Au revoir

If you would have told me four years ago that the next four years would include some of my greatest memories, I would not have believed you. At that time in August 2015, a mix of nervousness, excitement and terror were racking my brain and chest. People were polite and excited to see us all move in that day, but they were too excited. I was suspicious: Why would someone be so excited to see an 18-year-old freshman move in to a college residence hall?

Now, as I’m getting ready to graduate on May 5, 2019, I understand those students’ excitement. They were being paid with pizza and got to move in early to help us move. More than that, however, it was the spirit of Ohio State, a spirit that would excite me and make freshman suspicious and nervous over the next three years of my undergraduate career. My position as a Resident Advisor emphasizes positive vibes when students move in, but, for me, it was and is more than that. I developed a positive mindset from my own experiences from my freshman year to now. I overcame some challenges like convincing myself to finally change my major to make myself happier and seeking help for anxiety. These experiences molded me and made me more appreciative for these cherished memories from a weekend-long leadership camp with who would become some of my closest friends, traveling to Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City multiple times, studying abroad twice, and finding what my own passions are. These are things that make me excited and proud to have attended Ohio State, and they are a few of the reasons why I have become more and more excited over the years to welcome new Buckeyes to campus.

This journey was not easy either personally or academically, but that is why I value this so much. My first semester, I decided to keep to myself and study, hoping to gain a 4.0 GPA. It did not go according to plan, and I realized that isolating myself would not make my grades better. So, I decided to apply to become an ASC Honors peer mentor and CARE ambassador to meet new people and do something outside of class. The semester where I got the best grades, I don’t remember studying much; rather, I remember the trips I took with friends and the adventures we had on those trips. Right before my junior year began, I decided to change my major despite having two well-paying jobs, one of which being a research assistant to two wonderful faculty members in the field I started in my freshman year. I switched into history, a field with which I was mildly familiar as it was one of my favorite subjects in high school. I adjusted quickly and found that I enjoyed historical reading and writing. I delved into feminist histories, war histories, French histories, and connected these ideas with literature I was studying in my French courses. I connected with faculty, found my own areas of research interest, and started to consider graduate work in the field. . This academic happiness spread to my personal life: my relationships with friends and family became stronger: I scheduled more dinners, coffee meetings, and trips with friends because it was true that these would be the memories I cherish, not the ones where I stayed up late studying or writing that 15- or 20-page research paper. I love talking about what I do academically, paraprofessionally, and what I will be doing after graduation. I figured out how to express my concerns, anxieties, etc. and seek support and other resources to address them.

I could go on for days about how much I love Ohio State, my job, my major, and my friends, but this chapter of my life is coming to a close. It truly is the end of an era. And now, I shall close this chapter by excitedly anticipating graduation and preparing to move to France in October, where I will be a language assistant for the 2019-20 academic year. But I can’t end this post however without adding some more photos of my adventures in undergrad.

First time at the famous Chicago Bean

My first Broadway show!

World of Coca-Cola in ATL