I honestly hate having to tell people about myself but it is something I have had to get used to. The only time I’ve ever had to do this was for scholarships and about every five seconds since I got here. I didn’t even have to answer that many questions when I got my job because they already knew who I was. I grew up in a small town and everyone knows you or knows your family or your neighbor, people know you who don’t even know they know you. Was that too confusing? Anyway my point is that I never really had to tell people about myself. In Hocking County there are five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school so I’ve been going to school with the same people all my life. My moms family is from Logan too so all my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and of course my mom went to the same school and had a lot of the same teachers. This was the case for most kids in Logan and a lot of them even had older siblings that went through the schools too, luckily I’m the oldest so I didn’t have to worry about what kind of impression my siblings left. So pretty much everyone already knew who you were by time you got there, which can be both good and bad.
I like Ohio State and Columbus isn’t bad but if I’m being honest, it’s kind of scary here. I have spent my whole life in little old hick town Logan, Ohio. We are in the middle of the hills (literally in the middle of the Hocking Hills) and its the kind of community where we’ve never had to worry about locking our doors, especially when we would live out in BFE where no one would even want to go out that far to steal your stuff. Now I have to worry about who I talk to and what I say and I can’t leave my room without pepper spray. The population of Logan, Ohio is 7,146 people, that is smaller than the freshmen class here at Ohio State. The population of Hocking County is 28,665 people, that’s just over a third of the total population of all students attending OSU. I love to visit home and the more I go back and forth the more I realize that I don’t want to grow up and live in a big town, I don’t want to raise my kids in fear, I would much rather live somewhere like Logan where I know I can trust the community.
On a happier note, during my time here at Ohio State I will be studying biology with a focus on pre-med for my undergrad and I will hopefully be accepted to attend medical school here as well. I have lived in Ohio all my life so naturally I am a Buckeye at heart even though my mom tried so hard to get me to cheer for that team up north. It kills her on the inside when she visits and has to hear about the National Champion Buckeyes all day, but I love it. Back home I have my parents, my younger brother, and my dog who patiently wait for the next time I come to visit. Cody and I are seven years apart and while he was all for me leaving before so he could have my room, he makes it known that he misses me with the constant phone calls and Facetiming. He even calls for help on his homework instead of just going to mom or dad. My puppy’s name is Tyson, he is an all white Boxer with bright blue eyes. I say he’s my puppy but he is far from it! He’s almost five and is huge, but he is still my lab dog and is always cuddled up to me (or on me most of the time).
While I am here at Ohio State I have the privilege of being able to room with one of my best friends from school. I’ve known Baylie since the sixth grade and we’ve been good friends since seventh. It was a total coincidence that we both chose Ohio State because it was never a top pick for either of us. Then we just so happened to be selected to be in the same scholars program, after that we decided we might as well apply as roommates together so we at least have one person we know from home to help us through this transition. It has definitely been helpful having Baylie here and of course we have our issues like any other friends but it’s nothing that we don’t get over within the hour.
My interest in the arts is just about everything. In middle school I was involved in the advanced art program as well as multiple school choirs and even WLMS (our middle school news show). In high school I continued with art classes and TV2 (our high school news show) but sadly had to drop choir from my schedule. In order to still be involved with music I participated in the school musicals where I also got in some acting experience. My high school has an excellent marching band and I always wanted to be a part of it but my mom never let me join. Every chance I get I am out there supporting the Marching Chieftains, whether it be at the parades, halftime shows, or contests you better believe I will be there cheering on my friends and family.
I guess that’s wraps up the most important things people should know about me, though I’m sure I’ve left something out but like I said I don’t really enjoy talking about myself anyway.