Admittedly, my first semester at OSU got off to a rocky start. The first night on campus I found myself planted on a bench outside of my dorm spiraling into an existential crisis and asking what I was even doing here in the first place. My first exam had left me feeling utterly defeated and questioning if I was capable of the career I wanted after all, and ultimately I was feeling pretty lost. But as the weeks went on, I surrounded myself with a great group of people and soon realized I was not the only one feeling this way. I found the resources I needed to succeed and suddenly life, for the most part, seemed back to normal. Looking back on that first week it was absolutely terrifying, but I’ve come such a long way since then. If I could tell my existential self what I now know, that everything really would be fine, I absolutely would. The Humanities community has been a huge part of finding my place on campus. Even from just the weekly seminar, I started to feel so much more comfortable and myself. The events I have been able to be a part of through Humanities Scholars have already been so valuable and I know will be memories I cherish forever. All in all, I am extremely proud of where I stand after my first semester at OSU. Even though I know that my expectations have changed a lot from high school, I have learned so much about myself and am so proud of how far I have come from that first week. OSU truly is my home away from home.

My Top 5 Strengths were Intellection, Input, Restorative, Empathy, and Adaptability. I thought that the strengths assessment, while throughout may have seemed a little tedious, had very interesting results. While I have always known myself to have intellectual aspects and be deeply empathetic, it was fascinating to read about how these aspects along with the other less surface level ones were impacting me on a day-to-day basis. In my life before college, I had always utilized my intellection strength throughout my high school assignments. Whenever we were learning about something in, for example, an English class, I found myself questioning the meaning on a higher level or constantly wanting to know more. This desire to keep learning is what has driven me to choose a science/ research based career. I believe that this as well as my strengths in adaptability will allow me to make the most of both my education, but also adapting to a new part of my life and all that it entails at OSU. I hope to utilize my strengths in empathy in the future, as I have always thought of it has being one of my more redeeming traits. Especially now that I am looking into pursuing a career in medicine, I think that empathy would be a good trait to have as it will allow me to connect more with my patients and hopefully become a better physician in that regard.

What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

“Senior year this literature teacher at my high school, who was held in high esteem by everyone and a very distinguished faculty member, like the oldest and wisest man I know, told me that I am a very well read individual, which I already knew about myself but coming from the great Mr. Shoemaker, and it was by far the best compliment I have ever received.” -Sam Turner

My first week at OSU has quite literally been a flurry of emotions- never in my life have I experienced so many feelings in such a short amount of time. I can only hope to assume this is a normal thing everyone goes through rather than the alternative that college has already managed to disrupt more than just my sleeping schedule. Nevertheless, I am finding that slowly but surely, each day I’m feeling a little more at home.

Let this not misguide your thoughts. My first night here on campus was an emotional train wreck. Between the chaos of move in day, saying goodbye to loved ones, and the unfamiliarity of it all, I found myself plopped onto a bench outside Baker East, watching the campus world whirl around me and feeling utterly out of place. This experience was completely terrifying as during all of my previous visits I had this feeling resonating deep in my stomach that this was where I was supposed to be. Essentially, my first night at OSU was spent contemplating if I had made the right decision after all, and feeling entirely alone.

Infinite amounts of anxiety causing icebreakers, new2osu activities, and bonding dinners/late night talks with the lovely small group I’ve found myself in, I can slowly feel OSU developing into my (slightly but not TOO excruciatingly far) home away from home. My dorm is starting to feel just a little bit cozier, campus just a bit smaller, and my 300 person Chem lecture faintly less intimidating. Now, instead of counting the days till I get to go home, I’ve started counting the days till my loved ones are able to come see the place I’m so privileged to call my school. OSU may not feel completely safe and cozy, there are still many corners of campus that remain uncharted for me, but I honestly have come to think that may be part of it’s charm. At no point will I ever feel bored of campus, and I am thrilled to continue exploring my large and constantly stirring campus here at OSU.

[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.]