Leader Moment.

One instance in my life where I had and still have to be a leader is while I'm working. I have been working at the Eli Whitney Museum for some time now (6 years I think) and I'm now considered one of the old and wise. I'm one of the few people who have stuck around at the Museum and know a lot of the basics you need to survive at my job. And since I have all this knowledge I'm one of the people that has to portray my leadership skills in a positive way and lead the younger workers to get to the point where I am. Especially now, since were in the process of hiring a lot of new people again and when we hire new people we pretty much drop the into the deep end of the pool and hope that they figure out how to swim. And once these "newbies" realize they have a couple other workers they can turn to for help and guidance we have to put our best foot forward and lead them in the correct direction. In being a leader I have made a lot of new friends on the job and I feel as though alot more people can trust me with more difficult jobs and can come to me when they need help getting things sorted out on my job. I think being a leader on my job though is fun most of the time. You get to give the smaller and newer kids the more annoying jobs while you can take the simple type of jobs for yourself. While on the other hand being a leader involves a lot of responsibility because if you tell someone to do something, and they do it wrong, your going to end up being the one yelled at by the big boss. So being a leader is kind of a good and bad deal. On one hand you get great power but on the other, great responsibility. (Got that from Uncle Ben.)

Difficult Situation

This semester I was faced with a difficult situation on whether or not to drop my geography 100 or 101 class that I had no interest in and was most likely not doing so well in also. IN the end I ended up dropping the course. But the difficult part was weighing the options of trying to stick it out and hope for the best or just take a different class in relation to my major. It was a difficult decision because I was forced to basically quit or struggle, and in my case I quit. I wouldn't consider myself a "quitter" but in this situation college revolves around your GPA and if I were to have one less class that would effect my GPA in a bad way it would be good for me. So that was what I ended up basing my decision on in the end. Also because I'm pretty okay if I don't end up graduating in 4 year because I have some time before anyone is going to have to pay for my college and I'm pretty much the one paying for my college experience right now anyway with loans and what-not. So I'm not in a hassle to get out of here quickly because I would rather stay here longer and retain the information I'm learning than to get out of college as quick as possible and ending up not learning to much while I was here in the first place. Soooo in conclusion, sometimes a difficult situation may come about in your life but when this situation confronts you and you have the time, weigh your options. I mean if the decision isn't one of those fight or flight kind of ideas really take the time out to think over your options and do whats best for you in the end.

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

A Time Of Reflection

For this post I'm told to reflect upon my midterm grades as a whole. Overall, I'm not pleased at all where I am. I feel like I came into college with the highest of expectations but the classes I ended up taking didn't motivate me at all to succeed. This is not where I wanted to be but I'm usually a second half type of player. Meaning that usually in the first half of a semester I'm not meeting the par that I have set, but more often than not in the second half I bring it back. I put my mindset back into "game-time" mode. I think I haven't done as well as I expected is because I was immediately overwhelmed by the fact that absolutely EVERYTHING is on you. From the start your expected to get maybe 2 semesters worth of work crammed all into 3 months. That's a lot for me to handle considering at my high school I was helped out a lot along the way and teachers were a big help to me. But in college its the complete opposite, I'm beginning to realize that but when I first my brain wasn't ready for the college atmosphere and expectations. But to change that I've got to start to stay on top of my work for the rest of the semester to get to where I want to be by the end of this semester. But as for goals that I can stick to to keep me on my game for the rest of the semester I can:

1. Start to dedicate more time to studying.
2. Start writing down my h.w. in my planner again.

I feel like if I can stick to those 2 things for the rest of this fall semester I can get to where I want to be by the end of the semester.

-Captain Dj

-College Superhero

Something Outside The "Comfort Zone"

So, coming from the "leadership" high school called Hyde, we spent a lot of time living our high school life outside of our comfort zone. We were trained to do so from our first day of freshman year, so getting outside of my comfort zone isn't as difficult for me to do anymore. So this Friday I was out with a couple of friends and we decided we would go to the mall. What made this trip to the mall more fun was that we decided to live the day as different, more outgoing people. I was that day my outgoing alter ego "Shaun Black" (a New York native who moved to CT to go to college). Ultimately we decided to do this just because it would be another chance to act stupid with my friends and create some new memories, but the day turned out being pretty enjoyable. Some people were really open to meeting people and getting to meet and learn about different people, while others were really stuck up, or spooked by the idea of someone just saying "hi" or something else. But at the end of the day we admitted to all the people we met who we actually were but getting outside of my comfort zone that day was really fun. We met a lot more people than we would have normally met just because we were constantly introducing ourselves, smiling, and getting to know people. At the end of the day were were pretty please with the way the day went and amazed by all the new found friends we met.

-Captain Dj

College Superhero

Watch my video, give me comments. It would be highly appreciated. Thanks my fellow people of the world... I'm talking to you Mr. Lithuania. :)

Peer Mentor: Your Awesome!

I don't know if we all have the same peer mentor but our peer mentor is Lee, and she's the coolest, way better than your peer mentor. Sorry. But yeah, had to put that out there, Lee came into our Inquiry lives around the 3rd week of college life. At first, I was kinda "iffy" about her. Usually peer mentors are just a waste of time, but she turned out to be a really down to Earth girl. I knew she would be awesome when she "got real" with us the first day of class. I would have never expected her to have that sort of past but I respect her a TRILLION times more because of being able to just be like "Hey, that was me, thats what I used to do. Now I'm different. Don't judge." She got me really thinking about what "motivated" me the first day she came into class and pretty much made me feel like i was lacking, substance. It was a legit wake up call and made me think of things a lot different. And, I thank her for that. So! Things that really work for Lee when she's in the class is the fact that she's more experienced with the whole "college life" thing and she bring a very unique or pretty deep topic to class every Thursday. I think thats really cool, keeps me on my toes and makes me think. The Peer Mentor also adds a more down to earth aspect to the teacher. I mean, Jen is a really sweet teacher but she doesn't get to see the side of college and life that were pretty much seeing now. And to have Lee there, gives us another person to go to and ask questions that Jen may not be able to answer. So in the end having a peer  mentor is pretty sweet. The senior student aspect is nice to have in class. And I've learned to think deeper in class and search inside me for motivation, also to try not to judge people, because people go through tons of "stuff" and most of us have no idea. :)

Making that "Major" Decision

As you most likely know, it would be totally awesome to live out life as a superhero but thats not very likely. So, I'm in need of a "back-up plan" just incase the whole "superhero" idea doesn't work out. But I don't have an idea of what I would want to wake up and do for THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!! I mean, life is a pretty long time and college is basically the place where you will make your final decision on what you want to do for life, I repeat LIFE. I just haven't come up with anything that I think I would want to do forever and then willfully want to do it. But I do have a few ideas:

1. I always and probably always will LOVE video-games. Since childhood I was a gamer (back in the Gameboy and Gameboy Color days). And my #1 childhood fantasy was to become a "video-game designer". In other words, I wanted and still quite possibly do want to make video-games for the rest of my life. Its one of the only things I think I would wake up in the morning and want to do. I mean for me that would kind of be like a college basketball superstar finally going pro. Something I could see myself enjoying, but something thats EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE and not to mention the fact that hours and hours of math would have to be completed to even be though of as a video-game designer. But I feel like if I got to do anything with video-games; even a video-game tester or a programmer or critic it would be prestigious in my eyes.

2. As of late I always felt I would be a good writer. My English teacher from high school said that I could quite possibly make it in the "writing industry", and as I continued to think about it, writing for a magazine or even becoming an author and writing books would be really cool. I mean I never really found it a burden to have to write (unless it was like a 10 page essay or something) but when it comes to free writing and writing about things I enjoy I think my creativity and imagination could come up with some pretty interesting things. Also writing has a lot of different outlets. I could even write for a magazine  that writes about video-games which would give me the best of both worlds. So "writer" is definitely up there on my list.

3. I was thinking it would be nice if I were to become a teacher. I mean considering I got into a really good Education school. And I could teach elementary education like 3rd or 4th grade which would be really fun because kids are so creative and innocent at around that age. But if that didn't seem appealing enough, I could teach in college or as a professor and teach things like writing or something I enjoy.

So as you can see I have a lot of option but I haven't decided on what I think I would want to do.

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

How to Make a Perfect Blog. (In my Opinion)

I think to make a good or even perfect blog is different for every person. But for me personally, the blog should first and foremost catch your attention, maybe with the content in the blog, the title, the pictures, etc. If the blog doesn't catch the readers attention early it only takes a couple seconds for the reader to realize how lame the blog is and what a waste of time it will be if they read it.

 Also, once you've got the attention of the reader your going to also need to have a interesting and detailed opinion on the subject of what your writing or have something interesting to say about your life in general. For instance if the blog is based upon the judging of different hip-hop and rock albums. If the blog were just to say "I give this song a 5 out of 10" but give ABSOLUTELY no insight to why that CD would receive the ranking it was given, the blog to me has no purpose. I feel like since it is a blog, there should be some sort of opinion and personal preference to each blog posted. And depending on whether or not people agree and love to read or disagree and just want to play the "devils advocate" your blog will still be generating some sort of hype if your opinion is displayed honestly and openly throughout the blogging posts. So another crucial factor that will determine a good blog from a horrible one is "opinion" especially if your opinion agrees with what a lot of people would think, or if your opinion gets under the skin of everyone else and they just want to prove you completely wrong.

 And lastly to have an awesome blog your going to have to be CONSISTENT. Consistency is crucial. If your not consistent with your blog posts your fan base (if you have one) won't be able to view and read your posts on a weekly, monthly, or daily, basis. Its like running a television show, but instead of telling your viewers when to tune in to watch your 30 minute show you have them fend for themselves and just try and figure out when the next show will air. It just doesn't work like that. So the 3 elements needed (in my opinion) to make great blogs are:

1. A unique and creative way to catch and keep your audiences ATTENTION!
2. Your very own OPINION.
3. Consistency, Consistency, CONSISTENCY!

(A couple other opinions):

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113674/blogging/how_to_make_the_perfect_blog_post.html

http://www.squidoo.com/blogging-tips-create-blog

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

Time Management Involving a J O B!

As you all should know, college isn't cheap. and most people in college end up getting a work study and work on campus or get a job working somewhere else. Well I was in the same predicament, I was offered a job at the Eli Whitney Museum. I had worked their over the summer and throughout high school I would work during the weekends, but now they were offering me a pretty much part-time job after school. It was totally my choice so I decided to accept the offer and see how things would go.
Since I got out of school practically everyday at around noon I would leave from campus and head straight over to the Museum to get started. But thats when things normally got a little tricky. Primarily because I would still have homework and studying that I would need to do for the next day of class and at the same time I would be working from noon till around 6 or 7, not to mention all of the normal duties I would have to take care of when I got home. So time management with a job just made things a little more difficult. But in the end I worked something out with my boss to where I would be able to work at 1 and get most of my homework done at the Museum before I started working for that hour. So things ended up turning out okay. But for those of you who don't have that option to do your school work before you had to go "work" I commend you, because its not the easiest thing to do. And it isn't and easy task for me to accomplish  now. But in order to get what I want in college and if I want to have some money in my pocket for things like; a car, clothes, and just general essentials. I'm going to have to ride it out until something better pops up.

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

Outcasts United Post

When I was told at orientation that I would have to read a book, I was so bummed. I mean I don't think anyone was relatively "thrilled" at the thought of having to read over the summer. And it wasn't number one on my list of things to do. But eventually I pained my way through the book.
Outcasts United was pretty much about a group of refugees that were forced to move from their homes in the Middle East and sent to the small town of Clarkston, Georgia. The group of kids that were forced to move ended up playing soccer for their town and it basically talks about the transformation of the town as a whole and how their charismatic female coach Luma taught them values and brought them together as a group.
It wasn't one of my favorite books by a long shot but it wasn't a horrible read either. Not something I would recommend to others, just because it wasn't really a book that I myself would pick up and read unless I was asked to. But if you want to check it out, once again the book is called Outcasts United and was written by Warren St. John.

Links:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041701377.html

http://www.outcastsunited.com/

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

Reading "Ain't So Bad After All... Sometimes.

Reading was never my forte (if thats how you spell it) I mean I'm okay with reading when its on my time, but when I'm forced to read... thats a different story. So as you can expect when I was told that I would have to read AND RESPOND to a couple of website posts about thinking and whatnot, I was a little turned off. But I found one of the articles we had to read pretty interesting. It was entitled "10,000 Hours for Success" The gist of the story was that to achieve "excellence" at a particular task a minimum of 10,000 hours over your life span must be spent practicing and perfecting the task itself. I found that idea really interesting. Also the theory that "O nce you have enough talent to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works". (I'll leave a link of where the information came from at the bottom of the blog.) But i just found it interesting that they have set a specific amount of time in which once you have came to or surpassed your considered "excellent at or even a genius at that specific task". I mean I consider the idea of spending the 10,000 hours would make you great at the task, but there has to be a certain amount of sheer skill that is needed to make you "excellent" at the task. But who knows, maybe through spending that amount of time working at the task you "become" great at the task. 
I began to ponder how many hours a day people spend listening to music or playing a video game or even texting, I mean accumulatively there have to be people out there that spend dedicated time to doing such things but I still dont feel that they should be considered "a texting genius" or something of the sort.
I think the time can't just be spent doing the task but it has to be dedicated time to getting BETTER at the task. For example: tons of people play video games, but lots of people only play video games for fun; not to get better, not to become a master at it, just for fun. So I feel that if your just playing for fun and you play way past 10,000 hours you may get better but wont be considered excellent. While on the other hand there are people out there that will genuinely set aside time for them to practice and attempt to become better at playing that specific video game, and if all of those 10,000 hours are spent attempting to become better and trying to become the best than by the time they are finished I feel like they would be considered that "excellent gamer" "gaming genius".


link to website: http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2008/11/17/outliers-10000-hours-for-success/

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

"Challenge" is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

College, College, College. Its SO different from the whole "high school scene" especially considering the fact that this college superhero lives off campus. I was so in my comfort zone as a senior in high school but the whole idea of becoming a freshman again and having to meet ALL NEW PEOPLE, ALL OVER AGAIN was just stressful, and don't even get me started on my thoughts on the amount of work I expected to have my 1st week of classes. I mean and movies never really help, you could one minute watch one movie about college and how it was the most interesting time of their life: parties left and right, friends all around, classes were a breeze, but then the next minute you could watch a movie about college where the kid is having the most miserable time: failing almost all his classes, on academic probation, always alone, no friends, the list goes on. But I didn't want to be that person, I wanted to be the guy that would enjoy his college experience and I would start on a good note with coming into my first week of college with a positive state of mind and attempting to stay on top of my work.
And now I bring you to my first challenge as a college freshman (if that first paragraph wasn't enough). I walked into my freshman Western Civilization class and by the end of the class I was told we were going to have a quiz on the WHOLE MAP OF EUROPE at the beginning of the next week of classes! That made my heart sink especially considering that I wasn't very fond of the map of Europe (hell I can just barely remember all the states in America).
But this wasn't one of those happy ending stories where the kid studies really hard and ends up with an "A" in the end, because at the end of the day life just doesn't always happen like that. But I did better than I expected. I mean I got a "D" not the grade I would have wanted, not by a long shot but it was the first time I had realized how "studying" was so important in college. I mean in high school when you have a quiz or a test you spend some time in class going over the basics of what would most likely appear on the test. But in college its the exact opposite, you would get the notes for the quiz in class and the rest was up to how well you study, and how well you could retain your information and spit it all out on a test.
*sigh* Well in conclusion that "D" made me realize that I would have to figure out a more efficient and effective way of studying if I wanted to pass for the semester. I haven't figured that one completely out yet, but I will eventually. But on the brighter side, I get to take the test over so hopefully I'll do better the next time.

-Captain DJ

-The College Superhero!

Setting the Tone for the Semester!

To me, College is just another chapter in my “comic book” to success. College is an accomplishment but isn’t my ultimate goal. the idea of becoming a college student was VERY INTIMIDATING before I got here. I mean, there were a bunch of different thoughts going through my head, (about meeting people, classes, the amount of work i was going to have) but once I got here it was kind of like slaying the beast. I came in with a mindset that i could handle this and I did. But more academically college means that I will have to continue to push myself and try harder in the classroom to ultimately achieve my goal. Also being in college to me personally will help me to finally figure out what I want to do in my life. I mean I have a couple of ideas of what i might like to do, (become a writer, actor, comedian, game designer) but those are still in the “idea” phase and aren’t set in stone yet. I just hope that out of this college experience that I can achieve academic, social, and personal success. I mean being a college student means a lot to me. And potentially graduating will mean A LOT more. Just getting accepted to the University though was a personal accomplishment. It made me feel a lot more confident. It made me feel like I could do this thing called “College” and I could pass. And in passing and graduating from the University I feel like I would be completing the next chapter in my “comic book”.

-Captain DJ

-College Superhero

Getting to know the College Superhero!

Family: Family is VERY IMPORTANT to me. I love my family and all the people in it. I mean without my family I probably wouldn’t be the lovable, funny, easy-going type of guy I am today. I tend to spend a lot of time with my family because they’re so important to me. At least twice a week I’m doing something somewhere with my Mom, Dad, and little Brother. Family=Importance!

[My cousins and I Summer 10'] 

Friends: My friends are so AWESOME! I would do anything for my friends.My friends are like the exact opposite to my family in some ways. They show me the same love as if they were family, but at the same time I can do and be myself around them 100%. I love my pals. Lol.

[Friends. You gotta love em']

Humor: Humor is also a BIG part of my life. I love to laugh. My philosophy is “why spend time being upset, when you can be happy. Life is too short”. I love being funny, making people laugh, doing things that keep people happy. Its like I find enjoyment in making other people laugh. Others laughter makes me laugh. And “if your not laughing, your not living”- Carlos Mencia

Music: Music makes my life so EXCITING. I mean I’m not really good at making music but listening to it makes me happy. Music in general puts a smile on my face. I mean I don’t necessarily have any preferences but every and anything with a good sound is most likely on my iPod. I <3 music. 

Creativity: I always considered myself a creative person. One who always LOVED to think outside of the box. I was never really the type of guy to get his “style” from someone else. I always liked to go out and try new things. I mean most people don’t like to be considered different, but me on the other hand, being different makes me special. And special is the new cool. =]

-Captain DJ      

-College Superhero