into studying each course and properly remembering the material. I soon figured out exactly how to do it. I call this the stagger method. For my upcoming test I devote 6 hours in the day, for the next test I devoted 3 hours that day, and for the third next (is that a word) test I devote about two hours. What this means is that, by the day I take the exam, I will have studied around 11 hours for the test and probably be pretty familiar with the course material. While there is a lot of time devoted to studying on those days, I am never too stressed. I view the 3 and 2 hour increments as breaks for the longer 6 hour increment.
I'm really glad that I discovered this method my first semester. School is in no way easy, but I find that my studying strategy aids me in preparing for my exams. Some prefer the all-nighter, some prefer studying throughout the semester, I prefer learning it all over a 3 day period.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
A Conversation With Daisy: Less People, Less Traffic, and More Clean
Today, I finally got to meet with my IEP (Intensive English Program) partner. Prior to our meeting I was a little nervous. Various thoughts of doubt and anxiety ran through my head, these thoughts would range between "Will our first meeting be awkward" to "Will she understand what I'm trying to say". Needless to say, I definitely wanted to make a proper first impression.
We arranged our first meeting at 1:00 at McCalisters. I'm not the most punctual person but I made sure to arrive a bit early just incase she may have came early too. Sure enough I arrived first. The typical routine unfolded: I entered the restaurant. walked to the server, placed my typical order (the southwest chicken sandwich with mac N cheese), and found my table. About 2 minutes later I received a text from Daisy saying "Michael, i'm in mccalister. where are you? i'm a chinese girl". Sure enough I looked over to my right and there she was.
I greeted daisy with the most universal welcome that I could: a simple wave and a smile. She returned the same gesture and walked over. At first conversation was a little slow and short. I couldn't really think of any proper questions to ask that would evoke further discussion. Outside spectators probably thought I was interviewing her based on our exchange. My questions were the nature of "where are you from?" and "Why did you come to TCU?". It was at this point that I was pretty much realized that I was giving her the same superficial introduction questions that I gave every other person I met throughout my time at TCU. The true conversation started when Daisy told me about her major and her passion that matched it.
Daisy revealed that she was from a city about 10 hours north of Beijing. She moved to Beijing when she was 18 to attend the China Conservatory of Music. There she earned her undergraduate in music (obviously) and hoped to earn a Masters in Choral Conducting at TCU. However, she is not quite pursuing her masters yet. It was revealed that, upon enrolling at TCU, Daisy approached one of the Music professors and proclaimed her desire to earn a degree in Choral Conducting. Daisy explained to me that the professor believed her musical talents were more than adequate but her english skills were not quite good enough. Daisy had to put her mission on pause to refine her English. This is what led to her admission into the IEP (Intensive English Program) and ultimately her desire to become my partner. Daisy hopes to expand her english vocabulary and improve her listening skills.
While it is very apparent that english is Daisy's second language, I couldn't help but admire how ambitious and courageous it was for her to travel to a foreign country and adopt that country's language to learn in. At times we had difficulty translating complex thoughts into simplified speech that was easier to understand. I remember inquiring about Chinese characters and how she learned them but having a hard time actually communicating that question. Her response was instead about how Chinese is an ancient language and how her native name was hard to pronounce for english speaking Americans. This actually misunderstanding actually led to a very interesting conversation about comparing each others' cultures.
This is where my title for today's post came from. When asked whats the biggest difference between America and China, Daisy confidently responded "Less people, less traffic, and more clean". This statement caught my attention. China's ever-expanding population has led to some growing pains. The pollution in China is so bad that they have to wear medical masks to prevent contaminating of what they breathe. Daisy pointed to the Einsteins Bagel's on the opposite side of the street and said "In china you wouldn't see that"
Overall, this conversation got me excited. I'm excited to learn more about her culture. I hope that each of our next five conversations can be as deep as this one got. My goal for our next lunch is to talk a little bit more about my culture and my motivations. Daisy's current weakness is listening and comprehending. I hope that by the end of our little project she sees improvement in that skill. I can tell she's a very hard worker and have high hopes for her.
If you didn't pick up anything from this blog I hope you'll at least take this little piece of advice that Daisy gave me: best Chinese food in our area is Chinese Express. I'd trust her 23 years of experience!
We arranged our first meeting at 1:00 at McCalisters. I'm not the most punctual person but I made sure to arrive a bit early just incase she may have came early too. Sure enough I arrived first. The typical routine unfolded: I entered the restaurant. walked to the server, placed my typical order (the southwest chicken sandwich with mac N cheese), and found my table. About 2 minutes later I received a text from Daisy saying "Michael, i'm in mccalister. where are you? i'm a chinese girl". Sure enough I looked over to my right and there she was.
I greeted daisy with the most universal welcome that I could: a simple wave and a smile. She returned the same gesture and walked over. At first conversation was a little slow and short. I couldn't really think of any proper questions to ask that would evoke further discussion. Outside spectators probably thought I was interviewing her based on our exchange. My questions were the nature of "where are you from?" and "Why did you come to TCU?". It was at this point that I was pretty much realized that I was giving her the same superficial introduction questions that I gave every other person I met throughout my time at TCU. The true conversation started when Daisy told me about her major and her passion that matched it.
Daisy revealed that she was from a city about 10 hours north of Beijing. She moved to Beijing when she was 18 to attend the China Conservatory of Music. There she earned her undergraduate in music (obviously) and hoped to earn a Masters in Choral Conducting at TCU. However, she is not quite pursuing her masters yet. It was revealed that, upon enrolling at TCU, Daisy approached one of the Music professors and proclaimed her desire to earn a degree in Choral Conducting. Daisy explained to me that the professor believed her musical talents were more than adequate but her english skills were not quite good enough. Daisy had to put her mission on pause to refine her English. This is what led to her admission into the IEP (Intensive English Program) and ultimately her desire to become my partner. Daisy hopes to expand her english vocabulary and improve her listening skills.
While it is very apparent that english is Daisy's second language, I couldn't help but admire how ambitious and courageous it was for her to travel to a foreign country and adopt that country's language to learn in. At times we had difficulty translating complex thoughts into simplified speech that was easier to understand. I remember inquiring about Chinese characters and how she learned them but having a hard time actually communicating that question. Her response was instead about how Chinese is an ancient language and how her native name was hard to pronounce for english speaking Americans. This actually misunderstanding actually led to a very interesting conversation about comparing each others' cultures.
This is where my title for today's post came from. When asked whats the biggest difference between America and China, Daisy confidently responded "Less people, less traffic, and more clean". This statement caught my attention. China's ever-expanding population has led to some growing pains. The pollution in China is so bad that they have to wear medical masks to prevent contaminating of what they breathe. Daisy pointed to the Einsteins Bagel's on the opposite side of the street and said "In china you wouldn't see that"
Overall, this conversation got me excited. I'm excited to learn more about her culture. I hope that each of our next five conversations can be as deep as this one got. My goal for our next lunch is to talk a little bit more about my culture and my motivations. Daisy's current weakness is listening and comprehending. I hope that by the end of our little project she sees improvement in that skill. I can tell she's a very hard worker and have high hopes for her.
If you didn't pick up anything from this blog I hope you'll at least take this little piece of advice that Daisy gave me: best Chinese food in our area is Chinese Express. I'd trust her 23 years of experience!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Some things I find funny...
Lets start off with a classic youtube video that I'm sure many people in this class have seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
I find this video just hilarious because its a lighthearted news reporter simply expecting a kid to give a cute answer about his zombie like costume. Sure enough the little boy responds with the classic line "I like turtles". This definitely follows the incongruity theory. This video is solely funny based on the spontaneous response from the little boy. If he answered how we expected, there would be little humor. Sure it would be cute but the video wouldn't merit 43 million views if it were a typical halloween special on the evening news.
This is one of my favorite scenes from the popular TV show The Office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIakZtDmMgo
This scene always gets me because in a way Michael Scott is a commentary on how everyone just blindly follows their iPhones when driving. I personally have been in the passenger seat when someone drove down a one way road just because Siri told them to. As you can see the comedic idiot Michael had a similar incident that could easily have been avoided with any common sense. I feel that this follows the superiority theory: We can laugh at Michael because we aren't in his situation. If I drove my car into a lake I can assure you I would not be laughing at that moment.
I used this cartoon for a presentation last semester on how technology has physically hindered us in recent years. While this comic doesn't get me in stitches it definitely points fun at modern trends of our devices getting smaller and our bodies getting bigger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
I find this video just hilarious because its a lighthearted news reporter simply expecting a kid to give a cute answer about his zombie like costume. Sure enough the little boy responds with the classic line "I like turtles". This definitely follows the incongruity theory. This video is solely funny based on the spontaneous response from the little boy. If he answered how we expected, there would be little humor. Sure it would be cute but the video wouldn't merit 43 million views if it were a typical halloween special on the evening news.
This is one of my favorite scenes from the popular TV show The Office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIakZtDmMgo
This scene always gets me because in a way Michael Scott is a commentary on how everyone just blindly follows their iPhones when driving. I personally have been in the passenger seat when someone drove down a one way road just because Siri told them to. As you can see the comedic idiot Michael had a similar incident that could easily have been avoided with any common sense. I feel that this follows the superiority theory: We can laugh at Michael because we aren't in his situation. If I drove my car into a lake I can assure you I would not be laughing at that moment.
I used this cartoon for a presentation last semester on how technology has physically hindered us in recent years. While this comic doesn't get me in stitches it definitely points fun at modern trends of our devices getting smaller and our bodies getting bigger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc
This one I probably can't present in class but its a scene from the show Louie. The always dry and sometimes depressing Louis CK is the main character of this show. Getting Christmas presents is never an easy task. It is hilarious how much pain and anguish Louis must go through in order to fix his daughters gift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPHEUb-Q-Aw
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