Year in Review

Here I am, packing the scarves I never wore and the decorative lights I never turned on. With one roommate already moved out, I can’t help but reflect on the best school year I’ve ever had. Ohio State had been my dream school since I first watched a Youtube video of the stadium singing Carmen after a game. I craved for the community that was here and by golly it welcomed me with open arms.

My first semester was an emotional one. I faced lots of personal struggles, but came out exceeding academically. I made Deans list! Something I never thought could have been possible considering how terrible I am at test taking. I spent some late nights in studio and came out with designs that were actually thought out and functional.

I went to a city where architecture is a staple, Chicago. I had always been a firm believer in that New York was the only city that mattered (the east coast girl in me runs deep.) Here I was for the first time marveling at a city that was so different then what I had pictured in my head. I ate pierogis from a food truck, I took an architectural tour from a boat along the river, I drank A LOT of coffee, and I learned so much about the history of a city and its development. I was making memories.

I got the opportunity to sing that beautiful song in Ohio Stadium, just like the video I had fallen in love with. I attended majority of the games and stood in the rain to root on my favorite team. And yes, I’m still bitter about the Michigan State.

I did a little bit of charity work here as well. I participated in OSU’s Buckeyethon, a 24-hour dance marathon to raise funds for Nationwide Children’s hospital. The dancing killed my feet miserably, but we raised 1.3 million dollars for the hospital, which was beyond worth it. I also walked in Servitecture’s Fashion Schau. This is an annual event to raise money for the Columbus location’s Dress For Success organization. My friends, Megan and David, made a dress for me to model in made entirely of coffee sleeves. Although I was fearful that this DIY dress would fall off my body, my team made it to the top 10 for our design!

I rushed an academic fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi. Honestly I did it because everyone seemed so cool and chill and I just wanted to be friends with all of them. I guess the feeling was mutual because they let me be apart of their close-knit family. I was somehow by fate pared with my legit twin as a Big.

I also traveled to Cincinnati for the first time and have officially been to all three major cities in Ohio. My friends and I walked around in 32-degree weather just to see a building we learned about in our architecture history class, Arch 2300. Then traveled to the Great American Ballpark for a Reds game. The whole trip was under forty dollars between the Megabus tickets, the game tickets and food. This was one plan my friends and I actually followed through with.

Needless to say, as I sit here typing like a young Carrie Bradshaw sipping a cappuccino, I am already counting down the days until I’m back in Columbus.

Artifacts

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Never would I have thought that walking in a dress made of cardboard coffee sleeves would be a turning point for me, but it taught me the important lesson of handwork and creativity. This dress was made from, burlap, gum wrappers, a lot of coffee sleeves, glue, and velcro. It is a symbol that captures my first year a Knowlton School of Architecture perfectly. With lots of coffee and some sobo glue, anything is possible. It only takes some creativity and determination to accomplish great things. As freshman in the architecture program, this was our first time making a dress for the Fashion Schau and despite our lack of experience we managed to make it to the top 10! Thus proving the theory that the work is worth it. this lesson will inspire me for the rest of my time at Ohio State and inspire me to think beyond what is possible.