Curtain Call!

Wow! My freshman year just finished its’ final act! It has been a great year with some loop-de-loops, It would not be possible without 4 great mentors! First one is Dr. Jane Norman who welcomed me to the crazy world affectionally known as Gallaudet, the second one is JMAC, a great third year guy who I have known since forever, helped me navigate the crazy game of Life. The third one is of course my academic advisor, Willy Conley, who encouraged me to think big and try new things! The fourth one has been a huge impact on me, without him, I would never have realized my true passion and I constantly learn a lot from him, as a drector and professor, Ethan Sinnott, one of my favorite quote of his, “Why not?! Go for it!” He pushes me to do my best! Cannot wait to continue my journey with him!

A Colorful Life!

Since I first fully came out in 2008, I am now in college, at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. I have nearly embraced my Gay identity, this is partly due to a wonderful organization at Gallaudet University, Rainbow Society, Through RS I was able to interact with other Deaf Gays, and I am just now arriving from a weekend long conference, called Colorfest, Gallaudet University sponsored my trip to Rochester, New York to attend the conference at National Technical Institute for the Deaf, (NTID). I will be devoting the next blog to Colorfest 2010. More details upcoming.

Classes! Classes! Oh my!

What college experience would be complete without classes?!  I am currently busy taking 5 courses plus an practicum.
On Mondays and Wednesdays
I am taking only one course
GSR 150: Introduction to Integrated Learning: D.C. as Text

On Tuesdays and Thursdays,
Those two days are ones of my favorite days,
I am taking four courses
THE 351: Contemporary Drama
THE 110: Introduction to Theatre
THE 101: Visual-Gestural Communication (FUN CLASS)
THE 495: Special Topics: Deaf Theatre: Why is it adored and abhorred?

I am taking Theatre Practicum, every night from Monday to Thursday (4 hours) (FUN!)

To all those who aspire to be involved in the Theatre Arts: it takes a lot of work but FUN! Time management a big MUST!

LIghts! Sets! Scripts! Oh my!

From the title, can you figure out what major I applied for and declared?! If you guessed Theatre Arts… You are right! I am so pleased with the choice I made. You may recall from my earlier blog that I was aspiring to double major in Deaf Education and ASL/Deaf Studies. My dream of becoming a teacher still has not died! I am putting the Deaf Education on hold and still intend to be majoring in ASL and minoring in Linguistics!
Why Theatre Arts? I chose Theatre Arts because I was fascinated with the stage and film world since I was a wee kid. I felt that if I had to teach kids, I would like to at least unleash some creativity! I always loved theatre because in that world, for even the most brief amount of time, you CAN be anything you want to be with little or no barriers, all it takes is, Lights! Stage! Imagination! I realized that We, as Americans, forgot how to make our innermost dreams become realities, it may be simply because we are afraid of our dreams and hope being crushed to pieces. I am not afraid to chase down my dreams. If someone crushes my dream, all I have to do is redream it again and chase it down. You should never give up on your dreams or passions. Here at Gallaudet, like Walt Disney World, Your Dreams come true with some hard work!

First Semester at Gallaudet

Wow! It has been quite a while since I updated my blog! A lot has happened since my last blog post. I learned there are a lot of benefits for being a Gallaudet student! First, the Homecoming was Mindblowing! I cannot really describe what it was like at Gallaudet during Homecoming! You guys have to come and SEE for yourself! I also got to meet several well known figures such as Bernard Bragg, a internationally renowned Deaf mime, and Marlee Matlin, yes you are reading this right. (See my pic). I met her while I was covering the FCC field hearing. A month later, I went to a Gala honoring our great president, Dr. Robert Davila. It was an amazing time! I then was forced to dive in the hectic schedule of the Finals! I managed to snag an interview to apply for an major. The result will be the subject of the very next blog.

First month at Gallaudet

Wow! Time sure does fly so fast! Tomorrow will mark one month since I came here to Gallaudet! I have seen and did a lot of things! From the announcements of the final four for the tenth president of Gallaudet University to a “mini fire” at the I. King Jordan Student Academic Center! One thing that I picked up within the first week here at Gallaudet, is that there is no DULL day at Gallaudet and that Tennis Shoes is a MUST! No rest for weary foot! I found myself in five organizations! I am particularly proud of the Buff and Blue, because the Buff and Blue opened up many doors for me! I am an alternate senator for the Buff and Blue. I attended the Student Congress, (Student Congress is pretty much the same as the actual U.S. Congress only except we don’t have Joe Wilson). I will be attending the Kappa Sigma Rush this thursday and I am determined to join the Kappa Sigma this Spring. I also will be attending the National Book Festival. (Watch for live blog feed directly form my phone while the National Book Festival.) i hope to get my camera by then so I can post pictures of the Festival!

Will write about the courses in the next blog!

Gallaudet: A Global Experience

You there, come on and travel the world with me! What’s that? NO passport? NO PROBLEM! Come to Gallaudet University! Why Gallaudet? Gallaudet, as the World only Liberal Arts University for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, boasts the highest diversity of Deaf and Hard of Hearing from not only America but international students. In fact, out of 300 Undergraduate freshmen who just enrolled at Gallaudet this past summer, 16 are international students. Small? but when you add the 16  students to numerous of faculty, staff, and upperclassmen form International countries, you will feel like the world is within your fingertips! Gallaudet offers a program  called Multicultural Student Program, (MSP), MSP hosts a multitude of workshops, presentations focusing on the diverse backgrounds of the Gallaudet Community! Come on to Gallaudet and make yourself a part of the world!

Top ten Lessons to be learned

It’s 5:06 am as I write this blog, have just finished a large amount of homework! I am going to write about what I have learned thus far at Gallaudet and I am going to pay homage ot my all time favorite late night buddy, David Letterman by presenting the Top Ten Lessons a Freshmen should learn within the first month!

Here they are!

10. Do not Underestimate the homework you are assigned

9. Dont count on having five or more consecutive hours of sleep

8. Foods are not exactly homemade (Want homemade foods? Go to Boli’s!)

7.  Do not ever rely on your alarm clock, have at least three backups in place should old faithful fails you.

6.  Life as a college student is not a piece of cherry pie

5.  Quesiton everything especially what the older students supposedly tell you (Especially the Coffin Door Legend)

4. Free time=Snooze time  (After each homework is completely done!)

3.  24 hours study marathons, a no-no (Unless you want to end up looking like Frankenstein)

2.  Toss that book of excuses that you used in high school to sneak your way out of homework, its useless here..

1. Expect the unexpected

One month into the Gallaudet experience, and I still love it! I will talk about the Buff and Blue, student newspaper soon but I want to talk about the Diversity here at Gallaudet!

Time is of Essence!

As a College Student, I have to face the WORST thing ever invented in the history of  the human race: Homework, YES, HOMEWORK (ok,ok.. It’s not the WORST thing ever invented in the history of  the human race) but I have to face it like a picky five years old child faces the ever loathed Spinach or Brussel Spouts. It is not so bad if you know how to MANAGE your TIME! Time Management is a critical skill that a College Freshman needs to have! (I can see a chorus of I-TOLD-YOU-SO!) As a high school student, my time management skills were extremely poor, so the first three weeks of College was a RUDE awakening, heed this advice from a  former procasinator: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO THAT ASSIGNMENT THAT WAS ASSIGNED 4 DAYS PRIOR! More tips coming up soon!

A glimpse of College Life

Is that you peering through one of the grand windows of Chapel Hall? Yes? Want a glimpse of what it’s like to be a Gallaudet Freshman? yes? Great! You have come to the right place! As a current freshman at Gallaudet, I discovered and took advantage of countless of opportunities here! To me, the best part of Gallaudet is not really the excellent academic standards but rather the wide array of student organizations! I am already involved in several organizations with a specialized focus on Media and Communications, the organization that I most enjoy working for is the Buff and Blue, the student newspaper! The Buff and Blue will be the subject of the next blog soon to follow!  I am a writer for the Buff and Blue, I work with two awesome editors, Mark Ramirez and Alexander Abenchuchan, if you visit and bump in them, be sure to tell them hello! Through the Buff and Blue, I became involved in yet another organization, Student Body Government (SBG). The SBG pretty much functions like our government. More Details will follow the Buff and Blue post.  I will occasionally post a blog spotlighting a specific organization!