My First Semester at OSU

My first semester at Ohio State has been one of significant personal growth and development. Before moving in, I had a considerable sense of self and responsibility but I had never lived on my own or experienced anything like college. I had lived in the same suburb of Cincinnati for all 18 years of my life, so moving to a new city was nerve racking but exciting. Looking back on everything that’s happened since, I’m grateful for the opportunity to start fresh and discover more about myself. This was the first time I’ve ever been able to only take classes that I am genuinely interested in and that have a significant purpose for me later in life. This was the first time I’m able to have complete autonomy over my daily life and make decisions for myself, whether that’s to strictly follow my class schedule and devote myself to work all day or to stay up late one night talking with friends over ice cream. I am amazed by how much I’ve been able to learn, not only from my classes but from the people, the events, and the communities that exist here on campus. I’ve met so many new people: those I can network with later, those who I will stay friends with for a lifetime, and more. I’m grateful for the opportunities that the Humanities Scholars program has offered me: friends of course, but also a ton of events to go to and things to get involved in. The scholars program has given me everything from a fun night out at the movies, to valuable information in the seminar class, to involvement opportunities with service and educational opportunities. I’ve learned so much about myself and others from my experiences throughout my first semester at OSU. In the next 3.5 years, I look forward to continuing to grow, to experience amazing things, and to appreciate more and more about the people and places that surround me in this new place I call home.

Humanities This Week

I think that one of the best things about OSU’s campus is the amount of people here and the amount of stories, individuality, and creativity that exists within us. This past week, as well as every other week, I’ve met new people and engaged in conversation that gives me a new perspective each time. In the dorms, I get to talk to all my hallmates, my roommate, and my RA and hear about how their classes are going and the other interesting things going on in their lives, as well as sometimes learning new things about them as people. Outside of that, I visit my brother at his apartment every Monday and I had a conversation with him this week about his plans after graduation in May. He’s worked 3 internships in the electrical engineering field, and he’s excited about a potential job offer from his favorite of the 3 based in Chicago. Hearing him explain exactly what he did for that company with renewable energy, the impact that it has, and how excited he is to move back to Chicago and be working with people he really enjoys made me very happy to hear, and was interesting from the perspective of seeing him in such a raw state. The same happened last night when I had a conversation with a friend I just recently made on campus this year. Stemming from a deeper discussion about our past experiences, we eventually got on the topic of our religion. I am an atheist and he is Muslim, and it was very interesting and productive for the two of us to share our spiritual experiences (or lack of, on my part) and find connections. I found an entirely new amount of respect for him as I found how much we agreed on concepts in life, despite our religious differences. I think that the conversations that I have with people here on campus very much show how present the Humanities are in every day life.

Humans of OSU

“I’ve known that I’m bisexual for a while and have been really passionate about speaking out against bi-erasure ever since I realized it was such a problem. You know, a lot of people think you’re either gay or you’re straight and don’t really recognize anything in between. I wrote a lot of poetry — slam poetry — about it. Every year in my hometown there’s this slam poetry contest. I’ve always been pretty private with my poetry, but my parents wanted to see me perform a poem there. I had written two: one about bi-erasure and one about imagery and shit like that. I had 19 days to decide which one to perform; 19 days to decide if I was ready to come out to my parents. The night before, I finally decided to perform the one about bi-erasure. Ultimately I made the right choice because I was so passionate about that topic, and my parents ended up having such great responses. My mom just smiled and said that she always knew, and my dad gave me a big hug and told me that I killed it. I’m so grateful for that.” (Columbus, Ohio)

My First Week At OSU

Having grown up in the suburbs of Cincinnati and never moving outside of the township lines for all 18 years of my life, the idea of picking everything up and moving to a different city all by myself was both terrifying and exhilarating. I was nervous to make such a drastic change from my life in my smaller hometown with my parents, my dogs, and my job that I spent so much time investing in… to a life on a college campus with a roommate, no dogs, and classes that I would start to spend so much time investing in instead. I was scared that I would feel displaced.

Throughout the past week-and-a-half living here, those fears have lifted and I’ve begun to really appreciate having a fresh start and experiencing life in a different way. While move-in was a very odd, crazy, exciting, and stressful day, things have only gotten better since getting here and getting settled in. The community here is something extremely special — I’ve met my amazing roommate, some great new friends in my hall, some study partners in one of my classes, some upperclassmen who are eager to help, and my professors who are all so passionate about what they’re teaching and who they’re teaching it to. All of these people are incredible, and I know that throughout the rest of the year, and even the next four years, I’ll continue meeting new ones. Not only are the people great, but my classes are ones that I’m very interested in and keep finding myself getting excited about. Knowing that I’m here to continue learning about what I truly love and preparing myself to go into the world after graduation and start teaching and making an impact, I can’t help but feel like I’m really where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m meant to be doing.

Of course, there have been moments where I’ve missed all of my friends from my job back home, where I’ve missed watching my show with my mom, where I’ve missed cuddling with my dogs at night after a long day, but those are just all of the things I have to look forward to when I do go home. But while I’m back home, I know I’l have all of the people here to look forward to coming back to. I appreciate that moving here has expanded my network of people, pushed me a little bit further into independence and responsibility, and given me a whole new experience. I’m very excited to continue discovering new things here on campus, challenging myself in my classes, and figuring out more and more about myself every day!

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.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is a brief biographical statement that might include your intended major, your academic interests, your goals, as well as the things that make you unique.  Definitely include a picture! Also, remember that you can always update this post at any point. 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.]