What is a Genius?

For this assignment I had come up with an interesting question and ask kids around campus.  My question was what is your definition of a genius.  The first person I asked gave a straight forward answer.  His name is Joe and he is from Maine.  He told me that a genius is someone who is innovative in a good way.  Like Vince Lombardi or Phil Jackson.  The second person I asked was a young man named Kevin.  He told me a genius is someone who is the best of the best.  He gave me the example of Fabio who is arguably the best model of all time.  The next person I asked is Mitch.  His definition of a genius is someone who is wicked smart like Albert Einstein.  I then ran into my good friend Digby.  He gave me a similar answer to what Mitch said.  Digby told me it was somebody who was very street smart, such as his dad.  I went back to my dorm room and asked my roommate Jadon what he thought about geniuses.  He said people who are ridiculously rich like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Donald Trump.  He said people who have that much money must have done something right.    I was getting tired or interviewing people, so the last person I asked was Robert.  He told me that his definition was of a genius is someone who excels in multiple academic fields, such as math, science, or history to name a few.  After talking to all of these people It hit me, they were all right. There are a lot of definitions for a genius.  It can be someone with a very high IQ such as Albert Einstein.  It could also be innovative sports figures like Vince Lombardi or Phil Jackson.  Even People like Fabio can be considered Geniuses. 

 

Time Management

During my time management study that I conducted the past week, I realized that I have a pretty good amount of free time.  Distributing this time can be very difficult.  I have class every morning and then one afternoon class.  So I will try and get all my homework done in-between classes. I probably spend around 20 hours a week on homework.  What I undoubtedly spend the most time on are these blog posts.  In my other classes I have not gotten that much homework.  In my math class the homework is optional, so if I have blog posts or anthropology homework I don’t have to stress about getting it done.  I also have not gotten any homework in my microeconomics class.  So therefore my homework load has not been bad.    After my afternoon class I am done at around five.  After that I will go to the fitness center in the student center for about two hours.  After that I will come back to my dorm room to watch some TV and cool down from my workout.  After hanging out in my dorm room till nineish, I will go to Conn Hall and grab some food with friends.  After this we will go back to one of their rooms and have fun.  This is usually my daily routine.  However, getting all my work done can be challenging.  I can get distracted very easily.  I could go on Facebook or twitter and be on those sites for hours.  I could also wander to hulu can catch up on my favorite TV shows.  I could also turn the TV on and watch Sportscenter.  One thing I need to improve on is keeping track of what is due when.  Sometimes I will forget to do my anthropology homework because I did not write it down.  To improve this I should buy an agenda from the book store. 

Me and My CC (Safari #4)

I went and had a conversation with my CC Willie about what it is like to be a Community Cordinator.  He told me it can be a lot of work dealing with disrespectful kids but it also has a lot of perks.   He told me his favorite thing about being a CC is free housing.  Another good thing is that he gets his own room.  He does not have to deal with an impolite roommate disrupting his privacy.  He also told me that being a CC will pay off in the long run because it looks very good on job resumes.  

My Definition of Success

Success can be defined in many ways.  My definition of success is achieving your goals and overall being happy with how you accomplished them.  Whether it is getting a good grade on an exam or getting a promotion at your job, you should be happy with what you achieved.  However, you should also be happy with the way you achieved greatness.  Greatness should not be handed to you.  You should have to stumble upon it yourself.    If you look throughout history, some of the most successful people have had to work day and night to be where they are now.  The Beatles did not become one of the most successful bands of all time over night.  It took a lot of blood sweat and tears that got the Beatles to the top of the charts.  When the Beatles were a struggling band they were invited to play in Hamburg Germany.  What was special about this gig was they had to play for eight hours a day for a week.  This ultimately made them a better band because they could not just play their best songs; they had to learn to master all of their songs. 

One of the most successful athletes today is Derek Jeter.  He was not just handed five World Series rings and the title of captain of the New York Yankees.  He had to spend his free time as a kid practicing baseball to get to where he is today.  He was drafted by the Yankees straight out of high school.  He started in the minor leagues when he was only 18 years old.  It was his first time living away from home so naturally he was scared.  His First season in the minors, he struggled and thought about quitting.  He had always excelled in baseball, so this was a new feeling for him.  Instead of giving up when the going got tough, he then remembered how much he wanted to play in the major leagues.  

Responding to Professional Blogs

Link: http://www.yankeesdaily.com/post/31315

This is a sports blog about Mariano Rivera getting his 601^st save. Therefore it is titled Mariano Rivera ties the Major League saves Record with 601. Rivera has played his entire seventeen year career with the New York Yankees.  This was a significant save because it tied the All-time record for saves, held by Trevor Hoffman.  The blog also gives a detailed recap of the game and what players were involved in the key pays. This blog interests me because I am a huge Yankees fan.  I have been ever since I can remember.  There are pictures of me as a baby wearing a Yankees jersey and hat.  I carried these traditions with me today.  Whenever I go somewhere I will usually be wearing a Yankees hat or a Yankees t-shirt.  This blog provides visuals such as picture of Rivera and other Yankees.  It also has links to other blogs about the Yankees. 

Link 2: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/19/get-ready-for-another-Iphone-big-bang-says-j-p-morgan/#more-69185

The title of this article is Get ready for another Iphone 'big bang' says J.P. Morgan.This blog is about the new Iphone.  Apple will be releasing two new Iphones.  One will be the Iphone 5; this will be lighter and thinner than the Iphone 4.  It is also GSM and CDMA cable.  Apple will also release the Iphone four plus.  This is essentially an upgrade of the Iphone 4. However, this will probably only be released in China.  This blog interests me because I am always looking to check out new technology. So since it seems like Apple comes out with something revolutionary every other month, I thought this blog would be right up my ally.  The blog also talked about what apple would not be coming out with any time soon.  This includes the ipad 3.  This blog includes a graph that shows the relationship between the number of Iphone carriers and The number of countries.  

SCSU CCSU Football Game (safari #5)

I recently attended the Southern, Central football game.  I have a couple of friends who are on the team so I was compelled to come to first game.  I normally would not have gone to an away game but my sister is a student at Central.  She picked me up the morning of the game, and went back to New Britain.  It was the first college football I had ever been too so it was a thrilling experience. We were both talking trash to each other the whole game.  Although Southern lost 35-21 I had a lot of fun spending time with my sister and watching my first college football game.

The Beatles Bill Gates and Multitasking Oh My

An article I read for Inquiry was debunking the myth about multitasking.  The article talked about how if you just focus all your attention on getting one task done at a time, you will be able to get everything done quicker than multitasking.  After many years of trying to multitask, I believe this is true.  I would always try to get two or more homework assignments done at the same time.  I would do my math homework while trying to write an English paper, on top of texting and messaging friends.  This did not work.  I also tried switch tasking.  I would try to do math for twenty minutes then switch to chemistry homework then switch back to math for a little while.  It was very confusing and very time consuming.  If I just focused in on one thing at a time I got everything done. 

The second article I read was Outliers- 10000 hours to success.  The bottom line of this article was that practice makes perfect.  It gave examples of The Beatles and Bill Gates.  Success was not just handed to them, they had to put in countless hours of work.  This is true for everything in life.  If you want to ace a test you have to put in hours of studying.  If you want to get a promotion at your job you have to out work all of your coworkers.  For me it was trying to make the baseball team at my school.  I was one of the youngest players trying out so I knew I had work hard.  I would hit off a tee every day after school, and would also pitch to my father.  On top of that I would run three miles every day.  I was dedicated to make the team.  And hard work does pay off because I eventually did.

How to be Successful in College

The who are you and what are you doing article made a lot of good points.  Our diplomas will not just be handed to us in four years; we will have to be really dedicated.  However it will take more than just dedication to graduate.  In high school, if you showed up to class and did all your homework you probably got B’s.  If you do just the basics in college you will not be as lucky.  It will take a lot of hard work and a lot of hours studying to be successful. 

To me the article was also very relatable.  My father never went to college and barely made it out of high school.  He was your classic screw up kid.  Once graduation day came, he realized had no idea what he was going to do with the rest of his life.  One thing he made sure of was that I was not going to go down that same path as him.  Ever since I could remember he would ask me what I wanted to be when I was older.  I would always say a baseball player, or a cowboy, or something ridiculous that would never happen.  One day he asked me and like always I would give him an outrageous response and he said no seriously what do you want to do with your life?  And it hit me that I need to get serious about life and have a plan about what I want to do.

The 25 tips to help you survive and thrive your freshman year was also a helpful article.  One of the tips was to get organized.  This is a very helpful tip because I have always believed that organization is the key to success.  You should always know what homework you have to do, and when it is due.  Another useful tip is to find a good place to study.  Sure you can study in your room with the TV on and music blaring, but you probably will not retain information.  You should fine a nice comfortable quiet place to study.  One tip that I would have included in the article is make sure you get enough sleep.  We all know the feeling when you get a solid eight hours of rest.  You feel energized and ready to concur the world.  If you have an 8 A.M. class you probably should not out partying till 6 A.M.

It All About The Cardio (Safari one)

For my first campus safari I decided to go to the fitness center.  I am currently a member there so I know its confines pretty well.  The membership is sixty dollars a semester and one hundred twenty for the year.  Its hours are Monday through Thursday seven A.M .to ten P.M. Friday seven A.M. to eight P.M.  It is also open on the weekends, Saturday nine-thirty A.M. until four-thirty P.M. Sunday two P.M. till seven P.M.  It is a pretty big gym; there are 44 machines in the gym, plus an aerobics room and a warm up room.  A class I would really be interested in is the Zumba.  You could go to this class at seven-fifteen P.M.

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Me and The University

College is another chapter in my life.  The idea of college has taught me that I am no longer a kid.  I now live on my own and have to make my own decisions.  My parents are no longer here to tell me what is right and what is wrong.  I have to make those choices on my own.  Academically I am  going to have to put in a lot of time if i want to do well.  Senior year I gave about 75% in my classes, and did pretty well.  If I give 75%  in college I will do awful.

A lot of students at this university come from big towns and have multiple friends here at Southern. I come from a small town in the northwest corner of Connecticut. So there are not a lot of people from my school at Southern.  So I am pretty much starting without knowing anybody.  Because of this I am looking forward to going to class.  It is a good environment to meet new people and make new friends.  

I have always set my goals very high.  I hate failing because I feel like I am not only letting myself down, but I am letting other down.  So by setting my goals higher it cause me to put in more effort and try my hardest.  The only thing I can ask for out of myself, is that I try my hardest.  If I do not do well then I guess college is not right for me.  However I do not believe this will be the case.  I know if I put my mind to it i can accomplish anything.

How to Describe me in Five words

Dedicated:
Throughout my entire life, my parents have taught my sisters and I a lot of lessons.  One that they will always be teaching us is dedication.  They taught me that once I start something to never quit. Growing up I played most sports; baseball, basketball, soccer. I gave 100% every minute, or every inning I played.  It was through the dedication my parents taught to me never give up no matter what the score was.  This is what helped me to excel in sports and life.


Hardworking:
Over the years I have considered myself a good student. I have maintained very good grades ever since I was in elementary school.  I have done this while working twenty hours a week since I six years old.  I would rake in the spring and fall, and mow lawns in the summer.  This is hard work, and I did it all while maintaining good grades.  My father has worked two jobs most of his life and it has always been important to me to be like him.

Humble:
Growing up most people go through the sore loser stage.  You eventually learn that nobody likes a sore loser and you grow out of it.  You also learn that nobody likes a sore winner.  Since I played sports growing up I learned this lesson fast.  Seeing kids Gloat in the face of others made me realize that I did not want to be that kid.  So whenever I experienced success I would nonchalantly congratulate others on their hard work.


Dependable:
Like I said before my parents have always past on lessons to me.  One of them is everyone likes a dependable person.  They taught me that five minutes early is on time.  If I tell somebody that Im going to do something to follow through on it.  I value most of the lessons my parents teach me.

Content:
My parents have always told me be thankful for what you have.  I never understood what this meant until I realized that I was more fortunate than others.  I had three meals a day when others struggled to find food.  I got presents during Christmas while other parents could not afford to give their children gifts.  After seeing how fortunate I was made me realize that I had advantages others did not, and I was not going to abuse them.