I want to work out more, but I always have something I’d rather be or should be doing.

I want to write more, but I work on school a lot.

I want to meet more people, but I get really nervous around strangers.

I want to go to bed earlier on weekdays, but I like to stay up with my floor mates.

I want to go out into the city more, but I don’t want to go alone.

I want to work out more and I always have something I’d rather be or should be doing, so I need to prioritize my goals more.

I want to write more and I work on school a lot, so I need to set small amounts of time aside each week between studying to write.

I want to meet more people and I get really nervous around strangers, so I need to ask some of the people I am comfortable around to come with me when I want to meet a new person.

I want to go to bed earlier on weekdays and I like to stay up with my floor mates, so I need to make sure I only stay up on nights when I don’t have early classes or work the next day.

I want to go into the city more and I don’t want to go alone, so I need to ask around and see who wants to explore Columbus with me.

“I don’t really know how helpful I am on a large scale, but that’s okay because I know that I’m helping on a small one.”

I met Emily in the South Oval when she asked me if I could take a quick survey, I agreed as long as she let me use her for my Humans of OSU project. In three sentences, Emily described her story as growing up in Texas, moving to Ohio, and becoming a missionary. Next I asked about her current goals and aspirations, she responded that her most important concern at the moment was how she would be able to balance work and being a mother once she has her first child. She loves her work and is extremely dedicated to it, so I asked if there was a specific moment when she knew that this was what she wanted to do. In response to this, she told me the story of when she first moved to Ohio and started working at a homeless shelter for newly arrived immigrants. She said that this completely changed her view of what she wanted out of life and inspired her to dedicate her life to helping people in need. Since then she has worked with a large apparatus of volunteer and Christian organizations geared towards helping impoverished people and communities.