Through the Health Science Scholars program, I had recently had an opportunity to go to the Columbus Zoo. When this opportunity arose, I was quick to be a part of it. I’m from Cincinnati, and we have the Cincinnati Zoo that I have visited since I was a kid. I had heard great things from the Columbus Zoo as well and wanted to check it out.

Along with the trip, each of the members of the program received a specialized tour. I picked Manatee Coast because I have always been fascinated by the creatures and wanted to know more about the way they lived.

The tour was so much more than I expected. We broke into two groups of about 10 people and headed through the backside of the viewing tank of the manatees. We got to see the 160,000 gallon tank, the filtration system, and the behind the scenes process of feeding the animals. On site was an animal helper who talked about the different species of animals living in the habitat. He also showed us how to feed a stingray. I was so nervous, but I learned the technique of lifting a stingray’s flap to the mouth to feed it a fish.

We learned that the manatees that were usually shown in the exhibit were there for rehabilitation from some kind of accident-most of the animals in the zoo are there for the same reason. Overall, the experience was one of a kind, and I am so glad that I not only got to go to the zoo but also got to be a part of the behind the scenes feeding of the animals.

My parents had come to visit one weekend and insisted on going on an adventure. We decided to check out German Village because of all of the great restaurants and the famous bookstore called The Book Loft. I brought my Canon Rebel camera to get some pictures of the scenery to document.

We stopped into The Book Loft, and I can only recall it as overwhelming. The store is like a doll house with each room covered in every kind of book you could imagine. The coolest part is that each room is dedicated to a certain theme of books. For example one room only had cookbooks and recipes. We had a great time adventuring around the store and when our time had come to leave I spotted a beautiful golden retriever whose owner allowed me to photograph. We walked around German Village a little more until we ran into a park that was filled with dogs and their owners. This opportunity allowed me to practice my photography skills as well as meet the owners of the dogs.

I ended up with some fantastic images and some that I even used for my photography class. Seeing the dog park and having that opportunity was so unexpected and came from a simple walk with my parents. I loved photographing the dogs so much that the next day turned into another dog photo-shoot with some dogs on the Ohio State oval. I think I had found my passion of photography from that experience.

Food has always been important to me. Since I have been at college, I have been able to expand my pallet for different decisions when it comes to each new meal. This also creates a problem for college students including myself to make sure that I make healthy decisions so that I avoid the dreaded “Freshman 15.”

Over spring break, my mom and I traveled to St. Petersburg Florida. While on an adventure one day we decided to stop for food and found a quiet place called Karma. Their restaurant focused on healthy organic food. I decided to get a smoothie bowl with acai and it was DELICIOUS. I had always been skeptical about food trends but I think this was a good one.

Once I returned back to Columbus, I was eager to find a place that was just as good as the one we found on spring break. After searching around on Yelp, I found a place called Alchemy which is only about 10 minutes from campus that had smoothie bowls. I went with one of my friends and got the “Purple Coconut” and a piece of avocado toast. It was filling, and I felt healthy and satisfied afterwards. I would go there everyday if my bank account allowed me.