Freshman Year So Far...

So far, I think I would describe my first year at Ohio State as a learning experience, in every sense possible. I came here to learn and grow academically, but I never realized how quickly living on my own would change the way I think about a lot of things. For one, I have a newfound respect for my parents. It turns out Mom and Dad knew what they were talking about most of the time. :) I also have a newly acquired appreciation for cooking! I was able to visit home for the first time this weekend, and being there made me realize how much I missed having access to fully stocked kitchen, 24/7. I woke up at one in the morning and made pancakes. You can't do that in a dorm! Finally, I sincerely feel blessed to be able to go to school. With all of the stress and business, it's easy to forget that going to school is simply not an option for the majority of the world. I was watching Family Guy with my little brother last night, and a commercial for a 60 Minutes special came on; the special was covering poverty in America. It's really amazing that all of us have an open door to do what we want with our lives. We have every possible resource available to us, and we have the opportunity to shape our own futures into what will make us most happy. That's a really powerful thing, and I guess that really hit me for the first time this weekend. Anyways, I love it here and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has to offer! I already feel like a totally different person, and it's only been three weeks!