My Many SBU Majors

Prior to my acceptance into Stony Brook University I had already made the decision that my major would be health science. The individuals who I consider to be important in my life supported me in my decision, but in retrospect I realize that I was being swayed in opposed to be aided. As I began the course requirements en route to completion of the health science major I realized that the courses failed to stimulate my mind in a manner that courses leading to my eventual career should have. As a result I finished my 1^st semester slightly disappointed and confused as I entered into winter break. When I returned from my winter recess I’d failed to shake the feeling of being dejected about my career path. My disappointment was temporarily curbed one day while I was at the campus barber shop. Upon the completion of my haircut the barber noticed a shirt I had on and expressed the liking he took to it. He asked where I purchased the shirt and when I responded that I’d designed it, he was impressed and immediately offered me the opportunity to design t-shirts inspired by the barber shop that would then be distributed throughout the school.

It was in that moment that I experienced an essential epiphany informing me that creating designs and ideas that would be offered to the masses was a true passion of mine. Like any individual specializing in creating innovative ideas I realized that if I was going to pursue it professionally I had to begin creating visual renderings of my ideas. I decided that I could do that by simply drawing out my creations and then taking it a step further by having those designs shared and sold globally through the internet. With my ideas in tact I concluded that the three majors that could best assist me in accomplishing my goal were computer science, business management, and journalism.

Unfortunately or fortunately in some aspects my SBU major has changed 6 times but Ive concluded that Business Management with a minor in digital arts is my current course of action and it is the one I will graduate with. The path to that decision was an interesting one enabled to learn about myself in in depth manner that was unknown to prior to entering college, and while I am not a fan of the construct of college at all it has helped in that aspect

Oscars

I absolutely love awards season – Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars, Screen Actors Guild awards - you name it, I’ll watch it. The Oscars this past Sunday, however, wasn’t my favorite.

I thought Anne Hathaway did a decent job at co-hosting with James Franco. She genuinely seemed happy to be there, a once in a lifetime opportunity in front of all of her peers. James Franco, on the other hand, was terrible. He was completely unprofessional rolling his eyes every time he was on screen and seemed extremely bored and uninterested in what was going on.

I get that the Oscars were trying to be the “young and hip” awards show this time around and appeal to the younger demographic, but it just didn’t work out. They had a segment where they auto-tuned scenes from popular movies, such as Toy Story 3, Harry Potter, and The Social Network, and turned it into a song. It was funny, but was it necessary for the Oscars, something that has a reputation for being mostly serious with humor thrown in by the hosts (often comedians)? In my opinion, that segment would have been perfect for the MTV Movie Awards or the Emmys (only done with television shows), not the Oscars.

Senior year

As this is the last semester before shipping off to the real world, I can’t seem to get a break. You would think that as you’re in the final months before graduation you’ll have late classes that are easy A’s and you have all the time in the world to catch up on much needed sleep and relaxation or just party it out. WRONG! It is actually busier than I thought as I’m involved in three different activities – academics, recreation, and work, which they have their own, set of responsibilities that I have to accommodate my schedule with.

I picked up language again – Japanese, which I haven’t taken for a year and forgot how much time it took to study and do the homeworks because every class quizzes are given and they aren’t easy. If you decide to study one hour before class you will be screwed. This is almost as time consuming when I had many digital art courses that required me to live in the computer lab for weeks just to get my idea down to perfection. It was funny that whenever my friends would ask if I’m free to hang out and I would say that I’m busy, they already know that I’m heading over to the computer lab to work. Plus I’m a research assistant for marketing and the research studies that I assist in are a bit time consuming. Besides my studies, I still help out with the archery club despite stepping down as Treasurer, I continue to go to the meetings and practice at night and not coming back to my room till 10:30pm. There goes a big chunk of time. Finally, my internship changes my focus from school to work, where I do a bit of networking, promotional activities, and organizing events. I sometimes have to bring back my work to my room because I would have trouble thinking an idea and resort to working it on it after work.

With this all said, it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. True, all of them suck the energy and time from my life but I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble if I know it will make a difference in how I stand out among other students. Most of these I enjoy because they aren’t repetitive and make me apply other skills I might not use that often. In the end, I don’t regret being this much involved during the last years of being an undergraduate as I would probably use these experiences to tell stories to new friends and co-workers later on in life.

Semiology

Semiology is the study of signs. It is derived from the greek word semion meaning sign and logos meaning structure, so it actually means the structure of the sign. The signifier plus the signified equals the sign. Semiology was founded by Ferdinand de Sassure. He is the man who came up with the concept of the signifier and the signified.
According to Sassure, the word is the signifier and the concept is the signified. The two have an arbitrary relationship. You need the signified in order to understand the signifier, and vice versa. For example, if I were to say the word tree, depending on where you may come from, the tree that you are thinking of could be an evergreen whereas I could be thinking of an oak tree. The word oak would make it more specific but the concept is still the same. You understand the concept of tree when given the word. Semiology gets you to think about signs and words in relation to one another. The sign is unique because it encompasses the signifier and the signified.
Today you can't go too long without being bombarded by advertisements of some kind. Often times we take for granted the meaning of things that are being presented to us. Through uses of rhetorical devices, there are many ways in which we can convey more than one meaning with a few simple words. Sarcasm is one of those devices we might use and it is understood that whoever is saying the words doesn't actually mean what they say but when can we afford to just take anything at face value?
Deception is apart of our everyday experience. If we were to take people's word for it all the time we would be buying from every salesman that approached our doors. We must learn to find the true meaning of the sign and discern what to take to from it and what to leave behind.

My Self Plan

Everyone has a life plan that they look to follow but life's processes always tend to add their own say in that plan. I figured I'd show some humility and share my own life plan (if that even exist). My Name is Markeem Reid, I am a senior at Stony Brook University and I am majoring in business management with a concentration in marketing as well as minor in digital arts. I chose Stony Brook University for a plethora of reasons. One of those reasons being that my older sister attended the school so I was given the opportunity to visit the school and develop a feel for it before actually applying. Another reason was that I initially looked to major in health science and pursue a career in radiology. Stony Brook is a top school in the country for medical research and studies so that aided in my decision as well. Eventually I realized I had no interest in the medical field and decided to change my major to an area where I could make use of my creative prowess. I’ll be graduating for Stony Brook in May, 2011 and my goal shortly after is to look for a job while also pursuing the launch of my clothing designs. I plan to fulfill my goals by researching a variety of jobs in my desired field and also producing many of my clothing designs so that I can shop them around to clothing stores.

When analyzing myself in terms of Strengths Weaknesses I believe a career in creative atmosphere is best for me. Some strengths of mine would be my ability to understand and observe people. Another strength is my ability to listen, this will be paramount because you must be able to listen and understand a clients vision when they are looking for you to turn that vision into a visual piece of work. My two biggest strengths are my creativity and my determination to learn quickly and complete a task. Some weaknesses of mine are my high levels of anxiety, not being a morning person, a somewhat bad temperament, and a bad social ideology that makes me only converse with people I feel are worth being conversed with.

One year after graduating from SBU I’d like to have an entry level job and a living space of my own preferably with the women I will eventually marry. Five years after graduating I’d like to have a larger living space and higher paying job, as well as a family, hopefully with the woman I was with when I had my entry level position. Ten years after graduation I would like to have a top position in the work place and also be pursuing my own entrepreneurial endeavors involving my clothing designs. I would also want to still be married with a family that is happy and content. I'd also like for my children to experience those things I never got a chance to or simply couldn't do but also keep them rooted in an upbringing very similar to my own because I feel that played a role in the person I am today, and I feel that is a rather exceptional person if I might so say myself.