So, after one month at Cal State Fullerton, it’s about time to provide updates on what has happened to me ever since I set foot on that campus. Let’s just say there’s not much to complain about other than the parking situation. But as always, here’s a calendar updates on the events that transpired during the month:
This is the first blog update I’ve done in roughly a month – not because I’m getting tired of blogging, but because I have spent more of my time focusing on an attempt to balance work, school, clubs, and a social life. It took me a while to adjust, but hopefully I can do so while maintaining a more active website (but that’s a goal for next month).
Starting with school, I am proud to say I’m most likely going to get an A in all my classes. Maybe it’s because I’ve already had the college experience, but I pretty much know what details to focus on in every class, how to skew my writing in a way that would best get me higher grades within courses, and the effective study/reading&cramming techniques necessary to know only what is important…. (which remains purely subjective). It’s not nearly as competitive of an environment as UCSD was, but I feel at home when I talk to my classmates – because we’re all going to be future educators of the world.
Delving into more details, I feel like 3/4 of my classes are going to be a cake (EDSC310,320,330). The only one I might struggle with is EDSC340 not because it is hard, but because it requires an essay submission nearly every week, and requires me to change my perspective on various issues (It’s a multicultural course which emphasizes social justice, which in turn conflicts with my libertarian perspectives on most issues).
That brings up the next topic of Cal State Fullerton: the struggles of parking. If I go early enough to campus, I can find parking where I want to find it: I.e. College Park (where all my classes are conveniently located). Unfortunately, I’ve had two incidences where I went to campus TOO LATE. I went to campus at 9AM once (my class at 10), and couldn’t find any parking – as a result I parked in a nearly neighborhood and walked roughly 10 minutes. Not too bad. Another time I arrived to campus around 8:20 for my class at 8:30, and there was still no parking. I sadly illegally parked across the street in the Habit parking lot, but luckily didn’t get towed away or a ticket. SUCCESS!!!! Now I know I must arrive to campus relatively early every day if I ever am to avoid said catastrophes again. :(. I suppose it’s a learning process.
CLUBS CLUBS CLUBS. I checked out a massive array of clubs at Cal State Fullerton, in an attempt to find out which ones were right for me. Simply put, some were MILES away better than others, but we can examine them all below in further detail.
VSA (Vietnamese Student Association): Sadly, this was extremely disorganized. At the first meeting we met in the middle of a Grove where everyone was pretty much lost on all that was going on. Furthermore, schools from nearly all around the state was there which nearly confused things because I couldn’t even distinguish between the members of the clubs and the non-members.
Reddit Club: This club worked because it has a sub-reddit that reaffirms its purpose, merely for socializing. At the first and only meeting thus far this semester, I met pretty interesting people – not all of them geeks/nerds as you would probably stereotype. I did have an incident where I attempted to bowl with two guys, but they instead decided to each bowl in separate lanes. How’s that for socializing? The rest of the club members were nice though as we engaged in pretty generic on-the-surface level conversation while eating pizza and delicious crepes. In the end though, the club lacks a soul; if its only purpose is for social entertainment, that’s fine and dandy, but I’d rather use my time actually doing something more efficient…. I’ll probably give the club a revisit though, whenever they figure out when their next event is.
Young Americans for Liberty: I tabled with them for roughly an hour, and that was relatively entertaining. It’s nice seeing people still care for the liberty movement despite its relatively obvious failure in the 2012 election. I still sadly thought their first meeting was disorganized and without much of a purpose, but most likely will attend the Students for Liberty Conference in November.
VAYC (Vietnamese American Youth Committee): This is a completely new club at Fullerton, and as a result it has its own kinks to work out. With freshman being in charge of nearly every officer position, it looks doomed from the start. I’m relatively sure they’ll figure out what they’re doing eventually, as their events are coming up in nearly 2 weeks time.
Intervarsity: I liked everyone I met at intervarsity, but I’m still not certain it’s for me. I’m a spiritual person, and I believe in the existence of a God, but I’m still not sure if it’s the Christian one. I also can’t really take most of what the Bible says literally, and still believe in certain aspects of Buddhism (namely anti-materialism and attachment).
SCTA (Student California Teacher Association): YES. Finally, a club I can belong in for life. In contrast to the Undergraduate Communication Society at UCSD (which I went to for 2 weeks straight), this club seems more emphasized on the direction of where I want to go (teaching, obviously). Their icebreaker was fun, and I will most likely attend their conference in Northern California my birthday weekend.
Circle K: Saving the best for last! Circle K is definitely hands down one of the best clubs I decided to join. It’s organized, the people there are super nice and sweet, and it has the best mission statement out of all the clubs I went to: COMMUNITY SERVICE. I really wish more people did their part to affect their society, whether it be through carrying out political, social, or civic duties. This club seems to bring everything I loved about high school volunteering to college. And though I neglected its existence at UCSD, I feel like I’m redeeming myself by joining Cal State Fullerton’s. Their events thus far have been genius: from card-making, to beach cleanups, to sleepovers, to a Tour De Cure. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the beach (for reasons expressed in the past), I still enjoyed the event, which tells you a lot about how I feel about the club. I’m also going to their Fall Training Conference in November, which I’m sure will be a blast.
Meanwhile, working for the Anaheim YMCA is definitely a blessing. I get to do at work what I love, and that is talking to kids of all different ages. For the first 3 weeks of so of September I subbed at various elementary and middle schools playing sports with kids, helping them with their homework, and engaging in various crafts with them. The elementary school students were sweet, and the middle school students were a mixed bag (some simply didn’t want to be there, and others simply did not listen). In the end though I got a wide spectrum of “good kids” and “bad kids”, but was able to effectively discipline them in a way to make them respect me. Now I’m at permanent site: Loara High School, where I go in and pretty much talk to kids all day, asking them about their lives, and trying to be a positive role model (while staying true to myself). Just this Friday, I played with kids Just Dance for 3 hours in front of the whole class, breaking a few of them out of shell despite them being shy. I hope to have a further impact in the year ahead – Next week I begin sitting on a “credit recovery class”, where kids will have to repeat a US history class after school. In other words I get to learn what I already know and love, history. EXCELLENT!
That brings us to the final point of conversation, having fun. Obviously school can be a drag sometime, and work though fun, doesn’t provide me 100% social satisfaction. It’s a good thing I still keep in touch with a select few friends from high school. They will keep me grounded while I still adjust from a transition from UCSD to Cal State Fullerton. Though I visited UCSD once this month (it was great seeing old friends ago), I most likely don’t have the time or resources (gas money) to visit as often as I desire. I will simply have to wait till Thanksgiving or Winter Break to rekindle with those friends, though I am relatively sure I will try my hardest to maintain my friendship with all of them. They, and Phil’s BBQ, will sadly have to wait. In the end, I hope to further solidify bonds developed at Cal State Fullerton. It’s a daunting task to re-adjust to a new school, but I have 21 years of life experience now that I can’t wait to use. I can’t wait to show the world what I’m capable of. Good bye September, hello October.
