Throughout my time with DSWS, I have made many friends, created hundreds of memories, and shared an infinite number of laughs. One of the things I look forward to most each day is the opportunity to have more of these fun experiences, as I never know what sort of interesting events the day will hold. However, sometimes I find that I have too progressive of a mindset, as I am always looking ahead as opposed to living in the moment. While looking ahead is not necessarily a bad thing, it can take a bit of the enjoyment out of what is happening right now. I realized this through DSWS and, more specifically, Morrill Tower. During freshman year, all of the scholars lived together in Morrill, and we could interact freely with one another whenever we pleased. At the time, we used to complain about all the negatives of Morrill (the distance from High Street, the awful food, etc) and talk about how nice it would be the next year when we had the option of living somewhere other than Morrill. Being able to constantly interact with fellow scholars was something that we all took for granted, as we just assumed that the laughs and good times would last forever. Now that a year has passed, I look back and regret that I had at one time wished for those days to pass quickly, as I would love to go back and hangout in the common room with fellow scholars. While I had to learn the hard way, I now realize how important it is to appreciate everything that I have right now instead of trying to look forward to what more I could have in the future.

My most memorable experience from my initial few weeks here at Ohio State was the first football game. Throughout my childhood, I had seen Ohio State play on television and it had always seemed so distant, almost like it was on a different planet. The entire scene just seemed so surreal, almost like a larger-than-life experience. So, walking out of Morrill Tower and seeing the stadium a mere fifty yards away or so was somewhat of a shock. In addition to the excitement of simply seeing the gameday atmosphere for the first time, the football game also allowed me to really branch out of Morrill and interact with other parts of campus for the first time. I had been very busy trying to get settled in at Ohio State up until that point and had not really gotten the opportunity to get out and explore campus that much. However, gameday allowed me to check out some of the cool restaurants and shops on High Street, as well as see some of the off campus housing. I was able to see my cousin (a second year at Ohio State) and meet all of his friends, which was nice because I saw people that I recognized pretty much wherever I went after that. Another reason that the gameday experience was so memorable was that I was able to truly embrace being a Buckeye. Being part of the student section in a stadium filled with over 100,000 people makes you feel a part of something that is larger than yourself. I feel that I finally understood what people meant when they referred to “Buckeye Nation”.

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]