Month: December 2016

Throughout my first semester at Ohio State, through the Scholars program, I have been able to do community service, expand my leadership experience, and attend numerous floor and Scholars activities. In high school, I was never the most active student in clubs and activities, so this has been a pleasant change of pace for me as a college freshman. Since I was required to participate in a certain number of these activities my first semester, I was forced out of my comfort zone and I ended up enjoying it a lot. For this reason, I will most likely continue to participate in the available activities.

After my first semester, I also have a better idea of what kind of classes I want to take next semester and onward and so I will be able to take the most interesting classes possible. Next semester I am already taking a fictional writing course, which I am extremely excited for as I have only taken nonfiction or research writing classes in the past. I also got a job in a chocolate shop in Upper Arlington. Since I didn’t get a job on campus, I will be forced out of my comfort zone and into other areas of Columbus that I would otherwise not explore. In addition, there are a lot of opportunities in this job to move up into leadership positions. This would be my biggest leadership experience.

In addition to scholastic and career endeavors, I am so excited to take part in the S.T.E.P. program. I have already talked about taking a road trip with my closest friends over the summer of sophomore year. I cannot wait to plan this in more detail. If we ended up going on this road trip, it would be the first vacation I completely planned out myself. This would also constitute as a leadership experience as there would be no adults there to supervise us. It would be my first completely “adult” experience.

According to G.O.A.L.S., we are supposed to advance our global awareness, original inquiry, academic enrichment, leadership development and service engagement throughout our 4 years at Ohio State. So far, I have done a little bit of travelling through Servitecture and the Scholars D.C. trip. I plan to continue visiting new places and enriching my global awareness with the many programs Ohio State has to offer. I have also been able to do a lot of service work through Servitecture as well as the smaller scale projects offered through the Scholars program. Within the Psychology program, I have participated in a few research studies through R.E.P. and have gained a better understanding of the type of research psychologists and scientists do. I cannot wait to further my academic enrichment and develop my leadership skills through my new job and the clubs I join at school. I think I’m on the right track to achieve my goals.

Explore Columbus

Overall, I had an extremely successful “Explore Columbus” experience. I got to spend a lot of time away from campus and with my friends, which I know I wouldn’t have done without this opportunity. Based on the overall atmosphere of the place, my favorite coffee shop we visited was Stauf’s in Grandview. Everyone was quiet but it still felt comfortable and my friends and I felt at home, particularly when I accidentally spit coffee on them.

Before this project, I had no idea how much Columbus had to offer. Beyond coffee shops, I also got to explore shops around the areas we visited. The Short North is full of fun, vintage stores and artsy restaurants that I would have never gone to if it weren’t for this project. I had no idea how drastically different High Street is in different areas of Columbus and I will definitely be exploring it further. Since I’ve already explored the Short North, I think the next time I go out I want to venture down to the other side of High Street.

If I were to recommend something to a friend, I would recommend the Short North. Though I liked Stauf’s the best, I thought the coffee shops in the Short North were more fun to visit because we were able to explore the shops around the town. When my friends and I went to Mission Coffee, we ventured down to Northstar afterwards and talked for awhile. Afterwards, we walked to Rocket Fizz, bought candy cigarettes, and walked around town pretending to smoke them as we window shopped. We also went into a very bizarre, vintage Christmas store called “Merry Christmas!” Upon entering, a short man in a red Christmas sweater explained everything about the shop, including that it was a two-story shop and that every room “had its own story to tell.” Not being the most social people, my friends and I were immediately spooked. The merchandise they were selling wasn’t the best either. There were a lot of figurines and in the back of the store, there was a mannequin wearing a very questionable outfit. As soon as we got the heck out of there, we saw a pet store across the street. Inside, there were three cats in cages and I spent the majority of our time in there petting the cat in the middle. His name was Purr-doo and in the short minutes we had together, we formed a real emotional connection. As of now, I plan to return soon to buy him and hide him in my room from Emoree. After that, we walked to the bus stop and smoked more candy cigarettes as we waited for the bus. Overall, it was a very fun night. I could have spent longer exploring the Short North but luckily, it will still be there for me when I want to go back.

Columbus is so much more fun than I thought it would be when I first came here and I’m so excited to find more things to do with my friends in the four years I’ll be living here.

 

 

Explore Columbus – Mission Coffee

20161204_162230The last coffee shop I visited for this project was Mission Coffee in the Short North. Mission Coffee had the most solemn atmosphere of every coffee shop my friends and I went to throughout the project. Despite being solemn, however, the atmosphere was overall pleasant. The woman I ordered my drink from was the most pleasant woman I have ever met. Her laugh probably could have cured cancer.
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I ordered a vanilla latte.
It just so happened to be one of those coffee shops that makes a little leaf with the foam on top of your coffee which always impresses me. After we all got our coffees, we stood around for a little while. There were people studying everywhere on Mac books, which seems to be the hipster computer of choice. Everyone was also wearing beanies and scarves indoors so you could tell it was for fashion and not for warmth. Since there were no tables open, we had to leave and walk to Northstar, where we took advantage of their tables without buying anything. Overall, it was a good rainy day study spot and I would absolutely recommend it to a friend.

 

Explore Columbus – Cafe Kerouac

Cafe Kerouac is a small coffee shop/used bookstore on High Street, very close to Haverfield House. My first impression, upon seeing the exterior, was “wow, this place looks a little shady.” My opinion didn’t change much upon entering. I suppose my expectations were extremely high20161128_095134 from all the other coffee shops we visited but this one didn’t seem to be cutting it. From the empty planters outside to the shabby books and tables inside, I was a little dissuaded from staying. After about 3 minutes of being pretentious, however, I realized you cannot judge a book by its cover and stepped up to the counter to order a hot chocolate.

After receiving my hot chocolate, I sat down near some bookshelves and got a Buckeye Alert message. It just so happened that we chose the exact time of the school attack to head to the coffee shop. Luckily for us, everyone in the cafe was very understanding. We all collected together 20161128_095122sharing updates and staying safe until the coast was clear. The store owner was especially cool, locking the doors and checking to make sure everyone was okay.

Though my first impression of the cafe was not all that positive, the events that took place on campus helped change my opinion of it altogether. I will definitely be returning, if not for the atmosphere, then for the people.