The College Experience

Coming into college, I was very nervous about what to expect. I tried to stay optimistic and think about all the positives that came along with the “college experience”. Thinking about college and actually coming and experiencing the first week of it are two very different things. All my fears ended up being unfounded and I found that I was having a great time. I met some excellent people, many of which I probably would not have ever met had I not been a part of Honors College. After my relief had subsided, I decided that it would be a good idea to plan out what I wanted to get from college. Truly, one can gain whatever he decides to gain. It’s very simple, set your mind to it and GO!
Of course, a very important aspect of the “college experience” is the education, at least in the eyes of my parents. That is the reasoning behind sending me to experience a higher education. I say “experience” rather than “receive” because that is in effect, the purpose of college. One should not come into college expecting to receive education. That is not the objective. If one comes to receive an education, they will miss out on all the other aspects of college life. College is about working for what you want, not collecting it from a professor. An education is important to me. I feel that it is a necessary means for advancing myself in the world, but college is not completely about education.
Another very important facet of the “college experience” is campus involvement. This is a time in my life where relationship and networking skills can be developed to their fullest extent. Meeting new people and establishing lasting relationships is necessary and helpful to success in many ways. Obviously, a surface perk is the social interactions and fun that comes from college friends, but also, the relationships formed in college are statistically the most valuable and long-lasting. Clubs and Internships are also critical in advancing my career portfolio. I plan on joining at least a few clubs, and also applying for internships.
I also look forward to the widening of my horizons. I hope to advance my cultural knowledge through the adoption of the Chinese language into my vocabulary. I believe it is very important to learn, or at least attempt to learn a foreign language in order to connect with other people outside the United States on their own level. I hope to learn how other people think. I want to travel to other parts of this country and also to other countries. I hope to study abroad. I have never been out of the United States and I feel like I need to go somewhere else in order to enhance my own life through the experiences of other cultures.
Over all, I have a very positive outlook on college. I am very excited to see how my experience unfolds. I approach this phase of my life with optimism, knowing that if I work hard and take control of my life’s direction, I can succeed and excel.

Reaction to "The Hostage Crisis"

The Hostage Crisis game was intended for us to use our communication, reasoning, and negotiating skills to form a solution to a hostage crisis simulation. Unfortunately, we did not complete this objective.
As Abdurrazaq, the guard, I was not in control of the information between the Comittee for National Struggle (CNS) and the U.S. Government, but I was in communication between the hostages and the CNS. I believe I did a satisfactory job in the role I played. Unfortunatley the main problem in my opinion was the communication between the CNS and the United States.
Intermediary communication was faulty at best. Information kept getting lost as it passed through the various channels until it finally reached the government. The Government stalled and stone-walled the CNS so long, it was impossible to negotiate. The CNS on the other hand, did demand a great many things, but nevertheless, the government would not grant them the major demands such as the release of the ten prisioners, and the vacation of the invaded Keibarian territory.
Overall, as the game came to a close, nothing had been resolved and the tention had mounted into a full-scale war, with the deaths of all the hostages. This ending was not exactly how the game was supposed to play out. It was indeed disappointing that we couldn't work together to produce a peacful resolution.