Year in Review

I have been so fortunate to grow through ENR this year. I have met people who are so passionate and knowledgeable about the world around us and it has spurred my interest to learn more and try new things. In November I decided to commit to a vegetarian diet. Throughout the beginning of first semester I was already limiting my meat intake naturally so I figured I could cut it completely. The beginning was more difficult because I had to figure out how I was going to get enough protein. After the transitioning period, it was a lot easier than expected. I felt great about the choice I was making and I felt my diet was lining up with my values. Even though I know my personal actions aren’t going to make some great impact. It feels empowering to know I am making a difference in my own life and spreading that type of message to the people I am around. In terms of the actual diet, I also had to learn to find alternatives to carbs like pasta which I was eating to frequently. This left me wanting to go to sleep a lot and I couldn’t do my homework or study. That is when I realized how much our diets affect our productivity, mood and energy levels. I am excited for this summer to cook my own food while I am living on Manitou Island for my internship. It will be a challenge because I am not used to cooking constantly. In addition to my diet I made a stronger effort to be more active this semester. I found that when I did so. I had more energy, I ate better and I was more productive. I became so much more aware about how important physically taking care of yourself is. With college, there is a lot more free time and your health becomes a bigger factor. In the future I would like to become more involved on at school or around Columbus. I would like to channel my energy towards something in the community. We will continue to work on our composting project next year and making that reality for Ohio State once and for all. After this year, I feel more connected with the earth. I understand her better and I have grown in appreciation for everything she offers us. I cannot wait to work this summer at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. I feel as though I am doing the earth justice and also getting to experience the tranquility and beauty for all of summer! A special thank you to Amanda for writing me a recommendation letter for this opportunity! I am so lucky to be led by two empowering women in ENR! In addition I hope to be giving back to the earth by choosing the diet that I do and being conscious of the waste I am producing. I am excited that I will no longer have to use one-use food containers this summer. That is very frustrating about osu is that you know you are wasting tons of containers everyday. By engaging in conversation with others (environmental or not), I have learned so much more and also spread awareness to friends who may not be exposed to certain issues. Our earth month action plan was a little different because it is such a long process. With the composting plan we actually got very valuable data from 197+ students. Our survey wasn’t super professional but of those living in Morrill Tower we found that about half didn’t know that most of the food containers were compostable. This definitely opened my eyes and made me remember than even though I am constantly thinking about what I am using and throwing away.. A lot of people aren’t. And that isn’t their fault, they have other things that are important to them. However that is why it is our job to make this happen for the university and communicate with people. We have a lot of work to do with this project but hopefully with help from the sustains group we can make this happen in the next 3 years! I really want this for the university because so many students have tried this in the past and it would keep so much waste out of landfills. If osu could do it, I believe so many other campuses would. Lastly I am overflowing with happiness and joy and feeling bittersweet about this year. I feel so incredibly lucky to have met everyone of floor 10. We truly became a family and I am going to miss that close knit community. Each person taught me something new whether it had to do with the earth or not. I am so grateful to have experienced columbus and I am so excited for August. See you soon!

I can confidently say I would not be the person I am today without the Environment and Natural Resources Scholars program.  I am thankful for the best friends that I made, the people I share passions with, the people I laugh with, the people I struggle with, the people I do life with. Because that is what college is supposed to be about. Finding yourself and growing as a person. Sure you grab a degree along the way too. It is really hard to pick just one highlight because from camping trips, backpacking trips, to sustainable thanksgivings to the Leadership council retreats, there are too many good memories to choose from. I can definitely say my backpacking trip freshman year was very memorable because I didn’t think I was physically strong enough as a person to do that type of thing. It pushed me physically and made realize you don’t have to be a perfect person to engage in outdoor adventure. At the same time it made me so much healthier in realizing I wanted to spend more time being outside and exploring. Around November of freshman year I went vegetarian and will continue to do so. This summer and through living off campus I am planning on incorporating more vegan recipes into my diet. If I were to give advice I would stay step outside out your comfort zone!!! Whether its sitting by someone on the first day at lunch. Asking people to go to dinner. Going on the backpacking trip, joining leadership council, Just do it!!! Is it scary and nervewracking in every aspect? Yes but it is 100% worth it. Thank you ENR Scholars! All my love.