A homecoming.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As I sit in my room, oddly empty and bare compared to what I'm used to, it feels so weird to be home.

This first quarter as a college freshman has flown by insanely fast, full of amazing experiences, yet empty of my promised blog entries. Today is the first time I've been home since the day before moving down to Columbus, which ironically was the day of my last blog entry...being back in the old stomping grounds prompted me to get myself together and write another entry before tomorrow's turkey and pies knock me out for the weekend!

In all honesty, there is so much to share that I hardly know where to begin! The past two months have been some of the most amazing I have ever experienced, and it's hard to pick and choose which events are most worthy of being mentioned here. I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but give you a basic rundown of some of my favorite memories made so far:


Move-in Day. Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start :P Move-in day was crazy of course...imagine somewhere around 6,000 students relocating their entire lives' inventory to the small dorms & apartments of OSU and you get a vague idea. I arrived well before my roommate and had already unpacked everything, made my bed, and even decorated a little before she got there! In retrospect, that was for the best because until everything was organized away, the place was trashed. Leaving my family was something you can't really prepare for...at first, I had to say a quick goodbye to make a meeting for this very blog team. Luckily that wasn't enough for my parents (or really me), so we had a much less rushed goodbye afterwards, but I will never forget the strange sensation of turning to walk away toward my dorm and seeing them drive off down the street.

Getting a hug from President E. Gordon Gee! What a great man.

Welcome Week. Good thing OSU provides like, a thousand things to do for the whole first week, which helps to keep your mind focused on the future. I went to countless club meetings, free fitness lessons (take advantage!), random concerts and get-togethers, and ice cream socials to totally negate the free fitness lessons I took :P It ended up raining for the Student Involvement Fair, so we had to move it indoors to the Union, but I have never signed up for so many things in my entire life! Or gotten so many free giveaways. Including a plant who now lives in our room named Irvin :)

Game Days. Obviously, when choosing The Ohio State University, one has to realize the impact of sports on the campus - namely, FOOTBALL. Despite the fact that I don't know if I've ever thoroughly watched an entire football game in my life unless I was cheerleading for it, and maybe not even then, I'm not sure what prompted me to buy season tickets. But I have surely not been disappointed....the games are always a blast, and you can just feel the vibe shift on campus when Saturday rolls around. From being able to witness one of the best Buckeye games in a long time to storming to field and singing Carmen Ohio, I will never forget the memories made in the OSU 'Shoe!

Me on the field after we stormed it...unforgettable!

Laundry? Hmm, where to start...I'm terribly awful at it. The first time, one of the guys in our building, yes guys, offered to do it for me since I didn't want to mess it up. Disgrace to my gender I am. Also, I have successfully flooded our laundry room at one point...in my defense, it was the washer's fault and not mine! All I can say is kudos and thanks to my mother for doing laundry for all these years...I underestimated you.

Just an FYI: it was NOT this bad.

Food. I know, I know, the curiosity is killing you...did I gain the dreaded Freshman 15?! Actually, quite the opposite. I forget to eat. A lot. And considering I walk everywhere and work out from time to time, I think it's safe to say that I've escaped its evil grasp. Score! Although, really, I should probably remember to eat more than once a day...

Yep, that's a pizza with "Sorry" spelled out in M&M's.
Only my roommate! Princess Diaries, anyone?

Baker West.  A.K.A. the best dorm on campus! Okay well maybe not, but I love it to death. Even our flooding showers, clogged sinks, and odd smells can't sway me on this one. My floormates are awesome, and I've met a ton of people who are so funky and unique; it's awesome. Finding love, friendship, and family...what more could I ask for? BAKER LOVE! <3

Baker West

All in all, it's been the little things that have added up to mean the most - it's the all-nighters pulled and the life chats had, the rainboots bought and the chai lattes drunk, the friends made and the connections formed, the moments you thought you couldn't last another second and the moments that took your breath away.

And with that, I've been officially integrated into the Ohio State family - a family I never ever thought I'd fall so in love with. And as Thanksgiving rolls around tomorrow morning, I know precisely what to be grateful for!!!

Have a Happy Turkey Day :)

Laundry photo: http://www.gregoryrestoration.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Washer_Overflow1.jpg
All other photos: Taken by me!

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE!

ONE more day remaining between me and one of the biggest changes thus far in my life...COLLEGE!!! Or more specifically, THE Ohio State University!!! Sorry for all the caps and exclamation points; can you tell I'm excited?!

It's totally unbelievable that it's finally here. After four long months of summer, and eighteen+ years, I'm actually going to college! After hunting down extra-long twin sheets, buying far too much food for my dorm, and ultimately packing up my life into the back of our mini-van, I'm sitting here watching my dad make his famous popcorn for the last time. Okay, maybe it's not famous, but it's delicious and made on the stove, and we eat it almost every Friday without fail for family movie night. Yumm :9

In fact, he just asked me if I'm starting to get nervous. Weirdly enough, I'm not. Maybe it hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm really leaving now? Not too sure on that one. I've tied up most of my odds and ends, and tonight we had a small family get together that lasted for hours so that everyone could say goodbye. One of my best friends' mom even brought me a college survival package with pretty much everything that I didn't get around to packing. How sweet is that! I had just been planning on picking them up in a week or so on campus, but now I'm all set. Thanks, Mrs. Heppner!

So. I should really be getting to sleep...but I think instead I'll blog - you know, let you know what's going on since I probably won't be able to write again til after move-in. Also just get rid of some excited energy and wait for this popcorn ;)

Thursday, my mom and I packed up the van. But first, I made sure to get some lovely pics for you all; hope you enjoy!

Ridiculous, I know. It looks like so much...and is quite possibly too much,
but I figure I can always send some back with my family! Plus this
is everything spread wayyy out for photo purposes :)

Alternate view of "the Pile".
Includes footlocker trunk full of clothes in the back...

Yes, this actually is everything previously pictured!
I'm a pretty good packer if I do say so myself ;)
Now this looks a lot more manageable, right?

Have faith people - it can be done! My mom and I were extremely worried about everything fitting in the car because, well...it just looked like so much more than I thought I had to pack up! But in reality, it probably took us about twenty minutes to fit everything in. (We have a Grand Caravan and removed one of the backseats so that we would have more room). It was much easier than expected! A little shuffling of objects here and there, and it all fit in pretty nicely. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it all in the car tomorrow!

Now onto the logistics of it all. I'm planning on leaving tomorrow morning so that we can get down to campus and spend some time there walking my class schedule, eating some local food, and enjoying Columbus for the day. After a night in a nearby hotel, move-in begins bright and early (in comparison to my sleep schedule) at 8 A.M. I'm hoping to get there pretty early so that I can move everything into my dorm and have time to set it up & such. I love things like that :)

It's going to be very weird/sad to say goodbye to my family though, of that I'm certain. We're a pretty close family and spend a lot of time around each other, so leaving that will probably be a bit of a culture shock. I'm just trying to look forward to all of the great things ahead of me...plus I'll be home in a few weeks for Thanksgiving!

Well, I guess I'd better get some sleep before the big day tomorrow, but best of luck to all the other Buckeyes moving in this weekend! I'll be seeing you real soon :)

LC 2011!

We're past the one-week mark, people...hard as that is to believe! Sorry for the delay in blog posts...I've been crazy busy and just got back Friday night from the Leadership Collaborative 2011.

And let me tell you.

Can you say awesome experience?! It was life-changing, to say the least. We all had an intense four days of scheduling and non-stop activity which woke us up early in the mornings (around 7:30am for me) and kept us going until roughly 2am every night. Insane? Yes. More fun than you can believe? OH YEAH. We got unbelievable chances to meet people in the Buckeye and surrounding Columbus communities, including State Representative Cheryl Grossman; DOW Chemical Company representative David Wilkins; State Representative John Karney: CEO of Jeni's Ice Cream, John Lowe; Assistant Vice Presidant of Undergraduate Admissions and First-Year Experience, Dr. Mabel G. Freeman; two-time Heisman trophy winner and OSU Alumni Association CEO, Archie Griffin; and drumroll please...the President of The Ohio State University, E. Gordon Gee!

My small group with President E. Gordon Gee! <3
Sorry for the terrible quality. They haven't given the actual picture to us yet,
so I took a picture of the paper version they gave us with my webcam =/
But still!!! :D

Starting off the week were a few classes on etiquette, which taught us proper greeting and dining manners. We also toured the Ohio Statehouse (and even got to sit in the seats of the House!), visited the North Market (a.k.a. one of the most culturally diverse markets I've ever been to), sampled Jeni's ice cream, learned from upperclassmen about campus groups and student organizations, formed intimate small groups with student & staff facilitators, learned a ton about everyone's leadership skills and strengths and how they compared to our own, ate ridiculously delicious meals, played soccer "LC-style", got carpet burns playing lap tag (Google it), tailgated, had a crazy fun dance party, and got to storm the home field of THE Ohio State Buckeyes!! Not to mention, we all made friends that will hopefully last a lifetime.

It was such a diverse group of people -  ranging anywhere from people who lived 5 minutes away, to a few people who stepped foot in the United States for the first time a few days before the conference began. Yet somehow, in a way that would only happen at Ohio State, over those four days we became a family. Difficult to believe, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that it was astoundingly different to be devoid of shared histories and preconceived notions about one another, to be so a part of something. And personally? I think that's AWESOME.

If anyone reading this is considering Ohio State as a college option, or gets the chance to be a part of the Leadership Collaborative...DO IT. You won't regret it :D

I could go on and on about what an awesome week this was and all of the different activities we did, but the staff and upperclassmen were so vague with us that it made everything a surprise once we got there, and I kind of liked that. If you would like more information about it, shoot me an email! I'll gladly answer any questions :)

Lessons learned:

•  Innumerable!!!!!

NEXT UP: Packing. And lots of it. Stay tuned :)



Countdown: 6 days!

Welcome to SEPTEMBER.

Well whaddya know, it's September already! This summer has been by far one of the strangest yet...it has seemed to fly by, but with most everyone already gone and two weeks left til Ohio State, it's also kind of dragging along. That doesn't really make sense, but I think other people going to Ohio State can get what I mean.

Just the other day, my mom and I went on the hunt for some dorm room necessities that I still hadn't gotten - mostly involving hygienic stuff like lotion and shampoo and of course, snacks. That was my favorite part :) I got some lovely microwave Chef Boyardee soups, cute little jars of peanut butter and jelly (yes, they were cute), microwave popcorn...the list goes on. Well, actually, not much more than that, 'cause I'm pretty sure I won't have room for anything else. Haha! After we got home, I packed everything up and moved it all into the dining room so that we can see just what we're dealing with before we try to stuff it in the car. After having it all hidden away in a corner of the basement, it's kind of a dose of reality to see it come together upstairs.

Maybe another reason that college feels like it's coming closer is because this weekend I have to start packing...the Leadership Collaborative starts next Tuesday! For those of you who didn't read my previous posts, I'll be going down to Columbus to spend four days at this awesome leadership conference. I can't wait! I'm also hearing things from previous LC attendees that the conference center we stay at has nearly heavenly pillows - definitely a plus, right?! :P Now if only I can pick out some "business casual" and "professional" outfits...wish me luck!

Countdown: 15 days!

Adios amigos...

Wow, as I logged on today I realized that this blog has over 300 pageviews! Yeah!!!  Thanks to all of you who have chosen to follow/subscribe/just read regularly up to this point...you guys are AWESOME! :D

This past week has been the start of school for many semester colleges and universities. It's so weird to have to say goodbye to many of my friends as they head off to this next stage of their lives...and even weirder to think that it is still exactly one month from today until I start classes myself.

On Saturday, I spent the day going to move my friend Shelby into Gannon University in Erie, PA. Her sister couldn't come, so she invited me along, and I figured why not? It seemed like it would be fun. Which it was! We arrived after about an hour and a half of driving and pulled up to the curb, where her dad proceeded to throw pile upon pile of stuff onto the grass nearby. Picture flying suitcases, pillows, and teddy bears, and you pretty much get the picture. From there, the ROTC guys helped us lug (and I mean *lug*) her things up to her room, where we met her roommate and their family. A ridiculous amount of time was spent arranging and rearranging the bulky furniture in the room into every configuration possible for the 12x16 foot area we had at our disposal, only to settle on the way that it had been in the first place, and the rest of the day flew by! There was convocation, a class picture, dinner at a local restaurant, and a last-minute goodbye as Shelby rushed to her first floor meeting.

Now, Gannon is a lot smaller than Ohio State. They have somewhere around 4,000 students and the entire campus occupies a few blocks of the city of Erie as opposed to OSU's approximate 60,000 students and 3,500 acres of Columbus. So, needless to say, the atmosphere was astonishingly different. It was interesting to see how their move-in day was operated.....and obviously I couldn't help but start to imagine how Ohio State's is going to be. I got a dry run at what it's like to move in - what to bring and what not to, what I might want to do differently - thank you to Shelby and her parents, and now my anticipation can only build from here!

With three more days of nannying to go, it's unbelievable that I have so much free time for summer ahead of me. While I'm already planning some fun things that I hope to accomplish (and blog about of course!) before summer ends, I have a bit more back-to-school shopping to get done as well. Next up for BeingBuckeye? The LIST. It's an insane list that has pretty much everything I might possibly use in college, and I figure, why not remind you of what you might forget...or what you already forgot! ;D

Lessons learned:

• While an exact replica of that dorm room you see in a college catalog might look slick and put-together, don't forget the homey touches. It's amazing what some pictures on the wall and personal touches can do to make you feel at home.
• Make sure your dorm's beds can actually be lofted before you plan on putting all of your bins and storage under there, only to realize that they can't be raised at all and your dad has to run to Target for smaller under-the-bed bins...*ahem, Shelby*
• Dorm rooms are really darn small. I mean, obviously that's a given, but there was a lot less space in there than I truly ever expected. Plan accordingly!
• Nothing can fully prepare you for saying goodbye to amazing friends you've known for years. I'm really gonna miss you guys :(

Good news galore!

Hey everyone!
It seems about time for a few updates:
Since I've decided to attend Ohio State, I have found so many opportunities to get involved that it's crazy! I applied for some of these programs earlier in the year, and in the past few weeks have been able to learn the results.

One of these programs is a highly selective one called the First-Year Leadership Collaborative (often called the "LC"). Only somewheres around 70 students were selected out of five to six thousand. Yeah, you read that right! ;) I had to write several essays and submit recommendations to apply for this awesome program. Basically, the selected participants get to travel to Columbus for a leadership conference in early September before classes start, and continue to get involved in this program throughout the year through seminars and a leadership course offered only for LC participants! They also get the chance to meet influential leaders on campus and in the surrounding Columbus area - here's a basic breakdown if you're interested: http://fye.osu.edu/LC.html.

Another cool program that I discovered is the Buckeye Blog Team. This is a really interesting group of students who blog about their experiences at the university, and they're from all over the spectrum in terms of backgrounds and experiences. When I was choosing a college, I came across the blogs of these students and thought it was really cool to read about the daily life of regular students at OSU, what activities they were involved in, and what opportunities they took at the university. Actually, reading their blogs was the main inspiration for me to start my own...the one you're reading right this moment! :)  Check out the current bloggers' entries here: http://undergrad.osu.edu/buckeyes_blog/

This is where the "good news" part comes in; I was accepted into both!!!
I am beyond excited to have been given these opportunities! :D Who knew someone could be so lucky? And I can't wait to meet everyone involved as well!

SO.
If you caught the part about the blog, yes that does mean that I will be blogging for THE Ohio State University and get featured on their website!! Cool, huh? :) Butttt I also plan to continue BeingBuckeye on this website...so don't feel the need to change it up if you're liking reading about my college journey on here! I'll probably just re-post so that everyone can be kept up to date on both websites.

Other good news! (Yep, it just keeps coming!):
Well, for those of you who don't already know, I've been accepted into the Arts Scholars program at OSU, and have met some of the most amazing people before school's even begun! I even got to meet my roommate at orientation.
SPEAKING OF WHICH--->

We got our OFFICIAL housing notifications! Almost a week before, someone on Facebook leaked a link that they must have uncovered that led everyone to "unreliable" housing notifications and roommate assignments...apparently it was a test model no one was supposed to see! (It made the news: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/11/list-of-osu-roommates-goes-viral-in-error.html) Luckily, I received my actual assignment a few days ago, and it was still the same :) I'll be staying in Baker Hall West with a really sweet girl named Caitlyn, and it's so exciting to be able to see the actual room number, its dimensions, etc.!
Well I've gotta run, but I wanted to let you all know of a few updates...T-minus one month until I leave for OSU! :D

The beginning of the end?

As I walk into stores and see displays bursting with "back-to-school" madness, I can't help but realize that this is the beginning of the end! Many of my friends and former classmates are all headed off to college within the next two or three weeks, and the thought of that has me practically reeling. As an Ohio State student, we have an extra long summer, lasting up until move-in day on September 18th, but it seems that most other colleges are on semester system, starting somewhere between August 10th and September 1st! While I'm frantically trying to schedule in some last-minute hang out time with my friends heading off into the next stage of life, it seems eons away that I'll be following in their footsteps...

Updates on my life so far:

1. I GOT TO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT!!! Up close and live!
2. I'm busy being a nanny every day, but for the next week the kids are out of town on vacation, so the only one I have to take care of is their pet fish :)
3. Sparkles make everything better
4. I officially have a designated "college spot" in our basement
5. I'm really craving some PB & J

So. Let's count backwards, just to be difficult. :P
5: I don't know. It's late and I'm hungry!
4: It's official. I cleared away a nice little square for me to store all of my college purchases until the big day comes to load them all into the car. Look forward to a post soon including my massive list of college STUFF! I'll try to remind you of everything you ever forgot :)
3:  Really, it's true. My cousin asked to paint my nails the other day, so I reluctantly watched as she picked out a shimmery pastel pink and topped it off with multi-colored glittery goodness. They now look something roughly like this:

Anyways, regardless of the 5-year old vibe I get from them, and the fact that they sort of remind me of cupcakes (?), for some reason, they just make me happy. Actually, I think sparkles just make me happy. Hence number three on the list :)
2: Pretty self-explanatory. I'm thinking it will help me decide whether or not I want to get fish for my dorm room...we'll see.
And of course, number 1: The best night EVER! I actually cried when she came onstage. Now typically, I'm one of those people who laughs at the pathetic people who cry and actually try hard to get noticed at concerts etc., but in this case, when she came out of the stage floor in a cloud of fog, the tears welled up and I just couldn't help myself. I must apologize to all those people I have ever mocked, because it was an emotional moment :). I even made a glow-in-the dark poster (which didn't work by the way) and did myself up in typical TSwift fashion...cat eyes, glitter, cowboy hat, flowy dress, and super curly hair included! Lame, I know. But I love her! Here are some pictures from the night:

On the way to the concert! Wave-ironed curly hair,  gold glitter cat eyes, and cowboy hat? Check!

Taylor being sassy during one of her songs.

Looking gorgeous as always during the encore of her concert!

These are really my seats!!! Insane is right :) Me with my iconic TS hand-heart poster that I made before the concert. Even if it didn't glow as promised, I think it still turned out pretty cool. And seats to this amazing concert? The coolest!

Lessons learned?: 

• Using sparkles more often is a must
• I will be a Taylor Swift fan for life! <3
• PB&J, while arguably the most boring and simple sandwich, is just so satisfying sometimes.
• College is coming quicker than I thought!

All in all, I'm thinking that life is going pretty darn well. I just need to prepare myself this week to start the goodbyes...not exactly something I'm anticipating eagerly! But even though I'm saddened to see everyone get ready to go, it also pumps me up because, well...I'm NEXT! :D

Until next time,

Cassie :)

Photo credits:
Nail Art image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-5adQ7l8EJl7qFo-BtXCeRgXW-YHXWbWK6NXCnDE4KJyRCvJbHmGYBxWfuLEXfsgZUjkDnpWEkhvBNGNue_3FenpIVE6ntcFecE_dmsykwhHLFx3WV5fQmQkmnXOtHg-_kYNGSIxOxs/s1600/IMG_0715.JPG
All photos from Taylor Swift concert: Taken by me! Copyright © Cassie Stratton 2011