My First Semester at OSU

Reflecting on this past semester, it has been a very interesting and eye opening few months. Regarding this past week, Monday was an absolute shock and I would have never thought it would happen at my school. I’m relieved none of the victims sustained any life threatening injuries, and I am touched and feel so fortunate because of all of the calls, texts, snapchats, and other such things I received from family and friends. Today (Tuesday, November 29th) feels like it’s pretty much back to normal and life will continue as such. Overall, I would say this was the biggest shock of this semester and will be something I never forget. Digressing, the semester in its entirety was full of both fun and stressful times. I have made some new friends and keep in touch with old ones who attend OSU and elsewhere. I would say that was one of my biggest fears and it still is. I really wanted to meet some new people that share my interests, and I have found a few. Not as many as I had hoped, but I am working on it and I feel I will gain more friends in the coming semester and semesters to follow. Furthermore, I told myself that I would join clubs and get involved. In the beginning, I made an effort to get involved; but I gave up and did not follow through with being as involved as I wanted. Next semester, I am going to try a lot harder and I will make it my goal to at least join one or two organizations. Digressing, another big fear I had was the situation with my roommate. It was very awkward at first and it stressed me out to a point where it was unhealthy. However, I spoke up and stated how I wanted some sort of a dialogue between us. After that, things improved and we have a nice coexisting relationship. In general, dorm life has improved. I absolutely hated it at first and I contemplated dropping out because I hated my living situation so much; but after calming down and talking myself through it I established a perspective of my fortunes in life. I was paying my dues, and this was no where near the worst thing in the world. I appreciate where I am in life and I realize how I need to take advantage of the opportunities placed before me to grow as a person. The biggest challenge of this semester has been calculus. It is extremely time consuming and just a difficult course. I did not do as well as I wanted on the first midterm because I made a lot of dumb mistakes. Then, I completely failed the second midterm because it was so difficult. This Thursday, I am taking my final midterm for calculus and I am hoping for a better grade. I have put a significant amount of time into the studying and homework for calculus, and I am not going to fail because I put so much effort and time into it. My goal is to get a B in the class, and I will try my hardest these next couple of weeks to obtain this grade. If I fall short, then at least I passed. We’ll just have to see how these next couple of weeks play out, but I am hopeful for the best. In regards to the Humanities Scholars, the program has been worthwhile. I think it has motivated me to be more involved on campus and has introduced me to several programs/organizations I would have never known of. Again, I was not as involved as I probably should have; but I will try to be more involved and expose myself to more of what the program has to offer in the future. This has been a stressful and fun semester, and I am happy where I am. Sometimes I doubt if I am in the right place and wonder if I would be happier elsewhere, but I always bounce back and remember that happiness is a mindset. It’s not where you are, it’s how you make the best of where you are. I intend to do just that, and thus I am optimistic looking towards my future as an Ohio State Buckeye.

“But Out” Reflection

I’d like to have a better grade in calculus, but I don’t perform well on quizzes.
I’d like to eat dinner before 8 and not power eat late at night, but I struggle finding the time to eat balanced meals.
I’d like to find a club that I really enjoy, but I don’t really know where to start.
I wanted to take more classes that I have genuine interest in, but this semester is not enjoyable.
I want to spend less time on calculus because I feel I waste too much time on it and gain little from it, but it takes me a long time to do the course work.

I’d like to have a better grade in calculus, and I don’t perform well on quizzes. So I need to study more to be better prepared for assessments.
I’d like to eat dinner before 8 and not power eat late at night, and I struggle finding the time to eat balanced meals. So I need to make time to eat right because it is unhealthy to sporadically overeat late at night.
I’d like to find a club that I really enjoy, and I don’t really know where to start. So I need to do more research and find one.
I wanted to take more classes that I have genuine interest in, and this semester is not enjoyable. So I need to schedule classes for next semester that cater to my interests.
I want to spend less time on calculus because I feel I waste too much time on it and gain little from it, and it takes me a long time to do the course work. So I need to find a balance, and create a better way to complete the work and study.

“Humans of OSU” – Sam Stevenson

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Sam Stevenson is a freshman at OSU and currently pursuing a major in Biomedical Engineering. She is from Massillon, Ohio (about eight miles west of Canton). She is also my best friend’s (Christina’s) roommate. Before I met Sam, Christina appraised how friendly, talkative, adventurous, passionate, and all-around enjoyable she was. Sam was just that kind of a personality, someone who treated you like you’ve known them since childhood. When I was assigned this project, the first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted something new. I wished to interview someone I lacked experience with. Sam was the first person to pop in my mind, I thought this would serve as a quality opportunity to learn something new about her. Asking someone about their story is such a broad question and covers many potential topics. I told her to tell me the first thing that came into her mind. She just laughed and said,

 

“Wow, that’s negative” with a half-smile.  

 

“What?” I replied with a mirrored grin.

 

She proceeded to explain her first experiences with adulthood: relationships. Her first real relationship began during her sophomore year with a boy her age. She was happy, and gave herself to her boyfriend. She trusted him, and relied on him to provide safety and security; but one night he betrayed her and the relationship took an abusive turn. An unsuspecting teen became trapped in an instance of non-consensual acts. She ended the relationship in the summer preceding her junior year. Shortly after, she fell for a boy named Jeff. He was her best friend, and someone who had displayed an assurance of trust. They dated for a year, attending two dances together and growing more intimate. She describes their relationship as an “intense friendship.” Naively enthralled by her newfound sense of security, Sam was blindsided by Jeff when he confided a secret to her. Jeff declared that he was gay. Sam felt familiar senses of despair, and frustration. Again, she trusted someone and that trust was betrayed. She was not upset because he was gay, she was upset because the relationship created a false sense of security she thought she had finally managed to regain, and then it was shattered in an instant. Sam and Jeff were still friends and went to their last two dances as high schoolers together. However, during this time they grew apart and lost the connection they used to have. Additionally, Sam began to drift away from her friends in her grade and transitioned to associating more with the underclassmen. In particular, a girl in one of her classes introduced her to a boy named Matt. Despite his young age, Matt portrayed mature qualities. The two began dating and Matt reassured Sam of the securities a relationship can offer, but he also taught her about herself. Matt’s provision of a sincere, trusting relationship allowed Sam to reflect. She never needed the trust a relationship presents, rather she needed to trust in herself and in the people who already loved and supported her. The only person who is always going to be there is to support one is oneself, thus it is imperative that to realize the importance of being one’s own person and not succumbing to the will of others or blindly entrusting one’s whole self to another. Sam and Matt mutually ended their relationship on good terms when Sam when to college. Now, she is trying to focus on herself and self-improvement. She is more hesitant with guys, and will not devote herself to a relationship without trust. It is an absolute necessity in order to fully, and genuinely give oneself to another.

My First Week at OSU

Contemplating my first week at OSU, I naturally had some things I feared and others I was excited for. The thing that I feared most was the bathroom situation. It terrified me, I thought the bathroom was going to be disgusting because it is communal. Although they are not ideal or perfect, they are not as bad as I had anticipated. The thing I was most excited for was the experience of just day-to-day life. For the most part, everything about student life at OSU is independent. It’s really nice having just a couple classes a day, going out to eat with friends, and doing other similar activities. Overall, the first week has gone very well. I’ve just been carrying on doing what I need to, and trying to find my place on campus as an OSU student. The one thing I can say I am still unsure about is calculus, I don’t know if I fully comprehend all the material during the lectures, but I know that there are numerous resources the University offers in math tutoring. As well, I have friends who have offered their assistance should I need it (and of course only when it is appropriate). In regards to expectations for OSU, I expect a worthwhile education and to develop some type of sense of community. In regards to expectations for the Humanities Scholars Program, I expect some guidance in adapting to life as a university student and a sense of community as well. Overall, it has been a good week and I expect things to continue upwards from here.

Year in Review

[ “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.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]