This past Friday, I met up with my other mentee, Yaretzi, for our explore Columbus assignment. We decided to meet up at one of High Street’s most iconic food shops, Buckeye Donuts. During our first Semester Interview together, Yaretzi told me that she had never been to Buckeye Donuts in her college career. Therefore, with it being one of the most popular places around campus, I felt that it was vital that Yaretzi experienced Buckeye Donuts for herself!
We met up at Buckeye Donuts after Yaretzi’s last class on Friday. Once we both got there, we got in line and pondered what we should order. Not only do they have an enormous variety of donuts to offer, but they also have countless food items that are beyond delicious; from mozzarella sticks to phenomenal gyros, it took us awhile to figure out what we wanted to eat! Ultimately, we both decided to order some donuts, as those are truly what makes Buckeye Donuts as fantastic as they are!
After getting our donuts, I immediately wanted to know Yaretzi’s thoughts. I was so relieved to hear she was a fan of the iconic breakfast food! It’s always been one of my favorite parts of Ohio State, so hearing a positive response was great!
While sitting down, we caught up on each other’s semesters since we last talked during the first Semester Interview. We both emphasized how excited we are for the upcoming breaks for Thanksgiving and the holidays! Although we both agreed it has been a very swift, productive semester, these breaks have come at a very great time for us to relax, recompose ourselves, and get ready for finals and the upcoming Spring Semester. We both have some pretty big finals to prepare for, so having Thanksgiving break at this time will be extremely beneficial for the both of us to decompress and start preparing ourselves to do as best as we can on all of our final exams.
While talking about upcoming holiday breaks, Yaretzi told me about her usual holiday festivities and traditions. She usually spends a lot of time with her family, and her mom cooks a variety of dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. The food that Yaretzi told me she gets to have on Thanksgiving sounded so incredible, I wish I got to have the same kind of meal as her! We then talked about our excitement for Christmas season coming up. Yaretzi told me about her upcoming holiday plans and duties to fulfill; she’s still pondering on what to get her parents for the holiday, but in her family, being together and celebrating traditions is the most important aspect to the holiday for them!
After talking and finishing our donuts, we walked back to South Campus and parted ways. It was great to see Yaretzi and take her to experience such an important tradition to Ohio State’s culture and dynamic. Of course, I would totally recommend Buckeye Donuts to anyone; it’s impossible to go throughout your undergraduate college career without experiencing Buckeye Donuts at least one time. Even if one isn’t a donut fan, there are still so many other options for food. Also, it is opened 24 hours a day, so there is no time that you cannot go and enjoy the amazing, delicious Buckeye food.
This experience opened doors to fun, quick, and easy sources of entertainment close to campus for Yaretzi to explore in the future while she’s around campus. Being a commuter student, these are some of the most important times in Yaretzi’s college career to make fun, meaningful memories; opportunities like these allow Yaretzi to hang out with her new friends from school and explore new areas of town that she has not seen before. Not living on campus, it’s vital for Yaretzi to take advantage of finding new restaurants, shops, parks, and various other places around Columbus that she enjoys; therefore, she can feel more connected with her college and city environment.
These explore Columbus opportunities, no matter how big or small, are so crucial for every college student to experience. These outings get students out and about in their unfamiliar settings, and allow them to get more and more comfortable in their unknown surroundings. By feeling more comfortable, college becomes much more of a fun, engaging, and memorable experience, leading to growth as a student and individual. I hope that after this experience, Yaretzi continues to explore new sectors of Columbus, despite it being her hometown. That way, she can grow in her awareness and knowledge of her surroundings as an OSU student and enjoy the infinite chances of fun and entertainment that surround her everyday.