This past year has definitely been a wild ride. I went from sweating buckets a day in Florida, to freezing my butt off in Ohio. I still wonder if coming here really was a good decision…. Jokes aside, going to OSU was probably the best thing I’ve ever done. Most of my friends in high school stayed in-state, but I’m grateful I had the opportunity to come here. I’m pretty much only here because of scholarships and there is not a day that goes by where I’m not thankful for where I am in life. I was able to come here, get away from that high school drama, and help reinvent myself as a person. I’ve had to truly learn what it means to be an adult, to make my own decisions and realize that life is never going to go easy on me.
ENR, no matter how cheesy that is, was probably the class that impacted me the most. On a personal level it helped me to make a family when I was feeling like a lonely out-of-stater. It also helped me to really focus in on what I want to do with my life. I’ve always wanted to work with endangered wildlife but now I really want to focus on helping the environment as well.
When I look back on this year, there were definitely some hard times that I will not look back on happily, if at all, but there were some shining moments that brought me closer to the people around me. One main one was on Valentines Day. My suit mates and I didn’t have any plans so we just stayed in, ate a heck ton of chocolate, and watched Happy Feet. It was such a pure moment with some of my best friends and I will cherish it for a long time. One of my other favorite moments was when one of my suit mates took me and my roommate to her house one weekend. My roommate is an out of state student as well, and it’s hard not being able to go home as often as everyone else does to see their family. That weekend felt like a home away from home and I can now count myself lucky to be surrounded by such great people.
I am excited for all of the good things to come next year. First and foremost I WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO TAKE ANY GENERAL CHEMISTRY COURSES. This is probably what I’m most excited for. During autumn semester I will finally start taking classes for my major (Zoology) along with my minor (Environmental Science). I am so excited to finally be able to learn about the things important to me (if I’m paying $40 grand a year I want to enjoy it). As of right now I am also planning on visiting two different countries within the next 12 months. During winter break I will be traveling with Volunteers Around the World: Veterinary Outreach to Peru where we provide veterinary aid to local villages. Next summer I am also planning on studying abroad in South Africa. The number one item on my bucket list was to travel to south Africa and study the animals there, and now it is finally coming true. I cannot wait to see what the future holds!