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I know I know I know. Football isn’t everything. It’s just a game. Blah blah blah. It still sucks to lose though. It sucks when the entire stadium goes silent except for the smattering of fans from the opposing team reveling in their victory. It sucks to have stood outside in the cold for three hours only to trek all the way back home with nothing to smile about. All you hear on the way out of the stadium are disappointed “we should have…we could have…this ruins our chances of…the rankings…why didn’t we…”
But then taking a deep breath and looking around I realize that it is just football. It’s just a game. And you can’t win ‘em all. The fact that we lost to Penn State or USC or Illinois or LSU or any of the other teams that have overcome great odds and found a victory against the Buckeyes, well, that doesn’t make my degree worth any less. It doesn’t make the friendships I make here or the experiences I gain at THE Ohio State University any less real. Sure, it’s a bummer. But this is a great university regardless of how many games we win.
So while it was less triumphant than the previous weeks, holding my friends and singing Carmen Ohio at the end of Saturday’s game possibly meant more to me than ever before.
So Bucks, it’s time to suck it up and put on a happy face. To be honest, I’m grateful for the bye week. Finally a chance to relax…slash refocus some of my priorities into catching up with my schoolwork…ugh.
And because it still matters:
GO BUCKS!
“Math is hard!” – Teen Speak Barbie circa 1994
Every time I complain about math, my dad always says something like, “Ok Barbie.” Not to be a whiny girl or anything, but math just isn’t my forte. I took Math 150 last autumn and it was…ok. As long as I went to lecture, I pretty much understood what was going on. However, that was mostly because I had taken pre-calc. in high school and most of it was just review. I find myself a year later in the clutches of Math 151: Calculus and Analytical Geometry gasping for air. I was literally losing sleep last night over how much I have no idea what’s going on in that class already and about how much work I have every freaking night. Between the webwork and hand-in assignments, I am swamped every night. Last night, in frustration, I decided that I can’t do it alone anymore. Math 151 would surely be the death of me if kept pretending like I knew what was going on. Now I’m not the kind of student that sticks around after class with questions. I’ve never even been to a professors’ office hours. But I always told myself that if I ever really needed help in a class, I’d go look for it. Well, here was the golden opportunity. So I researched some of my possibilities for getting help.
Turns out there are a ton of kids struggling in math all the time. So much so that there is an entire tutoring center for math and statistics, aptly named the Math and Statistics Learning Center (MSLC) at Cockins Hall. They have tutoring rooms for each math and stats course open for most of the day where you can go in with questions or just to work on homework in a healthy environment. I woke up early and summoned the courage to trot on down to the Math 151 room with my questions. Not shockingly, there were a few others with the same problems as me. With the help of the professor on duty, I was able to unscramble some really basic concepts, and I was only there for about half an hour. I shall definitely be returning.
Also, the MSLC holds workshops and review sessions for the webwork and for general topics like “Limits and Continuity.” This afternoon I went to a webwork workshop for the problems that are due this evening. Basically all I did today was math. But I really got it; that was the best part. I didn’t even dread coming home and finishing up all the work I have due this week. Call me a dork, but I even went ahead and did the next three assignments and got a 100% on the next set of webwork problems.
I feel about a thousand percent better than I did at this time yesterday. And it’s all because I admitted my weakness and sought help. And I’m so so so not alone. The moral of the story is: Don’t feel stupid asking for help/ utilizing all the resources this university has to offer. That’s what you’re paying for anyways.
So yes Barbie, while math may be hard, don’t forget your other catch phrase: Anything is possible!
GO BUCKS!
I love being back at school. I love Columbus. But there are times when part of my heart still resides in Chicago. Last night was one of those times. The White Sox were playing the Twins in a tiebreaking game to determine the AL Central Division Champs. Talk about intense. For some. I watched as much as I could before I had to go to work at nine last night, but it was a 0-0 tie until the 7th inning. It did little to calm my nerves. I got to work, and I was basically a nervous wreck. I had the box score pulled up on a computer at work, which I checked every few minutes. I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, and it’s not. It was more the fact that everyone at work thought I was being ridiculous. No one here cares about my team. If anything, they are rooting against them because of partiality to the Cleveland Indians. I guess the point is, I’m alone on a White Sox island out here. It’s going to be a difficult postseason if I’m the only one who gives a hoot. Either way though, I’ll take it. I basically whooped and hollered and danced around when I read ‘MIN 0 – CHW 1 (FINAL)’ on my phone last night. This is exciting for me if for no one else.
No worries, I’m still pumped about the Bucks taking on Wisconsin this weekend. I’m still excited about all that jazz. But October is an awesome month when your team is still playing baseball. I hope I can keep my head in the academic game though, because when this happened in 2005, well, let’s just say it mattered a lot less back then…
So now I’m just trying to stay focused in classes, motivated at work, chide my French teacher for being a Cubs fan, and avoid all black cats, ladders, things that come in 13’s, etc…
This might seem like wasted words to 99% of Columbus, but for any one out there who feels just like me:
GO SOX!!!!
Man it’s been a busy week! From freshmen moving in on Sunday and already shaking up campus with their confusion/ enthusiasm, to the start of classes on Wednesday, to the first official weekend of the school year and the first football game for most students, it’s been nuts, pardon the pun. I spent a ridiculous mount of money on textbooks. Like seriously, a ridiculous amount. Usually I can find used books on Amazon and save a ton of money. Winter quarter, I think I spent a total of 100 dollars on books. This quarter, such was not the case. All of my classes required specific editions of the texts, and the materials for French alone cost 200 dollars. Ouch. Math 151 already sucks, but I think that’s mostly because the last time I took a math class was last fall. Everything else is cool. I only have two hours of class a day. I’m back to working a million hours at Mirror Lake Café, and it’s so much fun. I don’t know why. It was a little chaotic this first week as the new students had yet to figure out exactly how to work the meal plan system. But it’s refreshing to see a bunch of new faces and a bunch of old friends back at work. Plus I get to eat for free, a nice perk when I’m actually paying for groceries this year.
The most fun I’ve had in about a month, though, was yesterday. I had football tickets last year, but knowing no one coming to school, I didn’t a have a group to sit with. So I ended up going to all the games by myself and sitting next to a very nice alumni couple. It was fun, but it wasn’t as fun as yesterday. I have Block O tickets this year, and let me tell you, IT WAS A BLAST! My friends and I got to the stadium just past 10 and sat in the second row. They had both sat there before and such was old news, but I was freaking out. I didn’t know all the cheers or all the words to the songs at first, but I’m a fast learner. I loved standing and dancing around and doing card stunts and being able to go crazy etc. I never felt happier to be going to THE Ohio State University than when I was surrounded yesterday afternoon by all the joy and excitement. It was awesome. I wish it wasn’t another two weeks until our next home game. I CAN’T WAIT!
But in the meantime, I have to do a lot of homework already, work a lot, try to get into a more regular sleep cycle, and go to a Ryan Adams concert. Woo! So I hope everyone had an awesome first week back! Now it finally feels like college is in full swing again.
GO BUCKS!
"With the lights out, it's less dangerous." - Nirvana
Wrong.
I FINALLY MADE IT! Despite all the forces in the world that seemed to point to me never arriving safely to Columbus, here I am. One small problem: NO ELECTRICITY! In Chicago, it rained for about 3 straight days in the wake of hurricane Ike. I was hoping the foul weather wouldn’t follow me to my new home. I was partially lucky. What Columbus lacked in rain, it made up for in high winds, knocking down trees, signs, knocking out power for much of Ohio.
What my dad and I had awaiting our exhausted selves at around 9 last night was traffic lights out, dark and spooky hotels, and a general feeling of chaos. However, after changing hotels, tossing and turning for about seventeen hours in anticipation of today, and taking a hot shower, I was ready to move in, power or not.
So we pulled up to my apartment, the van literally packed to the gills with all the necessary accoutrements. And basically, I LOVE IT! Daddio and I spent about 5 hours building all my IKEA gems. Then we topped the evening off with a nice dinner at the Cap City Diner. But now I’m home. All my things are in boxes and bags and laundry baskets and strewn haphazardly about my room. Having no power on my first night in the apartment is a little unsettling. My roommates moved in two weeks ago and have sort of set up a natural order but I’m still stumbling around a little in the dark. I’m sitting on the floor with flashlight by my side in the dim light of 7 tealight candles lit on my desk. I’m praying for the power to return asap as my phone and computer will not last for much longer. And because, you know, I like having lights to be able to unpack…but even though it’s dark and quiet and both roomies are MIA, it still feels safe because this is my HOME now.
Weird. Moving in today was half as chaotic as last year, despite the lack of OWLs. It felt better because it was all mine. There aren’t several thousand others milling around, rushing the Target, trying to figure out how to make it on the first night of college. It’s just me turning down several of my friends’ invitations to go out. I’m pooped. We have all the time in the world to hang out. Finally. It feels sooooooo good to be back. You don’t even know. And on that note, I should probs blow out these candles and hit the hay before I die of exhaustion.
GO BUCKS!
And GO…ELECTRICAL WORKERS! GO FASTER!
Yes indeed, it has been awhile. Now with all my friends long gone (blasted quarter system), I really have no reason for not writing. I honestly turned into a complete bum recently. There was actually a point where I hadn’t left the house in 4 days. Also bad, I just woke up. It's almost 5 in the evening...However, with only 6 days remaining at home, I again find myself with the feeling that I am RUNNING OUT OF TIME! This happened last year around this time, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. The biggest difference though, between this year and last, is that now I know what to expect. No mystery roommates. No questionable meal plans. I know where most of my classes are just from looking at my schedule. I already have my handful of friends, though I am always excited to meet new people. I am already well established at my job and can’t wait to return. The thing I am most apprehensive about is living in my apartment, paying bills, etc. It’s going to be a ton of fun though in general.
So for all of you who are in the same boat as me, or maybe facing this for the first time, at first the utter boredom/ loneliness turned to frantic scrambling as you realize the school year is actually coming, try not to freak out. Freshman still have almost two weeks until move-in, so make sure you use that time wisely. Start getting everything in order early, from organizing all your belongings, to talking to your roommate ahead of time, to even getting “paperwork” in order such as waiving your insurance, etc. It’s definitely overwhelming, especially if you are leaving home for the first time, but if you’re like me, half of you probably can’t wait to get out of here and actually have SOMETHING TO DO!
I guess that’s a lie. Now is the time where I really have to start putting things together. I have to piece through all the things I brought home from my dorm in June and immediately threw in storage. I have to go over all my clothes and books and other daily living essentials. My roommates are already both moved in and I am in constant touch with them about what I’m gonna need to bring/ do to live comfortably in out apartment. I have to go shopping. I have to figure out what the deal is with my student loan. I have to start mentally preparing to learn things again, aka calculus…And I have one more White Sox game to attend. So my plate this week is pretty full. But to sum it all up, I’m definitely as excited as I was last year to load up the car and drive 7 hours to Columbus and my school and go to football games and mill around on High St. and do all the things that come with being a student at THE Ohio State University. I’ve missed it for sure.
So get ready Ohio, here I come!! Again.
GO BUCKS and GO SOX!!!!
"But there’s no need to worry
This is just a vacation
It’s not permanent leaving
Every kid gets excited"
-Animal Collective
To say I’ve been too busy to write wouldn’t be entirely telling the truth. I have been doing a lot of things, there’s no doubt about that. However, since there is no school, I still find myself with a lot of down time. I wish I remembered to write more often, because there are times when I’ve done really interesting things that I want to share in detail, but by the time I remember to, I can’t recall them with as much clarity.
Since I got home from Bonnaroo and started my summer job, “working” is pretty much all I’ve been up to. On my days and nights off though, I have managed to have some fun, including doing the following:
1) First and foremost, going to many White Sox games. I don’t want to jinx it, but so far I am undefeated this year. Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. Etc.
2) Pitchfork music festival, held annually in Chicago’s Union Park. A friend from school came to visit and we basically hit the town, up, down, and all around. I feel like it’s my duty to show my school friends why exactly it is I am so in love with my city. And we jammed to Vampire Weekend and, one of my top most fav bands, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE! It was very powerful.
3) Today I went to IKEA, the massive furniture/ everything else home-livey warehouse and I almost died. Not only is my wallet crying because of the need to furnish my apartment next year, I found myself crushed under the feeling that I will never be complete. I want everything in that store. And it’s almost justifiable because it’s SO CHEAP. But cheap adds up. I spent almost 400 dollars today and I know I’m not half way done.
It’s strange that most of my friends are going back to school within the month. I mean, this happened last year. And it felt almost the same way somehow. Getting ready for school/ moving in is exciting, but it’s even sadder this time around. Not only am I getting left behind again, it’s by that handful more of people who were seniors in highschool last year. And now I’m actually moving out to live on my own, albeit with two other girls, but with no more authority figures/ people looking out for me from afar or from offices down the dorm hallways. That’s the way it’s going to be for the rest of my life too; that’s what’s really not sinking in. This next step is going to be a big one, and having to buy my furnishings etc. really hit me like a ton of bricks today. Growing up is weird!
On the other hand, my summer is barely half over. I am going to the Cirque du Soleil this week. Several buds are coming to Chicago for the three-day music festival, Lollapalooza this weekend (RADIOHEAD!!! Wilco!!!) I am vacationing to South Carolina in two weeks. So there are still good things going on. The future is indeed sneaking up on me, but it’s almost as exciting as it was last year. Except this time I actually know people going in. That much is comforting to know.
In the meantime, I’m trying to not let summer slip through my fingers while simultaneously wishing school would hurry up and get here already because I miss it.
So there’s that. And again, because it’s baseball season in my heart and all around, more than anything else…
GO SOX!!!
Clara was right, not to be cliché.
So now my summer has officially begun. And by that I basically mean I am in Evanston semi-permanently, and my summer job has begun. Let me describe briefly my duties. I outside in a chair. I listen to my iPod. I read books. I write things like this and letters to my friends. I talk on my cell phone. And I make $7.75 an hour. I love you Illinois minimum wage. What my job actually entails, besides all those challenges, is directing foot and vehicular traffic for Ravinia, an outdoor music festival in the north shore Chicago suburb of Highland Park. And for those of you who aren’t from the Chicagoland area, “north shore” is pretty much a synonym for “has a ton of money and everything that comes with it”. I digress. The foot and vehicular traffic straggles in at a less than steady rate, thus leaving me with a lot of downtime/ time to ponder.
So here I am, pondering away. It feels like freshman year is about a million years behind me, when the truth is, two weeks ago at this time I was only starting to get ready to go back home. Bonnaroo was in between then and now, and that was basically just a crazy kick-off to what will be an otherwise uneventful summer. Besides Lollapalooza and a fam vacation to Hilton Head, SC in August, I don’t have a lot going on. This is not a problem whatsoever. I have to “work” 6 days a week, but I have every evening free, meaning many a Sox game will I attend.
So yep, that’s the update. My summer routine is now in full swing, and it’s going to be one of the easiest ones ever. I honestly cannot believe that they pay me to do what I do...
And now, because the Sox and the Cubs are both currently in first place and battling eachother in the Crosstown Classic both this weekend and next…
GO SOX!
I did it! I am done with school. Freshman year did not kill me. I have basically a thousand and one things to say so I’m sort of just going to spit them out into a tornado of words.
At his time last week, I really just wanted to go home. It was warm and sunny and I was in the summer mode fa sho. I did not want to study. I did not want to spend one more second in the dorm. I did not want to wake up early anymore or really do anything important, aka not fail my finals. But then my finals came and went relatively painlessly, my birthday happened, and I had a ton of fun with my friends for the last time for the next three months. I celebrated being done with finals by going to COSI and feeling like I was 8 years old. Then I ran around in Goodale Park barefoot and swang on the swings. So when Thursday night came around and I found myself ROASTING in my dorm (my roommate moved out with the fan the day before), putting all my belongings in boxes and plastic trash bags, I was like “Wait a minute, I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME!” Sort of.
It was sad/ surreal to leave the room I’ve lived in and the people I’ve lived with for the entire year. And I don’t think my summer job will be half as fun as my job at school. However, being home has its major perks. I am currently sitting in my lazy-boy, watching the Sox game, eating real Chinese food, waiting for my friend to come over and majorly kick it BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO. For a little bit.
My only responsibilities over the next week or so include unpacking my mountains of junk, celebrating my belated birthday with my friends and fam here, hitting up the beach, getting ready/ super stoked for Bonnaroo, dancing around in the mud and the sun for 4 days in Manchester, TN, going to a Sox game or two, and then starting my summer job.
Somehow, miraculously, despite getting a 64% on the final, and against all other odds I managed to get a solid B in Chem 101. My jaw hit the floor when I checked my grades this afternoon. Seriously. I almost died. I had pretty much completely surrendered to the class and spent the last week or so accepting my expected C. My GPA isn’t completely ruined afterall.
Other than that though, this doesn’t feel permanent. Something in the back of my mind still feels like I will be going back that room and those people and class and all that. So maybe I will get sadder as my time/ boredom here increases. Nonetheless, I am beyond ecstatic to be back in the Windy City.
P.S. I just got a sweet bike for my birfday.
Ok time to enjoy the general splendor. Happy summer errbody!
GO BUCKS!
I know that living in the dorms freshman year way beats all the other options. It’s an experience like no other, and I can’t see myself having done anything else whatsoever. Dorms provide almost constant company; I met some of my best friends through living in their same building. The dorms offer a lot of guidance/ advice/ education opportunities, from seeing flyers on bulletin boards of things you may find interesting, to talking to your RA about programs he or she is organizing, to getting pertinent information being delivered to your very mailbox. Living in university housing keeps one very connected to the university and general university life. Most dorms are close to classes and other academic buildings. Generally, it’s a good time. However, as the number of days I have to spend in these walls steadily decreases, the list of reasons I’m happy to not be returning next year grows:
Reasons I am excited to live in my own apartment next year:
-The smell of popcorn constantly lingers in the hallways in every dorm.
-I will very much like my own bathroom.
-Privacy. Not that my roommate and I don’t stay out of each other’s hair, it’s just that when one or the other of us has to go to sleep or talk on the phone or study or wake up early, the other of us has to compromise as well.
-No more false fire alarms.
-It’s loud all the time.
-I can’t wait to make meals in my own kitchen with my own food. Having to go out every time I want to eat and having to use a mealplan really gets old/ monotonous.
-No more quiet hours!
-Living with friends that I chose to live with.
Things I miiigggghhhtttt miss about the residence halls:
-“Free” utilities.
-Constant company/ things going on.
-Getting a loaner key if I forget mine.
-Vending machines down the hall.
-I don’t have to clean the bathrooms.
-Someone always there to sign for my packages.
-Connectedness to the university
-Closeness to my job, my classes, and the RPAC
At this point, I kinda just want time to hurry up so I can have my own bed and own sleep and own room and own family and old beach and old friends and baseball tickets and beach-goings etc. Let’s just say I’m grateful for the long weekend and the ensuing LAST WEEK OF CLASSES.
GO BUCKS!
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