Hello everyone. I'm Chae, an aspiring future defense tech engineer with a sweet-treats-therapy dependency.
When I started attending a class at CSN, I chose to do it online and remotely first. I was anxious, afraid, and overthinking things. I thought that people would talk in an accent I would not understand without subtitles, and use fancy words I would not comprehend without looking up "What is this fancy word's synonym?" on Google. Now, I am here taking multiple in-person classes, IS 101 being one of them, and never once did I regret going out to learn. Every mispronunciation, forgotten thing, silly mistake, and stupid idea I formed or made over the course of 3 years studying at CSN has helped me grow and learn.
I realized that I should never immediately say no to something before I even get to try it, you never actually lose something. If anything, you gained something, and that is the knowledge about oneself. You get to know whether or not you like or dislike certain things; you get to know yourself better in general.
For my discussion answer, I chose 3.4.1 — Navigating through a Word document. My experience with using this skill went pretty well. I started using it when I was in my middle school's journalism club almost a decade ago. I think its user interface is very intuitive, no matter how much they update it. Almost everything has a name label to show what purpose it serves, and if not, its symbol shows exactly what it is or what it would do. The only ones that were quite tough to figure out for me were the References and Mailing, although it only takes a few clicks and looking around for you to finally understand what each button does. Finding out each button's purpose by testing them out individually first worked well for me.
One thing I’ve learned from such a trivial habit (which is testing things out that I'm unfamiliar with) is that most things become less intimidating once you actually first try them out all by yourself, instead of instantly asking for help or an answer. Try the different methods you've come up with first. This way, you learn all sorts of methods and their effectiveness, efficiency, and which method is best for whichever situation. This also helps with your problem-solving skills, as it tests out your ability to find solutions to different problems outside of just a Word document or an application.
Start with your own approach and see where it leads. You'll be surprised how such a small habit can make a big difference in your life.
Very well said about small habits make big differences! I especially love your courage to try out new things such as buttons in Microsoft Word and different methods instead of instantly asking for help help or an answer ^_^
ReplyDeleteIt's okay to feel anxious, feeling afraid, and overthink things. It's what you do/did to mitigate them, Chae.
The buttons and concepts in the [References] and [Mailing] tabs in Microsoft Word will yield dividend: [References] in English classes when you write papers and [Mailing] in IS101's second capstone assignment later in the semester.
You will succeed in IS101-3005, Spring 2026 and anywhere else your bravely explore :-)
Thank you for your kind words! :)
DeleteHi Chae, I am actually your seatmate, and I am pretty sure my accent is worse than yours. You heard my PowerPoint presentation, right, my vowels, especially my I’s and E’s, are very noticeable. I took the international student English class back in 2017, I think it was English 113, and even after that my accent did not magically improve. I understand what you mean about being anxious about how you sound. For me, the issue is not understanding their English, it is whether they understand mine. I have a lot of thoughts in my head, but translating them into English in a way that lands properly is hard. Sometimes I feel like what I am trying to say does not come across the way I intended. It is a different kind of challenge, but we are still here showing up to class.
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DeleteHello Kevin! I just wanted to say that I don't think that there is a 'bad accent' at all. It was just a little worry of mine because, I was afraid I would not understand people's accents (Southern, Valley girl, New Yorker, etc.) and they won't understand mine. I genuinely think the way you talk is easy to understand and comprehend. You are showcasing our origins! I believe accents are fascinating things, you can talk and people can immediately recognize which country you were from or what your native language is. So please, never be ashamed of your accent, it's from our roots and something to be proud of! <3
DeleteHi Chae, I liked your post. I think it’s cool how you talked about trying new things even when they feel intimidating at first. I also agree that the best way to learn tools like Word is just by experimenting and clicking around to see what everything does. Your idea that small habits can make a big difference is really true, especially when learning new skills.
ReplyDeleteHi Chae! I really feel you when anxiety gets in the way. My first classes I also decided to take them online because I was afraid that if someone talked to me, I might freeze and not understand, and I was also worried that people might not understand me either. But after thinking about it for a while, I decided to start coming to classes in person, and it really made a big difference for me because I realized that in-person learning works better for me. In the end, everything went well and it even helped me practice my English more. I also like your mindset about trying things before saying no to them. Sometimes we discover a lot about ourselves just by giving something a chance. I like how you explored each button yourself (I did that too), that hands-on approach really helps you understand Word’s features better.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that we're on the same boat! I love that we both pushed through despite our doubts and anxieties, left our comfort zones, and now we are a much better version of ourselves. :) Hope to see us gain more knowledge, growth, and have fun experiences throughout the course of this class.
DeleteHi Chae! I also tend to be a very anxious person, getting that first step out of your comfort zone is a big deal, and can lead to improvement in the future. Most of my anxiety comes from publicly speaking, and I try to speak out but sometimes I don't end up making the point I wanted to make out loud, while my reasoning sounded better inside my head. I agree that trying to figure things out yourself can improve your problem solving skills. You have a great mindset, it's really inspiring!
ReplyDeleteIt's okay to mess up sometimes and be unable to explain things clearly. Trying to at least do so is already the first step to improving your ability to communicate and explain better! Don't let some memories of 'when you didn't say the things the way you wanted to' get to you. The fact that you think you used to think about those moments—and maybe even visualize what was something better that you could've said, already tells me that you have improved more than the version of you at that time. That's very admirable :)
DeleteHey Chae, I liked your point about trying things yourself first when learning new tools. That approach works really well with applications like Microsoft Word, since exploring features like navigation tools and menus helps you understand how the system is structured. In information systems, that kind of trial-and-error learning can also improve problem-solving and troubleshooting skills when working with different software.
ReplyDeleteHi Chae. The lesson that you have learned in which you should try something before refusing on it is an inspiring action for anyone reading this blog. That is an incredible habit for someone going to school to become a tech defense engineer. Good luck on your academic journey.
ReplyDeleteImprovise. Adapt. Overcome.
ReplyDeleteWords I do live by and I am inspired how you tackle things, learning from the mistakes and knowing how to deal with them. Creating small habits can snowball into bigger ones that could be a life changer!
Defense tech engineer? I didn't even heard about that until I saw your blog, very interesting! I am only out here thinking about network engineering! Maybe we can talk about your major focus on sometime as I am always curious about people's choice in careers, especially in college. You might have tips for me when tackling harder classes than IS-101.
That said, I also saw your comment to Kevin about your roots? What are they if you don't mind me asking as I also have roots but it's in the Philippines! That's why I relate to you on having a culture shock that people would start talking without subtitles and surprisingly I understood them. More power to your journey!
Hello, I also do have Filipino roots :) I am Filipino-Chinese. It's nice to meet some of my kababayans here. Hope you're doing well!
DeleteHi Chae! I understand your worry about accents—I sometimes have trouble understanding what people say or not knowing a word they use. But I think practice really makes perfect. The more I step out of my comfort zone, even if I make mistakes, the more I learn from them.
ReplyDeleteChae, I understand how you may feel because English is not my native language. I sometimes struggle to understand certain words, and sometimes others don’t understand what I say. When this happened, I would lower my voice, which made me feel nervous when speaking in English. Don’t let this affect you because there will be times you have to make yourself understood, and there is nothing wrong with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Chae, I'm glad to see you have broken out of your shell to go into in-person classes and on top of that enjoying the experience. That is a challenge in itself and shows you approach said challenges in order to grow and succeed best of luck becoming a tech engineer!
ReplyDeleteHi Chae, I remember I tried in 2 different semesters at least 1 class online and I got an F, but I bounced back. I hope you go your own pace and take time to understand if more time is needed so you get the bigger picture. Before college I never used Microsoft products only Google, but since starting I've started to lean towards Microsoft Word and it's really helpful once you get down all the things hidden or hard to understand, I'm glad I made that switch. You and me like challenges which is really cool, I test myself, just recently I modded an old gaming device, I replaced the battery and actually had everything I needed to do this project, This isn't illegal lol but I have games I didn't pay for because of my device being able to download games from different consoles like PSP's and PSVita's and PS1 games. In the end I got a really cool thing out of it all by testing myself, I hope what ever comes at you is a breeze!
ReplyDeleteHello Chae, I've recently started a similar mindset of trying new things when given the opportunity to before rejecting it outright, it's honestly helped with my social anxiety even though I still have a long journey ahead. Good luck to your college journey, sounds like you're doing great!
ReplyDeleteHi Chae, taking multiple in-person classes is a great way to learn a lot from other people and to achieve the confidence of trying something new. I agree that you never actually lose something by trying something new because you do gain something and learn something everyday, especially in this class. Best of luck in your journey at defense tech engineering and enjoy the sweet-treats-therapy!
ReplyDeleteHello Chae, that is a very good point I believe that many people shut down something different or unknown out of fear. If you fail to try, then you will never know what will happen. It is okay to fall down and to make mistakes that is the only way you truly learn. One thing I learned is that it's okay to click around a website or new software to learn but there are also so many free education websites and YouTube channels. If you are struggling in a class it is okay to seek a different source to learn faster, we all learn differently.
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