Hello, My name is Terrance Mugwanya. I am 18 years old, born in Stockholm, Sweden. I moved to the United States back in 2006 when i was 8 years old and have been living here ever since. I used to be able to understand and speak fluent Swedish, unfortunately after a while of living her in the U.S I started speaking Swedish less and less and over time it became foreign to me. One interesting fact about me is that I like to play basketball and was on a high school team before. Kobe Bryant was my inspiration to play basketball. At first I knew about the sport but I wasn't all that interested in playing. However one day I was watching a basketball game when I was bored. The Los Angeles Lakers were playing against the Boston Celtics. I remember watching Kobe Bryant play wondering how is he so good and talented at this sport. The Lakers ended up winning the game all thanks to Kobe's wonderful performance. I watched the crowd chant his name and praise him and in my head I believed that I could be as good as he is and get praise like he did. Ever-since then I got an interest in basketball but I would only play for fun. When  I went to high school I decided to play for the school and I tried out on my junior year and made the team. It was a great experience playing on a team and hard work even though we unfortunately were eliminated in the CIF playoffs. Regardless I realized basketball was more than just the game but about the bond you have with your teams because of all the hard work you guys put in. Living here I have met a lot of people, made new friends, and had many experiences good and bad at school. Even though there was a lot of drama with friends, fights, suspension,etc I learned a lot in school and I also learned about myself academically. Due to all the experiences I figured out my priorities which include graduating at a university majoring in psychology. All this is possible if I use what I have learned in all my previous classes, specifically "Ten skills you really need to succeed in college" by Langan and use them to my advantage.

One important skill I learned from Langan's book is how to learn to take effective and organized notes. I learned to use a few important key words rather than copying everything word to word that contain long explanations. To have effective notes you have to use margins to highlight important points. Personally, I would always copy notes word for word whenever we were taking notes for class. Whenever I would come back home to revise them I would just read over them but not truly understand what my notes meant. It was hard to understand because it was not something I wrote personally so I did not understand my notes to my full extent. After reading this book, I learned to shorten your notes and try to put them in your own words in order to understand your notes. Your notes are very important because it is what you will use to study for an important test so it is important to write effective notes that will help you personally. After accomplishing this your chances of succeeding in college will dramatically increase.

Another important skill I learned from Langan's book is learning how to establish good listening skills and learn to ask meaningful questions. I learned the difference from hearing and listening. Everybody is capable of coming to class, sitting in their chairs, but are they effectively listening to what the teacher is saying or are they just hearing their voice. I also learned asking meaningful questions is key to listening and paying attention in class effectively. When your questions get answered your understanding of what is being said in class will increase which will help you succeed. I personally struggle with this skill. I come to class unmotivated because I don't enjoying sitting and hearing the teacher talk when in reality our teacher is only trying to help us and educate us. After reading this book I will attempt to listen effectively and ask meaningful questions because what is being said in class will definitely benefit you in your near future.


I always enjoyed drawing ever since I was a young kid. I would draw just for fun and overtime I got better at it. This is a drawing of a basketball player named Anthony Davis who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans. I basically had a picture of him next to the paper I was using to try and draw him.