In my two years at Converse, I have learned a lot, experienced a lot, and fought many battles but most importantly, I have overcome a lot. During this time I have contemplated giving up far more times than I can count on my fingers and toes. This thought arose when I felt like I didn't fit in. When things got "too tough" for me. When I felt that I couldn't do it. Clearly, I "did it" because I have made it this far and am very happy to have experienced everything that I have.

My advice is to know how important it is for you not to stay in your room in fear of the people around you. You need to understand that all of the freshmen on campus are new, just like you. They each have their own fears and apprehensions, whether or not they show them. You are not alone and it is quite obvious! There are young women just like you every where you go! Go out and introduce yourself with hopes of building a strong friend group that will ultimately evolve into a family. You cannot survive college by yourself because you need to interact, make social connections and grow with the people around you. I would also suggest that you join clubs that interest you as a way to somewhat force you to interact. While doing all all of this extra curricular activity, you have to remember to manage your time very wisely. Don't overload yourself with the fear of not doing enough but be sure to involve yourself in things around campus. You can neither be in 15 places at once nor be a hermit. Balance is key. Finally, remember to have fun. Yes you will be stressed, that is inevitable but you have to allow yourself peace of mind every once in a while. I know you can do it. Good luck!

-NTP

Time. There never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish everything that our schedules entail. Sunday in the Park with George opens up with George and Dot in the park as Dot models and George paints her. George makes use of every millisecond that passes as he closely analyzes the scenery in front of him, dips his paintbrush in his paint and very carefully strokes it across the canvas. Dot, on the other hand, spends every opportunity she has complaining about the fact that modeling is pointless and boring and how she wishes George would pay more attention to her instead of focusing on his art. Seeing as though she is ignorant to the way of art and doesn't understand the time it takes for a masterpiece to be presentable to the artists' eyes, Dot continues to whine and complain about the entire process. This is one of the worst ways you can spend your time. Complaining does nothing but waste your energy on something you may not be able to change.
 I often times find myself in George's mindset where I am so focused on perfecting one part of my work that I forget that there are other people around me (or even other work) that may need my attention. I sometimes become short with people as they break my concentration and force me to place my focus into something other than my work, ideas and creations. While it is important to be and stay focused on a particular thing whether it is a recital, homework, or making music or art, it is also important to allow yourself not to become too wrapped up in that one thing, as you force yourself to disconnect from the world around you. And as George learned the hard way, his intense focus on perfection resulted in his losing the love of his life.
Something that I have found slightly tricky is knowing how much time to spend on material or homework that I'm not immediately understanding. I sometimes feel as though I give up too quickly and turn my focus to something else. And other times, I feel that I am spending too much time worrying about what I'm working on, which stifles my ability to be able to understand and complete the assignment. It has been slightly difficult to figure out how to manage my time when it comes to longer and/or more difficult assignments but I am taking it step by step as I am sure many of my classmates are as well.

Until next time,

-ntp.✌🏾

Why Converse College? A question that I received from many of my peers and even my teachers at my high school. The most simple answer is, it's closest to home. As I applied to schools throughout my senior year of high school, my goal was to get as far away from my home, Atlanta, as possible. I wanted to experience new things, see new parts of the country and just embark on the new journey of college being completely independent and away from anyone I knew. But as the college decision deadline of May 1st slowly crept up, I realized that my ideal picture of this new chapter of life wasn't the most ethical as finances and travel were a very important factor to my decision.
        Music has always been a vital part of my life seeing as though my mom had her own radio show when were lived in Connecticut starting when I was about 3 or 4 years old. Through her, I got to experience a world of music and technology that not very many people my age knew about. I came to fall in love with music and it's power and developed an ear and overall talent for it myself, and I know that through Converse, my talent will only be used for the better; to push me beyond my mental limits and to guide and encourage me to use my gift to my full potential.
        Design. Personally, I feel as though my way of thinking and executing my thoughts and ideas is a lot different than those around me. I often times find myself purposely doing things the complete opposite way that others do, just to see if I can achieve the same outcome. I find that as we were all designed differently and we each have unique ways of processing and producing our thoughts and creations, my creations are seen as "exceptionally different" or something that others wouldn't imagine. I like the fact that my music, poetry, lyrics and art make people think. I like that we were all designed differently but I love that many see me as far different than the rest.
        Balance is something that I have always struggled with. My dreams and my current capabilities don't ever coincide with each other and it always leaves me extremely frustrated. One moment I will have a dream of producing a plethora of albums and winning Grammys for my hard work and dedication but the next moment when I go to my computer, I'm not be able to put a simple beat together. It discourages me. Infuriates me. It makes me want to give up. But then I realize, there isn't really much else that I am good at. I need to work on balancing my emotions when I am faced with my reality. I need to work on turning my anger into a drive to work for what I and not allow it to take over my entire body. Balance between my dreams and my capabilities is what I need to work on the most.