"If I am lost, it's only for a little while." - Band of Horses

Was it hard coming here out-of-state and knowing nobody?

In a word, yes. It was hard to feel like I belonged in this state where it seems every boy and girl was raised on the culture and traditions of THE Ohio State University or at least on the football. There were points when I was like, hm…maybe I should have gone to Illinois. But then I remembered all the reasons I had wanted to come here in the first place. I knew it would be unusual and foreign territory, which was one of the things I was looking forward to. I felt like I had to get out of Illinois and all the pressure that was put on me to go there. Maybe it wasn’t up to my family and other friends in Illinois. Maybe it wasn’t up to my parent’s wallet (although that is the number one hint of doubt I have about being here – severe cashflow problems are in my immediate future). It was up to me where I wanted to get the education that the rest of my life was to be based on, and I chose THE Ohio State University because it has as much to offer as any of the other schools I looked at, it is huge, it has an amazing fitness center, the campus and Columbus area are awesome, and I got a scholarship…I figured the rest would just fall into place eventually. Sure, meeting and getting close with people who already seemed to know everyone/ everything about OSU was tricky, but it just took open-mindedness and willingness to try new things. That’s all. Besides, being not from Ohio and getting teased about my “Chicago accent� (?) is exciting. I’m different!

So yes, I deal with a lot of “Why would you come here since out-of-state tuition is so expensive?� and “How did you end up coming to OSU anyways?� etc., but I just shrug and tell ‘em that I really had a gut feeling that this was where I belonged, and I don’t need to justify that to anyone, including myself.

I am a Buckeye. I am. And I’m proud to be.

GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!