My first semester at OSU has been an incredible learning experience. I’ve made new friends, I’ve experienced living away from home and I’ve made steps towards advancing my own future. There have been many stumbling points and mistakes along the way, and my upcoming finals are daunting, but in all, I feel I’ve truly made myself at home and found ways to make the most of myself here at OSU. While I haven’t nearly come close to doing all the things I want to do, I have a plan and a lot of time, and I’ve got the determination to take all the steps necessary to propel me toward a future that will be fulfilling, enjoyable, challenging, and adventurous.

I see the humanities within my everyday life countless times. In this past week I’ve been a bit isolated since I’ve been both sick and swamped by schoolwork. However, I have learned a lot about Jewish American attitudes as I’ve been around my roommate Leo as he searches for a major here at OSU. He’s talked to me a lot lately about his parents’ expectations of him and their attitudes regarding one’s career. How attending college was never an option for him, it was simply established by his parents that it would be the next step after high school. As I try to be supportive of him through this (with the help of our mutual friend Uri, who sometimes shifts the conversation into Hebrew where I am of no use) Leo has mentioned a lot of pressures that he has from his family that require him to get a “real job” and avoid delving into fields that are considered less practical. These pressures are not unheard of to me whatsoever, but Leo often characterizes these pressures as being part of wider Jewish culture.

“When my parents got divorced I had to fake a smile every day. That’s why I don’t like to smile for pictures.”~ Richard, after I had just gotten him to smile for a picture using a knock knock joke

Richard Monastra

“…I guess it started when I got dumped in the eighth grade and I realized that I actually wanted [the girl who dumped me] to be happy. I don’t hate her. I don’t feel like I’m capable of hating anybody, really. I want others to be happy. If I have to sacrifice to make others smile or laugh, I will do that. I’m hardly comfortable in conversations if I’m not trying to be funny or uplifting or if someone else is doing the same. For the first two years of high school, I didn’t have a solid set of friends. Starting junior year, I started getting closer friends, one of whom is my roommate now. I felt like I belonged. I had teachers who made me feel engaged in classes. I joined Mock Trial, and I learned there that I like, intensely, to know the truth. It makes me uncomfortable to toss aside the truth of situation before making a decision. I also learned that I like to be a leader. To make things easier- no, to influence people in a positive way. I’m at my happiest when I know I’m actively contributing to someone else’s happiness. Senior year wasn’t amazing, I felt lower and less confident. The reason I went to Tri C was because I was too ashamed to ask teachers for recommendation letters. That locked me out of most colleges, essentially. I decided to take GEs before I went somewhere. I met a girl at Tri C and we talked for awhile. We hooked up a couple of times. It turns out she was five years older than I thought. And she was and married. And an alcoholic. And she only did anything with me because she hated her husband. Even though I had no knowledge of this beforehand, I felt so guilty to be a part of something so toxic. I never ever left my shell up to then. The next year, my best friend, Ryan, my current roommate, decided to come here. So I decided I’d room with him, because I wanted to go to a more ‘real’ college. I don’t know what I’m doing, though.  I don’t feel like an adult. My future feels uncertain. But I know that through a lot of… admittedly dubious interpersonal relationships, the way I’m going to act and handle myself is going to be more caring, more aware, and more oriented towards helping people I meet who seem like they’re… lost.”

My first week at OSU was a much faster and smoother transition than I thought it would be. By the first night I made friends with people around my floor. My classes all seem very fascinating and I’m excited to proceed with them. I’m most excited for my Literature and Religion class, because I’ve already had a lot of interesting discussion in that class and the professor is very clearly passionate about what he’s teaching. I’ve been doing laundry, washing dishes, working out, and otherwise exercising responsibility on my own. I’m very excited to see where my first year at The Ohio State University.

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