My First Semester At OSU

Not going to lie, I was not expecting things to go the way they have. At all.

Socially, I struggled at first. My only friends were a friend from high school, Meredith, and her roommate, Rachel. We mostly just saw each other on the weekends at football games and such, but as the semester went on, we started grabbing lunch during the week and doing more than just hanging out on game days. I would venture to say that Meredith and I are a lot closer now than we were in high school.

As I grew more comfortable at OSU, I started branching out and I made a couple more friends. It is hard to be as involved as I would like to be, since I live off campus and work 40+ hours a week. I wish I would have joined at least one club at the beginning of the semester, but I think I will at the beginning of the next instead. By now, I have (sort of) figured out how to better balance everything.

Academically, I started out super well. I had straight A’s in all my classes but I was growing super exhausted. I feel like I haven’t been well rested since summer, if not before. My anxiety became uncontrollable and I started skipping class here and there, thinking it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, and that’s when I saw my grades begin to slip. As soon as I realized that this was impacting my grades, my anxiety got worse but I started making more of an effort. Now I’m currently in grade recovery mode. We’ve almost made it.

As the semester comes to a close, I want to focus on the positives a little bit more. I grew comfortable being on my own and navigating through unfamiliar places. I experienced my first OSU vs Michigan rivalry game, which OSU won. I went to a twenty one pilots concert in Cleveland with a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I turned 19 and my best friend, Saige, came down from Kent to celebrate. I went as Wonder Woman for Halloween, as I have been wanting to for years. I spent a wonderful weekend in New York with my mom. I grew closer with old friends and made some new ones. I went to a trans visibility rally and cried a lot. Most importantly, I started to make a little nook for myself at OSU and I’m more excited than ever to expand it over the next few years.

*Cue photo montage*

 

      

Humans of OSU: Rachel Pierce

Meet Rachel Pierce

Rachel Pierce is a freshman at The Ohio State University. She is a Computer Science Engineering major from Albany, New York. As a devout vegan, Rachel is extremely passionate about environmental sustainability as well as social justice and equality; In fact, the word she chose for her “My Intent” bracelet was “equality.”

When asked about an event that impacted her life, Rachel said:

“The event that has had the biggest impact on my life happened when I was 3. My mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Watching her fight this battle taught me from a very young age to face battles head on and with a positive outlook. It showed me that I can get through anything if my mom could get through so many chemotherapy sessions, radiation sessions, and surgeries. Because of my moms diagnoses I try not to take the easy way out of anything because taking the path of least resistance doesn’t always lead to the best outcomes.”

Humanities This Week

Earlier this week, my mom and I drove to Cincinnati to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the musical. We have an annual subscription to a theatre in Cincinnati so we typically go down seven or eight times a year for a show.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was an especially meaningful trip for my mom. For her tenth birthday, her only gift was a copy of Roald Dahl’s book. She said it was her favorite birthday gift to date. It was interesting and heartwarming to see how such such a seemingly small piece of literature can come full circle.

The show itself was really fun to watch. Willy Wonka is always an exciting character to see come to life, be it by Gene Wilder in the film or the actor who played him on stage. He is just one of those timeless characters that I think will forever be iconic- alongside the likes of the Genie from Aladdin and the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland.

Although I don’t think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory earned its spot amongst my favorite musicals, I did enjoy the show and I am grateful for the excuse to spend time with my mom.

My First Week at OSU

My first week at The Ohio State University has been extremely exhausting- emotionally and physically.

As it turns out, making friends (my main concern about college) is a lot harder than I expected. I have tried talking to anyone and everyone and I struggle to continue the conversation past, “what’s your major?” It’s not that I haven’t met anyone, I just wouldn’t say I have made any “friends” quite yet- which is fine. I definitely think living off campus hurts whatever potential I had at a social life. A lot of people I know have said they made most of their friends through their dorm. Plus, I still haven’t met any one else in my major, which is disheartening, to say the least.

My classes, however, ended up being a lot less nerve-wracking than I made them out to be. My favorite class, so far, is my Intro to Popular Culture class. There are less than 50 students and the material is quite engaging.

The best part of my weeks are Tuesdays and Thursdays, around 12:30. I have two hours between my French class and Intro to Film Studies class. During that time, I walk to Hagerty Hall, where my lecture is, and make a temporary nest in one of the window sills overlooking this little courtyard. I usually eat my lunch and study or catch up on work. I don’t know exactly what it is about that window sill, but it feels very serene.

Despite the slight let down in my expedition to make friends, I am getting pretty comfortable here at Ohio State. A week later, and I can walk to my classes without using the Ohio State app and I’m starting to figure out which busses I need to take to get back to my car- but that’s still a work in progress.

I’m looking forward to the rest of my four years at Ohio State and all of the opprotunities that await me.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  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.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. 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.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
  • Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
  • Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
  • Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  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.]

Artifacts

[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.]