I’ve listened to every motivational song, perused every “life changing� quote I could find by Eleanor Roosevelt, and read every advice column possible, but I still cannot overcome the apprehension of starting a new chapter in my life. As I sit at home, my friends explore new adventures at their collegiate levels, and I am stuck in my familiar room to ponder all of these endeavors that are so close within my grasp. I can just imagine it all: the sights of ivy branches growing over university halls, the feeling of that cool autumn wind blowing on my face, and hearing the birds chirping among the giant oak trees (or in my case, Buckeye trees).

I cannot express how much the waiting process for Ohio State has impacted my thoughts and emotions. But like a good wine or a cheese, the aging process makes all the difference. I wake up in the morning, stare at the calendar, and check off the days that stand in my way until my September 18th flight to Columbus, Ohio. Then, I imagine waking up in a completely unfamiliar place, 800 miles away from my home, and staring out my window at a large lump of snow that will soon transform into a snowman.

So now as I sit here in my room contemplating my personal future, I would like to wish anyone who has already made that trip to their college of choice, unpacked your bags, and smelled the sweet, inviting aroma of college. Take it all in my friends, because these are supposed to be the best four years of our lives, and I wouldn’t want any of these adventures to go to waste. Go for a walk through campus, smell the roses, and embrace the history and rich traditions in your path. Hey, who knows? Maybe you might even pave the way for new ideas in the future that will have students talking about for generations to come.

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ohio State campus is an interesting place. Students from all walks of life gather on this campus to do a variety of things: learn, explore, and expand their minds.

So when I arrived on campus June 26th for OSU orientation, I had all of these ideas in mind along with a nice side of anxiety and excitement. It's funny because right when we pulled in, the orientation leaders told us to park next to Ohio Stadium aka the Horseshoe. Once I stepped out of my car and headed for Morrill Tower, I completely forgot all my aspirations of learning and achieving in life and focused only on this beautiful football facility. A die-hard buckeye fan like myself, transformed from student to fan in a matter of seconds. I just wanted to go into the stadium and waste the day staring at the field. Unfortunately reality set in as I realized my main objective was to schedule classes.

Walking into Morrill Tower (where we were assigned sleeping arrangements, etc.) was overwhelming. There were people everywhere, from all walks of life, but with one amazing similarity: we were Buckeyes! I don't know what it is, maybe it was the feeling of meeting new people, observing the different pictures of Ohio State in the past, but I just had this overwhelming feeling that I was in the right place. You know like when you buy a pair of shoes, and right when you put them on, you feel like you are completed?

Yes, orientation check-in was similar to buying a pair of shoes. Ha-ha, I guess that makes sense?

Anyways, after we checked in and I laid my stuff into my room, we headed to Drake Hall to meet other students. Here we were separated into groups and were sent away with our leader. (These groups were similar to camps- because you had a leader aka counselor and went to different places around campus aka camp.

Ok I'm getting off topic. We went around camp, I mean campus, and took placement tests, met administrators, the whole shebang. Then we went to the Oval (large quad area on campus) and met everyone. Then our awesome orientation leader, Meg, played games with us and talked to us about Buckeye tradition and pride over an amazing box of pizza. After lunch, we went to actually do something scholastic--- schedule classes! ahh

But actually, it ran pretty smooth, almost like butter (yes another analogy!) and I got all my classes set away. I had help from my mother and father, proud OSU graduates, who have been in this situation before. I said goodbye to them and enjoyed a nice 2 &1/2 hrs break to walk around campus and basically explore.

I checked out the Buckeye Grove, The Oval, Ohio Stadium (of course), and even had time to pick up my summer reading!

Then I headed with my roommate to the RPAC (THE most amazing workout facility in the world: Olympic pools, over 30 treadmills, 4 basketball courts, the list goes on) after dinner for a little corn hole action.

Ok, back up, what in the world is corn hole you ask? Well in the great Midwest, it’s this game where you throw a bag of corn into a slanted wooden ramp with a whole in it. Yeah, they have these at fairs all over the place. Safe to say that I own in this game.

Then I headed back to Morrill Tower and went to bed.

So Orientation at Ohio State in a nutshell: a solid blend of scholastic, athletic, and historic events all in one day. The only sad part was that I wanted to start school the next day, but I still have to wait another month :(

Basically I cannot wait to start school. It's going to be the best time of my life. Good people, awesome teachers, and solid academics. What more could I ask for

As they say up here in Ohio, O!-H!

GO BUCKS

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)