My first semester at OSU has been pretty great. I was able to challenge my arts skills, meet new people, and fully engage myself within the art world. Coming from high school where most of my class were not at all involved with the arts, I really enjoyed being able to learn about the art world, it’s history, ways to see art, and how thoroughly ingrained art is into our daily lives. While I have enjoyed my studio classes, as the semester comes to an end, I am ready for a little break to recharge my creative juices and my hands from all the work. I can understand why the recommended amount of studio classes taken one semester is only three.

I really have enjoyed what Arts Scholars has put out and made available for us. The events on the calendar are interesting and lead me to see things that I normally wouldn’t. I will say it was a little hard making it to a lot of the events on the calendar, and all the family meetings because I usually had class at night when a lot of events took place. While not being able to attend some events, I still had a fun time at the ones I was able to attend. The only thing I wish there was more of was events involving the visual arts.

As the next semester draws near, I hope that I will have just as much fun as I did this semester. I met some wonderful people, and hopefully I can meet some more. My schedule does still involve some evening classes, so I still won’t be able to attend some of the events or family meetings, but I hope that the ones I can attend will be just as good. I look forward to trying even more things, and possibly even going on the New York trip if I’m lucky enough. Looking even further ahead for the second year if art scholars I’m not even sure what to expect. At the moment, I have no ideas for a project, but I’m sure with time and help the ideas will come.

Overall, I’ve a really good first semester. I was able to learn so much about the arts, myself, and OSU. I hope that next semester I can engage myself more with the Arts Scholars and try even more new things.

My first week at Ohio State has been great. Although it’s been very hot and humid, I’ve had fun these past weeks. Welcome Week was something that I’ve truly never experienced. I was amazed at how many different groups lined the South Oval and College Road at the Involvement Fair. Also, just the sheer amount of people at the Involvement Fair was incredible. So many buckeyes went to the fair to get involved and try new things. I also went and signed up for some clubs and that I’ve never really tried before, or that peaked my interest: like the Painting with Bob Ross Club and Buck-I-Serve. Convocation was also very amazing. Seeing the entire Freshman class in one place was breathtaking. It made me feel like I was truly a part of something. In all, I felt that Welcome Week showed both how bug OSU is and, how close and small it can become within communities and clubs.
In terms of lifestyle and daily routines, the first week was a bit of a shock. It was weird having classes that started at different times, choosing when I got to eat lunch, having an hour or more between classes, and having three hour long classes. Coming from a high school where we hand seven class periods a day, it was definitely a little jarring to have these wide open schedules where you barely see the same people in classes. Another thing is that I had to wear a uniform at my high school and in grade school, so coming from thirteen years of a uniform, picking out clothes for the entire day has been a little rough. I do miss family and my dogs, but I have talked with them over the phone several times already, and my sisters do regularly send me pictures of my dogs. Although it does take all my effort to not pet and scoop up every dog I see on campus.
Overall, I feel like OSU has met some of my exceptions and exceeded some others. I was expecting a loud and rambunctious campus filled with school spirit, a bunch of intimidating professors, a very minimal presence of animals on campus, and a heavy focus on sports. After this first week, I do believe that my first expectation was correct. The students here are filled with so much spirit and love for OSU and they’re not afraid to show it. Along with that, there is a respect on campus when it’s time to get serious and when dealing with differentiating ideas and beliefs. My second expectation has been disproven. So far, all my professors have been wonderful. They are nice and like to joke around and they have such passion and love for what they do, but they have made it clear that they expect us to put in as much effort as we can. My third expectation has also been disproven, because I have seen so many dogs walking around campus and I am glad that I was wrong about that assumption. My final expectation is also wrong as well. While the school does like to promote sports, it is not the focus of everything on campus. Some people take great pride in our sports teams, some people couldn’t care at all. It is nice to see the support and pride people have in the sports teams, but is refreshing to not have it placed in the fore front of everything at any given time. I also was not expecting Mirror Lake to be ready yet, so that was a surprise to see on campus.
Overall, my first week at OSU has been wonderful. I have gotten to experience new environments and meet so many new people. I have gotten to adjust to a new lifestyle routine that I will be living off of for the next four years. I have had a lot of fun this past week, and I can’t wait to see what comes next, in this semester and in the next four years.

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]