Artifact 3

Every Thanksgiving, my mom and I go Black Friday shopping together. The past few years it has become tradition that we go with the people I consider my second family, including my second mother, cousin, aunt and grandma. In the picture it shows the six of us together at five in the morning on our way to Target. Every year is a different and fun experience that I get to share with them and it has become one of my favorite traditions. The past few months have made me realize how blessed I am. I am truly blessed that I have these wonderful women as well as so many others in my life. These women have been in my life since I was eight years old and I cannot put into words how much I have grown with them. The experiences I have had with them have shaped me into the person I am today.

My immediate family is not very close with our extended family as they do not live close by, therefore we do not often see them during holidays. For many years, I envied the kids who came home from breaks and talked about how good it was to see their entire family for the holidays. They always talked about how they have huge family parties and how fun and exciting their break is. It used to anger me how I’ve never had that kind of experience. But, over the years I have grown to appreciate it. I am thankful for how close I have become to my immediate family. I am thankful for how it has lead to me to a more intimate relationship with our family friends. Without the experiences I have had, I might not value the things I value and I might not be the same person I am today. I like the person I have become and I have my family and friends to thank for that.

Artifact 2

Before coming to school, one of my biggest fears was that I would not be able to make friends. After moving in and getting to know other Mounties, I knew this wouldn’t be a problem. This Polaroid was taken just a few weeks ago and captures a moment I shared with some of my most favorite people. Early on I developed a relationship with Deepthi. She was good friends with my roommate as well as one of the other members in my Connection Group. It took me a couple of weeks to develop a friendship with Cole and a little under a month to actually meet Zack. When first meeting and developing friendships with these three, I didn’t know that they would turn out to be a few of the most important people to me. They have made my acclimation to campus so much easier. I have had a lot of other friends that are first years that have felt alone and lost the first couple of months after starting school. But, with the great opportunity Mount offers it has been very easy to find people with similar interests. These three have come to be my best friends here at Ohio State and I am so thankful for them. They have made my first semester here amazing and I hope they are my friends for the rest of my time here and many years to come.