2 MUSE Workshops

I went to 2 muse workshops, but they happened to both get canceled. The first one was in the career center, and it was about how to decide on a major. Currently, my major is civil engineering, and I love it. I am certain that I will not change it. The second one was also in the career center. It was about how to create a resume. This is very important, and is crucial in order to get a job. Luckily, I have different jobs before, and had some experience in creating a resume.

SJSU Football Games (Campus Events)

SJSU vs Utah

Because I am obsessed with football, I went to the home opener football game. We played against Utah, who was ranked 19th in the nation at the time. The game was also televised on ESPNU. SJSU played horrible the entire game, but so did Utah, so it was a close game. SJSU had a difficult time stopping the run, and Utah ended up winning. Overall, I had fun going.

SJSU vs Cal Poly

This was the one of only 2 games that SJSU won this year. Cal Poly is a division 2 school, and we should have won by more than 4 points. SJSU had a hard time stopping the triple option, which is the basis of Cal Poly's offense. In a triple option offense, the quarterback will either hand the ball off to the fullback, running back, or keep the ball himself. In order to stop it, everyone on defense needs to be disciplined and play the gap they are assigned to.

Interview

Radio Show

So the other day, our class interviewed an upperclassmen. Unfortunately, I was not in class for it. My fellow classmates filled me in on what happened. We came up with a list of questions and interviewed an upperclassmen here at SJSU. We also recorded the interview, and you can listen to it if you so desire.

A Question of Credit

Part of managing your money involves dealing with credit cards. Credit cards are useful and can be helpful, but they also can be deadly. Credit cards are another form of paying, and you will later get billed for the things you charged on your card. The dangerous thing is that people will just use credit cards endlessly, and think they don't have to pay. But then at the end of the month, they will get a huge bill and then cannot pay it off.

Managing Your Money

Chapter 11 of our textbooks discuss money. As a college student, managing your money is crucial. Since we are on our own, we must now keep track of our expenses. While everyone loves money, money can be dangerous. If you don't keep track of it and spend out of control, you can end up having to pay off huge bills and owe others money and run out of money, which is always bad.

Our Video

Video Project

Part of this class is learning about how to make a video, and using the equipment that goes along with it. We decided to do a presidential debate, and my role in the movie was a commentator. I decided to pretend to be John Madden. Overall, I had a lot of fun working on this project, and I enjoyed it. I also learned a lot from it too, such as how to use the equipment.

Sleep; the more the merrier

During college, the average number of hours spent sleeping goes down dramatically. I have experienced this firsthand. I think everyone needs more sleep, including myself. Sleep is so important in college. Without it, it is extremely hard to focus and pay attention in class, and you are less productive. I know I feel a lot better after I had a good night's sleep.

Mental and Physical Health

This chapter of our text discusses the health of our bodies, including both physical and mental. During college, a lot of students will focus on their health due to excessive partying or stressing out due to academics. Everyone knows about the "Freshman 15," how the average freshman will gain 15 pounds during their first year. There are some things you can do to avoid this, such as working ahead to avoid stress and going to the gym and working out. I have been an athlete my entire life, so I know the importance of staying fit and in shape.

The Risk of Cheating

Part of chapter 8 in our textbook touches on the risks of cheating. Each school has their own code of ethic, and their own punishments for cheating. While the punishments may be different, all of the consequences are serious. Getting caught cheating can get you in serious trouble, such as failing courses and expulsions.

How well do I test?

In chapter 8 of our text, it discusses about strategies for test taking. Lots of people often become anxious or nervous when they take tests. Personally, I think I test fairly well. I do not get nervous when I am taking tests. The only time when I might worry on a test is when I did not prepare myself well for it. But I am fixing that by devoting a lot more of my time to studying, and I can already see it paying off.

This is Sharks Territory

All I can is, WOW! This past Thursday night, I went to opening night for the San Jose Sharks. I have been a huge Sharks fan for my entire life, and have been to numerous games, but this was definitely the best one. Before the game, my friend and I went to the street rally outside the Shark Tank. I won a free t-shirt, which was awesome, and I even met Jeremy Roenick! The game was amazing, as Dany Heatley scored a hat trick, and the Sharks went on to dominate 6-3. I am definitely going to more Sharks game this year.

Campus Movie Festival

This past Friday, I attended the campus movie festival. I went there with Joel, Patrick, Mynesha, and Kim. I also saw some other people there from our class. This movie festival is nationwide, where students work together and for one week make a movie. They are given an Apple laptop, an AT&T phone, and a Panasonic camera. Then 16 of the best movies are shown at this festival. I was surprised by the quality of these movies, as they were really well thought out and planned. Two of my favorite movies were Truth Breakers and Fun Scare. These movies were really creative and also funny at the same time. Overall, I had a good experience, so I will probably plan on going next year.

How to Remember

A lot of people, including myself, often will forget something, such as a concept learned in class, appointments, or personal items. Part of this could be due to our minds concentrating on something else. There are some strategies that can help us deal with this problem. First off, it helps a lot by writing down everything, that way you don't forget it and can view it at a later time. Another tip can be to associate what you're trying to learn with something else. Often acronyms can help students learn certain concepts. Forgetting can cause problems, so use these tips to help deal with it.

Sleep: The more the merrier

Chapter 4 of our text discusses about students' readiness for school and to learn. Most of this depends on how much sleep we get every night. In order to be successful in college, you have to be awake and focus. I know that I do not get enough sleep, and I feel like if I get more sleep it will definitely help me.

Muse Class & Peer Mentor

After being in my Muse class for about a month, I feel like this Muse class is definitely helping me. The transition from high school to college can always be a tough one, but luckily for me, I have not had much trouble. Part of the reason is the Muse class. I feel like this class helps me prepare for college and can offer some helpful tips on success in college. I also feel like the peer mentors are a big help too. A lot of times, some students feel uneasy going to the professor about a problem. Having a peer mentor there can help a lot, as students will more likely feel more comfortable going to the peer mentor. I also feel like the peer mentors do a good job of explaining the assignments in a way students understand. I cannot wait for the rest of the class to unfold.

Creativity

The ability to think critically is crucial to success not only in college, but also in any career, especially in engineering, which is my major. Thinking critically means to be able to think through problems and come up with solutions. A good part of thinking critically is creativity. If you are creative in your thinking, then you can often come up with the best solutions. Thinking creatively involves taking a unique approach to problem-solving. Most importantly, just be original.

Learning Preferences

In chapter 4 of our textbook, it describes the number of ways people learn. They separate the methods into 4 categories; learn by reflecting, learn by creative thinking, learn by doing, and learn by critical thinking. Learning by reflecting means that the person needs to absorb information and compare that to personal experiences. Learning by creative thinking implies that the person prefers to use personal expression, and write and brainstorm. Learning by doing means that the person prefers to actually work on problems and simulations. Learning by critical thinking means that the person needs to think out problems. Personally, I learn best by doing. I need to work on problems and be able to solve them to obtain the most information.

Self-Portrait Poem

Ryan
Nice, Respectful, Athletic, Friendly
The Barker Clan
Family, Friends, Academics
Busy, Tired, Hungry
Sleep, Success, Finish Homework
Love, Acceptance, Respect
Bees, Trouble, Bad Grades
49ers, Domination, Fun
Sunnyvale, Erica Dr
Barker

The Cost of Plagiarism

Plagiarism, which is defined as presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own, is very, very BAD! Plagiarism causes lots of problems, and you can get seriously punished for it. In school, you will often receive an F for the assignment, and can get expelled from the school, and some other serious punishment. Plus, this shows that you are lazy and do not care about your assignment.

Writing Strengths and Weaknesses

At the end of chapter 9, one of the activities is to evaluate our writing skills. I believe that overall, I am an average writer. I do some things well, such as finding my concrete examples and discussing my argument. But I think I can improve in a lot of areas, such as supporting my arguments with examples and also explaining and connecting all of my evidence.

A's vs Rangers

As a fan of the Oakland A's, I love going to the games. I went to the game last night, when they played the Texas Rangers. The A's had won 7 games in a row before that, but they played absolutely horrible last night. Texas scored 9 runs over 3 innings, and ended up winning 10-3. The really only highlight of the A's came in the bottom of the 9th, when Matt Carson, who just got called up from the minor leagues a couple of days ago, hit his first major league home run. Even though the A's lost, it was still fun to see them play one more last time before the season is over.

Improving Your Life

The textbook for our MUSE class, Your Guide to College Success, offers some key ways to better our lives, such as relationships and time management. One of the most important aspects of life are relationships. In a relationship, communication is absolutely necessary. It's also important to be able to listen well, and to share your life with others, such as parents and loved ones. Time management is also crucial to have a successful life. Using a planner can help organize your time. Even though we all do it, we must avoid procrastination! Using these tips can help us achieve our goals.

MLK Library Tour

One of the wonderful resources that are available to students here at SJSU is the Martin Luther King Library. It is the largest library in the United States west of the Mississippi River. I have used this library a number of times before I enrolled at SJSU. Earlier last week, our class took a tour of the library. We didn't venture around the library, but rather we took a tour of the digital section of the library. Online, any student at SJSU can access hundreds of databases and scholarly journals.

The Reflection of the Mime

Today in class, we were asked to perform this unusual activity. We split up into pairs, so one person was the mime and the other was the mirror. I was paired up with Ansel. So I had to do certain body movements, and Ansel had to follow them, and then we switched roles. At first, it was a little awkward, but then we started to have fun with it and enjoying it. This taught us that when we work together, we all have to be on the same page.

The Age of Technology

As the human race continues to develop and mature, the importance of technology increases, especially here in college. More and more classes are starting to put their material online. Various student services on campus publish all of their material online. And one great, easy to connect and interact with fellow students is through the internet. Learning and understanding about the internet is crucial to student success here in college.

Selecting a Major

One of the big differences between high school and college are the majors. At the beginning of college, you can select your major. A major is an area of study that you will concentrate on and learn more about, and eventually earn a degree in that study. My major is civil engineering. When selecting a major, there are many important choices that should go into it. First, you should consider the career options of your major, such as whether or not there is a high demand for workers. But more importantly, you should choose something that you enjoy, because if you enjoy your work, you will be successful.

Setting Goals

In order to be successful in college, planning and setting goals are absolutely essential. College is so much different than high school. Here in college, you have so much free time, and you make up your own schedule. If you do not plan, then you will end up wasting your valuable time. When I was in high school, I wasted so much time that I became a pro at it. But now in college, I plan out my schedule so that I can spend enough time on my school work, and still have time for some mind-blowing activities.

My Top 10 websites

1) www.athletics.mlb.com
The Oakland A's are my favorite baseball team, so I follow them online and also use this website to buy tickets to the games.

2) www.facebook.com
Facebook helps me keep in contact with all of my friends, and allows me to see what is going on.

3) www.sf49ers.com
I love the 49ers, so I have to keep updated on what is happening with the team.

4) www.espn.com
Sports are my favorite hobbies, and I enjoy playing fantasy football on this site.

5) www.youtube.com
This is a great website when you have a couple of minutes to spare, and can find a video on almost anything.

6) www.gmail.com
I check my email often during the day.

7) www.yahoo.com
A good website to get news about everything.

8) www.sjsharks.com
Sharks are my favorite hockey team, and I have been following them my whole life.

9) www.addictinggames.com
A great website for online games.

10) www.apple.com
I love apple products, and like to see what is new.

The Roomate

Before going to off to college, everyone worries about who they are sharing a room with for the year. Luckily, I did not have to face this problem, as I already knew my roommate. I have known him since sophomore year in high school, and we became really good friends. So far it has been a great experience, and I think it will make this school year easier knowing that my roommate is one of my good friends.

Round 2 of College

Second day of college was a lot more relaxed than the my previous day. I only had my engineering seminar and lab to attend, with a 5 hour break in between. My engineering class seems really interesting, and I'm excited to design and construct various projects, such as robots and wind turbines.

1st Day of College

Wow! I cannot believe that the day had finally arrived. It seemed like this day would never come. My first day at college was exhilarating. Going to class seemed so much busier and different than high school. I only had three classes for the day, Calculus, English, and "Get Internet Famous." All of these classes give me the impression that they are fun and offer the opportunity for me to learn a great deal.