I think I'll just make myself comfortable!

Wow, so this is what's it's like to be involved with your education outside of taking classes. Interesting. Everything is so official. Cool. Well, before we get started, I'd like to formally introduce myself. My name is Araina but you can feel free to call me Rain, this is my first semester at a university and it's killing me, and don't start me to talking because sometimes I can't shut up! What I can say is that I like UB so far. The staff is really helpful and aside from me struggling to make sense of Accounting, preparing and going to school here has been a pretty smooth process. I'm a no-nonsense kind of person, so I can really appreciate that. Get in, get out, don't waste my time, and please make it worthwhile. That's all I ask. On to more pressing things.

Is it just me or is going to school while holding down a full-time job and still trying to have a social life extremely hard? My social life doesn't even consist of much partyin' or hangin' out, but I swear it seems like I think about school every waking minute! I'm almost obsessed with it. I need to find a middle ground and quickly! I don't know how I'd juggle it if I had kids or a spouse. Somebody'd get lost in the sauce and it would most likely be my other half. Poor man. Any who, everything happens in its own time & season, right? I'm pretty sure this is the absolute best time in my life to finish school and I want to take full advantage of my "education experience" this time around. I hope you guys can too.

Until next time,

Rain

College Life

Hi Everyone! I hope the first few weeks of class have been awesome. I wanted to spread some of what I like to call my "words of wisdom" to help you get through the semester. As we all know life outside of school can be hard at times. That is trying to manage our school assignments, work, and keep up with our friends. If you think about it when the time comes for you to walk across that stage at UB, you will be very proud of what you have accomplished. This is what helps me get through each semester. At the same time I learn something new in every class. Each semester I become smarter, wiser, and more responsible. College has helped me grow into the person I am today. My education is what has defined me in a sense. Remember that we are all here because we choose to be and that one day your life will be what you aspire it to be because you chose to educate yourself at the University of Baltimore.I would like to end with a quote that I found. This is perfect for when you feel like things are starting to become too much as a student.

"The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through these barriers will unleash a surging wave of change."

Good Luck everyone~

12 weeks...

Yes, I am counting down the weeks LOL. After this week, there are about twelve weeks left in the semester... which, to me, means a lot because I am on course to graduate in the spring... YAY!!! I find that it is not as easy to get back into the swing of completing assignments and doing readings without too much procrastination than I thought... it is always so much easier to just wait until the last minute, than to just do it early and get it over with and out of the way. Where is the motivation? Where is the drive? My guess is that is was left on the stage at my undergrad ceremony... but it must come back at some point.

Temp nights

Classes, began yesterday, and this semester I am taking two course that go from 8:15pm to 10:45pm.. and let me tell you... I was not prepared for the end of August to be so cold! It's crazy! I had to were a jacket just to walk to the building... now, normally I just wear one in class when the weather is still nice out, but with the way it has been so chilly outside... I had to do them for both... It already feels like fall and summer isnt even over yet... and now I think I have a slight cold because of the change in temperature. Ugh! As if coming back to school wasnt an adjustment as it is (again lol), but now I have to adjust with a cold :( no fun at all... I hope everyone else is weathering the weather better... so welcome back everyone! and bundle up!

Welcome...

In four days I am getting married to my boyfriend of seven years. This year has been a good year and not only is school starting back up but I will almost be done my studies. Its amazing how much life at my age can turn around so quickly. The awesome thing is that at any age college is an option for you. In today's society it is never too late to be what you want to be or pursue the things you always dreamed about when you were a child or even as an adult. Even though my books this semester cost me almost 500.00 dollars my goals are to take each day as if it were my last. So even though I think the 500.00 is ridiculous I am willing to keep my head up. Good luck in your first week of classes here at University of Baltimore and if this happens to be your first semester I promise you this will be a experience you will never forget. UB is the place to be! Good luck in all of your studies and please stay tuned for my Tuesday blogs.

Books... books... books...

I am sitting here at work trying to figure out the most cost efficient way of getting the books I need for class. It would be no problem for me to buy them all, if
A. they were going to be used again
B. they did not cost an arm, buttcheek, and all my life's savings
C. they would actually be used in class... meaning, more than just the first 6 classes, and
D. students would receive more then 5 pennies and a pat on the back when they sell them back to the store...

Textbooks cost entirely TOO much, and selling them back to the store just for them to resell them to students (or not accept them at all because a new addition with a new cover and a few extra 'the's have been added) is not something that has ever sat well with me. Therefore, I look to the libraries first, and then to online sources (such as amazon.com) before I venture into the school store to be bamboozeled by the prices... oh why can't life be as simple as it was when we were in elementary school and books were already in the classroom and tasted like playdough LOL... well maybe not that, but they didn't require a blood signature to get (and they would be used next year!)... I guess I'm just venting about how ridiculous it is that in such an economy the prices are high for books in general, and then so called updated books whose information hasn't really changed... maybe that's why I stopped reading like I used to when I was youger... the joy seems to have faded away... hopefully it will come back once I've graduated...

Important Services

The University of Baltimore provides more than semester long classes. Many of the courses at UB, and our jobs, require more knowledge of office automation tools such as Excel or PowerPoint. UB can teach that, too.

The University of Baltimore provides many one-day classes on computer programs used in many classes and office position that are available at little or no cost. For a list of upcoming one-day courses, check out the right-hand column on the University of Baltimore's main page.