From the moment I woke up on Thursday until I fell asleep on Saturday night, I have had goosebumps. Most of these surprising attacks came in the wake of the Ohio State vs Penn State football game, others came from the uninviting gusts of cold wind through my dorm room window. Let me give you a little student's version of what it was like to be here during "Beat Penn State Week."

On Friday night, everyone was talking about the big game and making posters for College Gameday. There were even people on my floor determined enough to head out to the event 8 hours before it actually started, and camp out. Since I had to work a 3-5 am shift at the front desk of Smith Hall, I was unable to tag along with these guys. But it didn't even matter, I saw so many people coming down at the strangest hours covered in scarlet, heading outside for tailgating and showing off their buckeye pride. It was 4 in the morning! I got goosebumps when I realized how completely nuts (literally!) these people were, realizing that I was too a proud contributor to this ridiculous school spirit.

If you didn't know, this was a big game.

On Saturday, there was so much hype around campus. Cars were coming down High Street, buzzing with their OSU window flags and intimidating car decals. Shouts of OH! were heard on side walks at 8 in the morning. They were quickly followed by excited replies of IO! Heading over to the Horseshoe, I saw Buckeye Nation at its finest: all the tailgators seemed to band together as if they were their own little village. It was all food, music, and ambiance. I met up with my mom and dad, and they introduced me to "some of the greatest Buckeyes of all time." Meeting old graduates of THE Ohio State University and hearing their words of wisdom gave me goosebumps. I could see the sparkle in their eyes as they reminisced about the "good old days." Then some friends from Smith Hall and I went to Skull Session. It was by far the most crowded I have ever seen that building. When the band walked in, I got- you guessed it- goosebumps. I mean they're not called " The Best Damn Band in the Land" for nothing.

We all know the results of the game, and yes it was depressing, but the atmosphere was incredible. The combination of night lights, the scarlet fever, and non-stop cheering was unlike any football environment I have ever experienced. These types of experiences are what truly defines Ohio State. I feel so blessed to feel a part of this rich tradition, that every time I think about it I get goosebumps.

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week, as if you couldn't tell from the title, is midterm week. Midterms in college life consists of everything you have learned, on a test, that determines your study habits for rest of the quarter. In Math 150, I had a seven question test over 3 chapters of material. In Anthropology 202, I had a test on 7 chapters of information; and in Spanish, fortunately I don't have anything! Whooo! After I left my math exam, which ended at 6:30 PM, I felt so much weight lifted off my shoulders as I walked into Canes for dinner (Canes is one of the most amazing chicken finger joints on campus). One good thing about midterms at OSU is that it occurs twice during the quarter, so if you bomb an exam, you can always make up for it on the next one or on the Final.

This has honestly been one of the toughest, most stressful weeks thus far. But, luckily my parents are coming from out-of- town for Homecoming Week/ the big football game against Penn State. So hopefully, the can ease my stress with a little taste of home.

Also, the weather has dropped to Florida winter weather, but it's only October! And by Florida winter weather I mean low 50's. But in Ohio this is perfect fall weather, and I am slowly adjusting to it.

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 1:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The weather for the past week has been very familiar, almost like Florida weather. Apparently up here, this is called an "Indian Summer." Ha-ha what do I know? Unfortunately I just looked at the forecast and it is supposed to rain for the next two days...perfect.

But I have definitely found something to do to keep me busy and make some money on the side: become an Office Assistant! To clarify, an OA is the person that sits at the front of every Dormitory and answers questions, replaces lost keys, etc. This is a good way, for me especially, to get to know everyone within the place that am going to be calling home for the next year. **Word of advice to incoming freshman for next year: get involved-whether that be an on-campus job, sports, or clubs. There is so much to do here on campus that it almost gets overwhelming at times. Walking onto the Oval each day, I see multiple booths set up trying to advertise their ideals with treats such as a free hot dog or lollipop.

Oh, and before I forget, last week I met our University President, E. Gordon Gee. Now this man is not just any ordinary president of any university. This is The Ohio State University, and Mr. Gee embodies everything about this university from school spirit to overwhelming hospitality to a good sense of humor. He has such an ambiance about him: someone who has accomplished so much and is so willing to know about every single one of his students and how their journey began to become a buckeye. Needless to say, meeting him not only motivated me to work my hardest but also helped me see what great talent and opportunity can create over time.

Hopefully this week goes by fast, because there is nothing like a good sigh of relief on a Friday afternoon.

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh, the joys of school. Now that I am back into the "swing of thing," I wish I were back in the waiting process for school to start. Even though the wait sucked, I didn't have to memorize the aspects of culture for Anthropology. Ok, I'm just a little bitter right now, because I would much rather be doing something less productive then thinking about the work. But, everyone saw this complaining coming- I am a typical college student. However crazy the school aspect gets to me, Mother Nature always seems to know how to make me feel better. Walking to class everyday is awesome: I get to see the leaves fall from the giant oak trees and feel that cool, autumn breeze on my face. I have never seen anything like this before. I am definitely a fan of the seasons, or for now at least.

I cannot wait for the snow to come, says the excited Floridian who doesn't know what he's supposedly getting into. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to the simple joys of making a snowman, a snowball fight, and hopefully go sledding. Just imagine it, I'll be walking back from class, notice that white happiness falling from the sky, and run around with my tongue hanging out trying to catch a taste. But come back and talk to me in February, I'll probably be so cold that I can't even open my mouth to catch the snow.

So its time for me to stop this work, go outside, and lay on the Oval. Work and worry can take a break; right now I need to enjoy the fading nature around me.

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So it has been officially a week since school started and all I can say is that I love college but hate the school aspect. I mean most of my classes, except for that dreadful math, are relatively interesting. I'm still in the "Exploration" process, but I've actually narrowed my interested down to Journalism, Anthropology, and International Business. A few hours ago I took this likes-dislikes quiz that is supposed to tell me what major and ultimately what career I should pursue. So after about an hour of repetitive questions such as "most likely to be found in a library or a football stadium," I was finally relieved to discover that this system felt that I should be in the Human Resources field. This was good news because I don't know how I would have reacted had the result been Molecular Engineer or Rocket Science Physicist. (an obvious suggestion: math and sciences are not my thing.) But hopefully the next few weeks will help me narrow down this process so I can finally decide on a major. One of the best things about the Exploration program is that I can declare a major and work towards those requirements and if I realize I cannot handle this material I can refer back to those Exploration advisers and they can help me find a new solution.

But enough about school, let me tell you about the past weekend! So like I said in my last post, my friend from high school who goes to Florida State came up for the weekend. It was so funny to see him standing on High Street looking around so completely bug eyed at all of the sites. He later told me that everything at OSU is much bigger than anything he had ever seen on any campus. So I did my best to brainwash him like any good OSU student would do: we went to the football game vs Minnesota on Saturday, I taught him the O-H-I-O chant, and somehow managed to fit in a visit to Tommy's pizza ( the best pizza on campus). But the highlight of his trip was the OSU Welcome Week concert on Sunday night. One of our favorite bands, Circa Survive, has a huge fan base in Orlando, so seeing them in the same weekend was really something special. The best part was that after they played, we got the chance to meet and take pictures with the band.

Truly, if you are a fan of music, free music, Ohio State is definitely the place for you. In the past two days we have had musical entertainment from artists such as We The Kings, Billy Currington, Circa Survive, The Roots, and John Legend. Other awesome bands at a nearby venue include Motion City Soundtrack, Chiodos, Matt Nathanson, Hanson, Twista, and Seether.

OSU is also an incredible source of art. Last week I went to the on-campus art museum called The Wexner Center of Arts and toured the Andy Warhol exhibit. Admission is completely free for students, which makes the experience all worth it. An exciting aspect of his stop at OSU, was that it was the only U.S. stop on his entire tour! Even though this man was completely "out there" and had ridiculous subject matter, I was still honored to be around the work of one of the most recognized American artists.

Ugh so now I finally have to focus back onto reality and the stacks of homework that I have due tomorrow. Just thinking about what I have to do makes me cringe. The weekend won't come soon enough!

Posted by Dare_to_Explore at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)