Here I am, packing the scarves I never wore and the decorative lights I never turned on. With one roommate already moved out, I can’t help but reflect on the best school year I’ve ever had. Ohio State had been my dream school since I first watched a Youtube video of the stadium singing Carmen after a game. I craved for the community that was here and by golly it welcomed me with open arms.
My first semester was an emotional one. I faced lots of personal struggles, but came out exceeding academically. I made Deans list! Something I never thought could have been possible considering how terrible I am at test taking. I spent some late nights in studio and came out with designs that were actually thought out and functional.
I went to a city where architecture is a staple, Chicago. I had always been a firm believer in that New York was the only city that mattered (the east coast girl in me runs deep.) Here I was for the first time marveling at a city that was so different then what I had pictured in my head. I ate pierogis from a food truck, I took an architectural tour from a boat along the river, I drank A LOT of coffee, and I learned so much about the history of a city and its development. I was making memories.
I got the opportunity to sing that beautiful song in Ohio Stadium, just like the video I had fallen in love with. I attended majority of the games and stood in the rain to root on my favorite team. And yes, I’m still bitter about the Michigan State.
I did a little bit of charity work here as well. I participated in OSU’s Buckeyethon, a 24-hour dance marathon to raise funds for Nationwide Children’s hospital. The dancing killed my feet miserably, but we raised 1.3 million dollars for the hospital, which was beyond worth it. I also walked in Servitecture’s Fashion Schau. This is an annual event to raise money for the Columbus location’s Dress For Success organization. My friends, Megan and David, made a dress for me to model in made entirely of coffee sleeves. Although I was fearful that this DIY dress would fall off my body, my team made it to the top 10 for our design!
I rushed an academic fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi. Honestly I did it because everyone seemed so cool and chill and I just wanted to be friends with all of them. I guess the feeling was mutual because they let me be apart of their close-knit family. I was somehow by fate pared with my legit twin as a Big.
I also traveled to Cincinnati for the first time and have officially been to all three major cities in Ohio. My friends and I walked around in 32-degree weather just to see a building we learned about in our architecture history class, Arch 2300. Then traveled to the Great American Ballpark for a Reds game. The whole trip was under forty dollars between the Megabus tickets, the game tickets and food. This was one plan my friends and I actually followed through with.
Needless to say, as I sit here typing like a young Carrie Bradshaw sipping a cappuccino, I am already counting down the days until I’m back in Columbus.