About Me

HeadshotWhen applying to the Honors & Scholars program, we were asked to describe how our five-year-old self would react to our current self. I enjoyed this prompt a lot. At first it was frustrating because I had no idea how to start thinking about such a situation, but as I wrote more I began to see it as a great opportunity to fully reflect on how I’ve grown, what influenced that growth, and how that growth helped me achieve certain goals.

Starting with my background, I grew up in Lexington and Georgetown, KY. My older sister is currently attending the University of Cincinnati, my mother works in a medical lab in Cincinnati, and my father owns a publishing company in Georgetown. For better or worse, I have attended Catholic school my entire life. Especially in high school I paid more attention to the pros and cons of my religious schooling environment. Even though I wasn’t religious, I liked learning about tradition and culture and how it has changed over thousands of years. I enjoy having such an in depth knowledge of one particular religion from studying it in class for twelve years. While this learning hasn’t shaped me religiously it has shaped me as a person. I believe that spending so much time studying and understanding one particular religion in a classroom setting has harbored in me a sense of tolerance, respect, and appreciation not just for the Catholic religion but for all religions, traditions, and cultures. Such an in depth study has also inspired me to educate myself on various cultures around the world. I love reading about all the different ways people have lived over time and as often as my academic interests seem to change, one thing is always the same and that is that, at the core, my choice of study involves the analysis of people and their cultures.

I am a Public Health major because I want to work to analyze societies and implement systems that will help to sustain them better. I have always loved math and science as well as sociology and psychology, so currently I am still debating on whether I want to pursue the Environmental Public Health track or the Sociology Public Health track at Ohio State. Regardless of which one I choose, I feel that I will enjoy myself and the work I will be doing. I already plan to add a Literature major by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Even though I know this will add a large amount of work that is vastly different from my current major, I think that it is the right choice for me. I love reading and analyzing texts and feel that these skills are helpful in any career field. Until I became so interested in science and sociology in high school, I always wanted to be a journalist or writer. Currently, I am very happy with the idea of pursuing a career in Public Health because it is something that I continue to enjoy the more I learn about it. However, my literature dreams are not completely behind me and I have started to see a want in me to pursue a creative writing path (whether that is on the side of another career or as a main occupation, I am not quite sure).

As my first days at OSU approach I am beginning this blog with a new feeling of responsibility and anxiety. Of course, when selecting the university my priorities were focused on opportunities for academic success. I rarely thought of any other aspects of college, that is until recently. After orientation commenced and the vast majority of my academic responsibilities until the semester started were taken care of, I began to worry more about the social aspects of attending a large university. I don’t enjoy big parties, football games, or really just being around a large amount of people in general. Still, I love going out with friends and socializing enough but I also need privacy and alone time just as often. Would I be able to achieve this living with a roommate? Would I be able to be a socially active member of the student body without participating in things like football games? Would I even be able to make any friends? I assume that these questions go through anyone’s mind when leaving for school, but that doesn’t make them any less stressful. I’ve started to dread move-in day and entering this new environment. My stress is causing break-outs and then I become so stressed about starting college with a breakout that it causes more break-outs. It’s all a mess. And even though I know I will come into my own element eventually (most likely quicker than I think) the thought of being lost both physically and mentally during those first few days frightens me. However, while I am nervous and scared now, I know that by the time classes start and people become more casual I will enjoy my time at OSU. My goals have been set and I can feel a rush of energy to fulfill them more as the time for me to leave approaches closer each day!