My first semester at Ohio State has been an overall incredible experience. The year started out with more lows than highs – I was homesick for my first few weeks here, and trying to navigate such a monumental life change seemed overwhelming. However, as I got more involved and adjusted to campus, college stopped feeling like a behemoth of challenges and started feeling like home. I’ve already had great experiences here that I wouldn’t have had without stepping out of my comfort zone and taking risks – I’ve joined an a cappella group, become a research assistant, gotten involved in the Indian-American community on campus, joined a public health organization, and met more amazing people than I could have imagined. My initial fears about college – maintaining my grades, making friends, finding a sense of community, managing my time – have been tackled and conquered.

I’ve also loved, in my first semester here, the wide variety of humanities-related resources and opportunities available on campus. Whether it’s performances put on by the school of music, exhibits at the Wex, enjoying art in the Short North, or exploring culture around Columbus, OSU has provided no shortage of humanities activities to involve myself with, and this has been especially magnified by the opportunities made available by the Humanities Scholars program. In my future at OSU and in the humanities scholars program, I hope to deepen my involvement with the humanities on campus and to further enrich my life with the culture and art that can be experienced throughout OSU.

I’d like to exercise more, but I’m usually too tired to go to the gym.

I’d like to read more books, but I’m too busy with homework, classes, and extracurriculars to make time.

I’d like to study more diligently, but I tend to procrastinate until the night before exams/due dates.

I’d like to get more sleep, but I always end up staying up late to work on homework.

I’d like to meet more people, but I tend to choose to stay in instead of going out.

I’d like to exercise more, and I’m usually too tired to go to the gym. So I need to get more sleep and eat well, so that I’ll have the energy to work out.

I’d like to read more books, and I’m too busy with homework, classes, and extracurriculars to make time. So I need to listen to audiobooks on my way to classes, or make an effort to read in between classes/homework/clubs.

I’d like to study more diligently, and I tend to procrastinate until the night before exams/due dates. So I need to establish a system of time management so that I can do my assignments well and on time.

I’d like to get more sleep, and I always end up staying up late to work on homework. So I need to finish my work earlier in the day, so that I’m not up late at night trying to finish it.

I’d like to meet more people, and I tend to choose to stay in instead of going out. So I need to set aside time to prioritize going out and having new experiences.

“Sometimes being a music major is incredibly hard. Actually, it’s incredibly hard most of the time. The competition, the intensity, the physical and emotional stress – it can take a toll if you’re not really focused and driven, so it’s easy to sort of fall victim to the pressures of the program. I have to make sure I regularly take time to reconnect with what inspires me, and what led me to want to do this in the first place.”

My first week at OSU has been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster. I arrived early, on the 16th, as part of the Morrill Scholars’ Early Arrival Program. I spent the day with my parents and sister, hauling my things up to my stifling-hot dorm, frantically making CVS runs for the miscellanies I forgot, trying to figure out how to navigate campus. I was excited for them to leave, and excited to begin my college journey. Once they finally did leave, though – at 9 PM – my room suddenly seemed too quiet. Everything was too different. I didn’t sleep that first night, lying miserably awake and suddenly, bizarrely homesick.

The homesickness lasted longer than I would’ve liked it to. I tend to be incredibly averse to change, and this was the biggest one I’d faced so far. But then I started forcing myself to get out of my dorm, to go to the awkward icebreaker activities, to talk to people I didn’t know. I rekindled old friendships with people I knew in high school who now go to Ohio State. I started feeling a little less alone and overwhelmed.

Classes started and then I became almost too busy to think about being homesick. I formed a routine and learned how to make my way around campus. I found peaceful study spots and interesting things to do. While I’m still homesick, the difference a week made has been tremendous, and college seems a little more manageable every day. I’ve already had incredible new experiences and met people the likes of whom I would not have run into had I stayed in my home town. I can already tell the next four years will be a tumultuous ride, but I know it’ll be worth it.

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]