Charles Blow and his mother’s lives were impacted by their gender. Throughout her life, people thought that Blow’s mother is weak because she is a woman. People thought that they could step over her just for being a woman. People didn’t respect her and thought that she could not succeed. Yet she proved to people that she doesn’t need a man in her life to function. That she could have her own job and support her family by herself. She was able to get a college degree and become a teacher, even though back then it was hard for a colored women to get a college degree.

Charles Blow gender also had an impact on his live. He had to act a certain way to fit in and not seem gay. He had to try and act tough and hide his sexuality. He joined the basketball team and became friends with cool kids so that he could forget about his sexuality. He feared that everyone will be disappointed if he came out. Because he was a man, people expected him to act in a certain way.

Gender didn’t have much of an impact on my life. I guess my parents thought because I was a boy I should be athletic and such. And that I should be nice to women and respect them. Gender has impacted me in the types of friends I made and of certain criteria I must follow or I will seem not a man.

I have participated in groups many times throughout high school. I have worked in groups such as projects for classes. What I like about working in groups is that you don’t have to do all the work on the assignment. The work is divided equally. Some challenging stuff when working in a group is that sometimes your partner has a different idea of doing something. Then you have to either compromise or give in. An ideal group will look like to me is a group of 3. With intelligent and open minded partners. My role would be a team players, helping people and assisting. I believe that I am the steering wheel of my group. Because I direct them to prosperity.

To me, high school, was very easy academically. Even though I took many AP classes, while in high school, I had plenty of time to spare. Studying wasn’t an issue. I’m good at memorizing stuff, so once I read something once, I could go in and take a test and get a straight A. I managed my time in high school by hanging with friends, playing video games, watching TV, studying, and doing homework.

College on the other hand, has some things common with high school. Like high school, I have a lot of free time on my hands. Once I’m done with a class i could go back to my dorm and do whatever I want. Hoover, college is also kind of different. The classes seem to be harder, and there is less homework (well except for Aleks). Also, my pattern has changed. I no longer play video games or watch TV. Instead, I upgraded, and started watching Netflix.

There have been some changes in my eating habits. I now mostly eat junk food. Mostly everything at Stony Brook makes your stomach hurt. Thankful, I go to the gym regularly, to stay healthy. My sleeping habits also somewhat changed. I sleep later because my classes start later than high school.

I don’t know that many resources that could help me balance my time, because honestly, I am perfectly capable of doing that. But if I do need help, I could ask the RA for resources. I don’t really know how I will be able to balance between studying and ‘having a life’. I will just go in and see how everything unfolds. I don’t know how I will intend to balance, I will let the wind blow and I will fallow.

If I were to write a memoir in four years, I want it to include my multiple successes as a student. I want the memoir to include all the scores I got in my classes. The memoir will include my almost perfect GPA and my DAT score. It will include how working hard pays off in the long run. And that even if a person is smart, he can also have a social life. That Stony Brook is a good way to make friends and find partners. That Stony Brook has many clubs and organizations and how I joined so many clubs, such as UNICEF. Academic success means to me that once who have motivation you could set any goal and achieve it as long as yo put your mind to it. We humans are all different, each with different interests. But it is the interests  that we make great and amazing is what truly academic success comes down to.