The “freshman fifteen” is a scary concept that haunts many incoming students. With the adjustment from high school to college, difficult classes, making new friends, and all other stresses can cause one’s body to react in strange ways. Since going to the gym is not that appealing to all, Stockton’s Zumba classes on Mondays and Wednesdays draw in many students for an hour of fun, stress-relieving exercise.

Two weeks ago, a group of friends from our specific building made a pact to attend the Zumba class together to avoid possible embarrassment from doing it alone. We were not all the best dancers, but the instructor taught easy moves that everyone was able to catch on to. It did not matter how talented anyone was in the realm of dancing, for each person there shimmied the best they could. Even with the sweat building up on peoples’ faces, there was no plea to leave the class early. This class seemed to bring all of those who attended together by joining them through fun dancing that burned calories.

Without stress of creating a gym routine and sticking to it, those at the class did not have to worry about what to do next, for their entire workout was planned for them by the more experienced. This class managed to lower the stress found in everyday life and allow people to let go of it for just a little while. The endorphins created from working out leaves people with more positive outlooks, and allowed me to sleep better. The Wellness Center did an excellent job at creating enjoyable programs, free of charge, for students to take that enable those to work out while making entertaining memories. By continually going to these events on campus, the student body will, overall become closer as a unified class that did their best to create a college experience that thrives from several different activities outside of the classroom.

It was a glorious day for a field trip to the Stockton Farm. The moment I went on the bus with my class, I was filled with elation. I wondered what kind of fruits and vegetables that the farm had cultivated and if the farm had sheltered any livestock. The Stockton Farm was not far from the campus. It was located at the beginning of Vera King Farris Drive, the road that links to the campus. As the shuttle bus entered the narrow pathway that led to the farm, it stopped there to drop us off. We took a pleasant hike to the farm and when we made it to the farm, we were then greeted by Jessica and Mary, two Stockton students who work at the farm.

They gave an amazing tour around the field. First, they showed us the different kinds of fertilizers they use to enrich the soil. The fertilizers are purely organic and help boost up the plant growth. Then, they showed us pesticides they use on the crops to prevent animals from eating them. I was really astounded at how there are not that many vegetables in the field. There are different pepper plants, but there were not any tomato, spinach, cucumber, lettuce, or onion plants growing. Most of the plants were eaten by groundhogs, so the farm has 10-feet fences to keep those kind of pests away. The irrigation canals were plowed really deep and it seemed like water could easily flow through the canals when it rains.

The most amazing part of this field trip was that you get to try out some of the vegetables that are grown there. I was only allowed to take one bell pepper from a plant and then I started to eat the pepper. Oh boy, it tasted really good. A friend of mine was daring herself to eat a habanero pepper and once she bit one part of it, her tongue went numb. “You can’t eat it in a plain fashion. You need to eat it when you are eating a sandwich or bowl of chili”, I said as I chuckled. Jessica and Mary even told us about the volunteering and internship opportunities that they offer at the farm. It sounded interesting and at some point in my college career, I will work at the farm. Since I had a clear understanding about what kind of seasonal vegetables grow here at the Stockton farm or even throughout the whole state of New Jersey, I was anxious to start my Animal Vegetable Miracle paper right away.

This past Thursday, September 18, I had the pleasure of attending and being a part of the Red Cross Blood Drive. I had received emails about the donation event and thought it would be a great way to complete some of my service requirements, while directly helping my community in the process. After signing up to volunteer for one of the hour-block time slots, I registered to donate blood as well.

The volunteer process was educational, but I felt as if I were unable to help with the rest of the donation process. I was stationed at the concessions table and assigned to refilling the snacks donors received after donation. I was able to talk with some donors, ask them how their first donation went, and make sure they were feeling well enough to leave. Although this job was necessary, I felt far-removed from the donation process as a whole.

After my hour block was over, I was able to donate. The process to register and complete the physical was quick and painless, and I was taken right away. The nurses there were all friendly, which made the questionnaire much easier to go through. During the blood-giving process, all of the nurses were helpful and careful, and I never felt as if I were alone. While the whole volunteer process only lasted for about two hours, I was able to help the Red Cross in multiple ways, and was able to learn more about the different techniques and systems the donation process uses. The volunteer portion was a one-time event, but being a donor lasts, and I am emailed regularly about donation centers and needs for donors.

As a whole, I enjoyed the Red Cross Blood Drive, and I hope I can do it again soon. It was interesting to talk with donors about why they donate or how their donation went. I was also able to talk to the head of the drive, and she was able to tell me about the need for certain blood types and how they use the plasma, cells, etc. I would gladly attend and volunteer again as soon as possible.

As a future healthcare provider, it was to my advantage to attend Sorrel King’s one-time presentation of Josie King’s Story in the PAC on Thursday afternoon, October 2, 2014. The short dialogue session was only about an hour in length, but the presentation had incredible depth. Sorrel King talked about how her 18-month-old child died at John’s Hopkins University Medical Center due to medical errors – essentially, a breakdown in communication among the healthcare professionals.

Sitting in the audience, I listened to Sorrel describe what seemed to be a very pleasant, clam, and friendly stay at the hospital. She told of how she befriended many, if not all, of the staff on the particular floor that Josie was being treated on. At this point, I couldn’t have predicted that anything could possibly go wrong. Yet, Sorrel described how her own motherly intuition was overlooked. The doctors gave Josie methadone despite the fact that Sorrel had been told that she would not be given any. Sorrel could only wonder if this was a mistake or if the doctors simply new better.

Afterwards, she noticed that Josie looked unusually dehydrated. She sensed that something was wrong, but without the support of the medical team, Sorrel couldn’t do much. Eventually, Josie’s condition plummeted, going from ready to be discharged to minutes from death. I was shocked to hear of such an unpredictable turn of events.

The aftermath of the tragic event was more than just a grand settlement from Hopkins (in fact, Sorrel was adamant that she wanted to destroy the reputation of Hopkins, but her lawyer advised her to take the money and do something with it instead). Sorrel became a major influence in the field of health care, bringing awareness to the issues of miscommunication between health professionals. With the settlement money, Sorrel was able to help fund projects at hospitals all over the U.S., and has spoken at international conferences on patient safety.

This entire presentation brought something entirely new to my attention: medical errors are common, but are easily fixable. Perhaps because I have never been personally affected by a medical error, I never really thought about how serious their consequences are. What Sorrel talked about, however, was that these serious problems can easily be avoided with the implementation of preventative procedures, family involvement initiatives, and improved interprofessional communication. Overall, this presentation was eye opening and very interesting, and I will keep its message in mind as I continue on my track for a health care career.

Going to a school where there is no football team Homecoming weekend seems a bit pointless right? Wrong! During Homecoming weekend here at Stockton the Friday night lights may not have been shining, on the field but they were certainly shining elsewhere. On the evening of October 10th, Big Blue was roaring, not with the cheers of students for a volleyball or basketball game, but roaring with laughter. As part of Stockton’s Heroic Homecoming Weekend the SET Club hosted a comedy night featuring MTV’s Girl Code Nicole Byer. Having this comedy star here at Stockton was certainly the biggest event of Homecoming weekend, and in my opinion much more entertaining then a football game.
As I entered Big Blue that Friday night with a few friends, I was not expecting what I saw when I looked to the bleachers, a full house. Students had packed themselves in trying to get the best seats, and I too squeezed in like a sardine. As Nicole Byer took the stage students cheered as if it was our very own Stockton Ospreys running onto the field; they were ready for a performance of a lifetime. Byer certainly lived up to this standard. She might as well have been crowned the Homecoming Queen herself because she was the one thing everyone couldn’t wait to see. I’m pretty sure she had the whole crowd laughing, including the faculty, for an hour straight! Her set consisted of mostly her own personal comic happenings from eating french fries drunk off the ground to awkward situations with the opposite sex to interacting with the crowd, all were certainly entertaining.
Despite Byer being a fabulous form of entertainment, I believe that within her set was a deeper message to be left in our minds. This message was to be confident with ourselves despite what others see us as. Byer possesses the ability to laugh and poke fun at herself, which I think is a good quality to have because the world’s going to have their opinions, so why not be confident enough to make a joke out of them. Byer started her set off by telling the crowed how she realizes she is a, “Sassy, fat, black chick” and loves that about herself. She shared that even though many people try to get under her skin by making jokes about her size and skin color, she doesn’t care because she loves who she is and is now able to turn it into jokes making herself and thousands of people laugh. She turned a situation which could easily have gone bad into something good. She left the students of Stockton with the message to love themselves and turn negative influences into positive ones.
So who needs a football team to have a good Homecoming? Absolutely not Stockton! People bond over laughter, and that exactly what happened among Stockton students when Nicole Byer took the stage. Together students enjoyed some laughs, I laughed so hard at one point tears were coming from my eyes, but together we also learn an important lesson in life: to love ourselves and turn bad vibes into good situations. Overall Homecoming weekend was a blast, but the comedy show was by far my favorite event!

Christina Baker Kline, the author of Orphan Train, came to Stockton to present the history and her research behind the book. After spending so much time analyzing the book, it was a treat seeing the author tell her audience what she really meant or what she really wanted to portray in a character when she wrote a certain part. Kline did an amazing job because she really put the audience in her characters’ shoes. With a book with so much information and history, it is important to know what was actually happening during that time period. She went through the entire process of how she came up with the idea and what she did and found in her research, which then transitioned smoothly into the Q&A Session. At the end, Kline signing my book was an awesome extra perk!

Personally, I really liked this event because we got to see who created the people and storyline that our seminar classes held discussions over. It was organized and to the point. But I wish that the question and answer session could have been longer because Kline wasn’t able to answer them all. Also one thing I noticed was that there were people who had classes, so they were getting up and leaving. Even though I knew they had no choice, it still seemed a bit rude to the guest speaker. But overall, after this great convocation, I would love to go to another. It would be awesome to get an insight on more books that we have to read.

On October 18, 2014 there was an event held by the Honors Program called Honors Afternoon of Service. I did not get a chance to make it to the honors orientation weekend in June because I was over seas. This afternoon of service was the perfect opportunity to not only make arts and crafts for different organizations but also to speak with other honors members who are older and more experienced with the Stockton community. It is a challenge as a new freshman to organize a busy schedule of homework, volunteering, classes, friends, and meal times. The other honors students made me feel comfortable when I said I am struggling with everything. Many of them are part of many other organizations and clubs on campus that their schedules are much more intimidating than mine. If these other kids can conquer everything on their plates, then so can I. It was the reassurance that I needed to hear after my first hard month at college.

The main purpose of the Afternoon of Service was the chance to help make teddy bears, children’s coloring books, dog toys, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the Animal Shelter, Ronald McDonald House, and the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. At Table 1 I made dog toys from old t-shirts by cutting the shirts into long strips then braiding three together. This inexpensive task of recycling worn out t-shirts gives underprivileged animals at the Animal Shelter a toy to either help new teeth grow in for young animals or give a sense of ownership to older animals. At Table 2 I made children’s coloring books by tying together pages with drawings of superheroes and dinosaurs. The books will be brought to children in the Ronald McDonald home and kids will get the opportunity to bring the pages to life with their own imaginations. At Table 2 I also colored in papers for the Color-A-Smile Organization that hands out these colored drawings to senior citizens, soldiers over seas, patients in the hospital, and someone in need of a smile. The Afternoon of Service introduced me to many projects that happen daily that take minimal amount of money or time but effects people in a big way.

Yesterday night, October 18, I attended a reflection session in the Campus Center Meeting Room 4. At first, I was dreading to go to the session. For one, I was sick and did not feel  well. Walking from my dorm all the way to the campus center would not be a good idea with a cold/cough. And two, I thought that it was going to be packed with people saying what kind of service they completed in the past few weeks, when I only completed little projects.

I was nervous when I showed up, because no one was there. I did arrive about ten minutes early, but I thought that at least someone would be in the room waiting. Soon, though, a few people showed up and I entered the room. Not many people attended, which was surprising. What was even more surprising was that everyone made me feel welcomed; I wasn’t just a little girl completing a small project, but a person that was doing good for her community.

During the reflection, we talked about the services we completed, how we could make them better, and what was the message we received from the service. I realized that the service isn’t supposed to make only myself happy, but the whole community. I shouldn’t be completing service for my own sake, so I do not feel guilty for not helping out the underprivileged, but for the sake of others. How the director of the reflection said it was that not everyone wants help, and we cannot just go out trying to help them if they don’t want it. It’s like going out and giving food to people you think need it, just so you can feel better. You might feel better, but the people that were given the food might not want it or they might feel disrespected and ashamed because they “looked” like they needed it. There are two sides to every story, so I left with the knowledge of not helping someone unless they ask for it. This doesn’t mean to not help the lady who is dropping all of her grocery bags and doesn’t have enough hands to carry them all. It means to not go and complete service just to make myself happy, but to make the people that need it happy.

A poem that was shared with us, The Starfish Story, really make me think about helping others and if they really want the help.

The Starfish Story

An old man was walking on the beach one morning after a storm.

In the distance, he could see someone moving like a dancer. As he came closer,

he saw that it was a young woman picking up starfish and gently throwing them into the ocean.

“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” “The sun is up, and the tide is going

out, and if I do not throw them in they will die,” she said. “But young lady, do you not realize

that there are many miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You cannot possibly

make a difference.” The young woman listened politely, then bent down, picked up

another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference for that one.”

I came out of the reflection with two points to this story. First, even though I am only one person, one person can make a difference. Anyone can make a change, if she works hard enough and tries her best. Second, don’t help someone out just to make myself happy and only help someone if they ask; this way I will not offend people who I think need help when they actually do not.

On September 17^th, 2014, I volunteered for the Red Cross Blood Drive at Stockton’s, “Big Blue” gymnasium. At this one-time event, from 2 to 3 pm, it was my job to greet, sign people in at the front desk, and confirm and book appointments. Everyone who worked at the Blood Drive was compassionate, friendly, and ready to assist donators. The gymnasium was set up with a dozen blood-drawing stations, a waiting area, and a snack bar. Throughout the hour there was a constant flow of students donating blood, and every station was full of people.

It was a wonderful experience helping those who were donating because I was exited to assist those who were assisting others. I felt a great sense of connectedness to those who were donating blood and working the drive because we were all there for the same reason, to help others. Since I was a young child, I have always been afraid of seeing blood and needles; so being able to help the cause without being pricked by a needle was a win-win situation. However, next year at the blood drive I plan to conquer my fear and donate blood to further extend my service those in need.

The saying, “time flies when you’re having fun” was completely true during my hour of volunteering. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent helping the Red Cross Blood Drive service program and only wished I signed up for more than one shift. The feeling I sensed while helping others without expecting to receive anything in return was a feeling I found to be like no other. After leaving the gymnasium, I felt uplifted, like I made the biggest difference in the world, even though what I did was miniscule in comparison to many other community service events. However, community service will always play a large role in my life in college and beyond.