Hello qwriting blog community!

I want to say what an honor it is to have been selected as one of a very few student bloggers here at Queens College. As my first posting I wanted to provide you with the actual sample writing which I sent in as my blogger application. Here follows what you need to know about me. Thanks for reading, and please respond in kind.

~J Prime

Fun facts about me: As a child I was deaf and didn’t have full use of my hearing until age twelve. I have played the saxophone since 1986 and can play all styles of music. I am from San Diego, California (born and raised)  and I am what most people consider a ‘non-traditional’ student at Queens College. You see, I graduated from high school by the skin of my teeth back in 1991. I took a job in manufacturing while attending classes at my local community college. I was not working toward a degree back then because my manufacturing career seemed to be stable and secure. This left me the freedom to choose courses of study that held interest for me. I enjoyed taking classes such as music, marketing, meteorology, and math. Guess I had a thing for the m’s.

Fast forward almost twenty years and our economy is dust, my manufacturing plant is no more, but somehow I find myself engaged to a wonderful woman named Jamie. She has earned several degrees from very prestigious universities, is both smart and beautiful, and I constantly find myself wondering what I did to have such a special person in my life. We relocated to New York City a couple of years ago so she could earn her master’s degree. Well, Jamie just finished up her studies at NYU and the opportunities open to her through higher learning have had a major influence on my own goals. I’ve decided that now it’s my turn to go back to school and finally earn a degree. Enter Queens College.

I am now starting my second semester at Queens College. Through this blog I would like to share with you what life at Queens College is like for a ‘non-traditional’ adult student working toward an undergraduate degree and, ultimately, a new career as a fine arts teacher. “Teaching what?” you might ask. Music. Music is a large part of who I am and always has been. I constantly hear music. I dream in music, walk to the rhythm of my thoughts, and honestly don’t think I could function in society without a song in my heart. This is my passion and this is what I want to do. I want to teach music. I look forward to reading your comments and responding to your questions too.

 So, until soon…

Justin “J-Prime” Tinker