Sweetland+Reading+Response+2

My Freshman Year:

While reading My Freshman Year by Rebekkah Nathan, I noticed a couple things she wrote about were similar to my experiences as a freshman. When she was talking about welcome week it reminded me of the welcome week I had here at Bloomsburg not too long ago. Even some events that went on were similar to my experience, taking surveys, watching power points, and dorm floors attempting to get everyone to know each other by playing games and clubs telling you to join them. I found it interesting to read about the responses some of the girls had when Rebekkah asked them how they felt about joining a sorority. I know many freshmen that have difficulty deciding if joining one is something they want to do or not, I myself have been wondering if it would be something worth joining. I also found it interesting to hear about what Rebekkah had to say about the dorm lounges and how surprised she was at the fact that people actually use it to study not to socialize. It was interesting to read about the study Rebekkah had done on whom students ate with. Observing if the people sitting together looked alike based on style or ethnicity, etc. was a good way to see if those characteristics had anything to do with why students were friends with certain people. Overall I enjoyed this chapter of My Freshman Year and the observations and surveys Rebekkah held. It was interesting to compare some of the responses she received with my own experiences as a freshman.

The Mind at Work:

I enjoyed this reading assignment much more than the previous On Ethnography assignment. It was interesting to read about this authors views on the world, and how people are judged based on their ethnicity and even their job. This ties into the third chapter of My Freshman Year because Rebekkah also discussed this problem. I agree that people are very judgmental. Some people may not do it on purpose, but we all do it. It’s wrong to do; being judged for whom you are is not something anybody wants to go through, it makes people self-conscious and afraid to be themselves. I also enjoyed how in the beginning of the book the author discussed the different types of occupations people have. It makes me realize that there are so many different job opportunities in the world with endless possibilities. That makes me hopeful that one day I will find a job that I am happy and successful with.