ON(YOU)

It is that time again for college campuses to begin buzzing with students, faculty, families, and more! I, personally, am more than thrilled to start my second year of college off at such a wonderful campus, Ohio Northern University.  Last year at this time, I was a nervous freshman at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. I thought I had chosen a wonderful school that was far enough away from home, but close enough that I could run home to grab a home cooked meal when need be. It was a nice school, but I figured out over the course of a semester that it just wasn’t the one fit for me.

When looking into schools, Ohio Northern was a top contender, but it all came down to dollars and cents. However, I learned that money can not buy happiness. I revisited Ohio Northern and learned that this was the school I needed to be at. A small part of me knew, though, that Ohio Northern would be my home.

When I was about nine years old, I started taking piano lessons. When I started to get better and improving, I went to competitions. One particular competition I attended was at Ohio Northern. It was a duet competition held in the fall. I felt like this is where I wanted to end up one day. I went with one of my really good friends for multiple years. The campus was always so pretty and it felt very welcoming. When I hit high school, I started to really begin thinking about college and the path I wanted to go down. Ohio Northern was at the back of my head at all times, but I thought that it might be too close to home.

Junior year came around and then senior year and college was just knocking on the door. I only had three schools picked out and one of them was ONU. I applied and was accepted. I remember being so excited that I even got accepted (even though I was kind of expecting to get into some school) and it was one of the schools that I had been dreaming about going to since I was in middle school. I also got into Wittenberg, which was tied with Ohio Northern on my list. I liked them both equally and in the end it came down to the money. I received the Provost Scholarship from Wittenberg and that ended up sealing the deal for me.

I arrived at Witt and moved in. From move in day, I never really felt at home. I knew it would be an adjustment, but I never got myself to fully dive into the scene. I felt all wrong and thought I had made a mistake. I looked back into Ohio Northern and decided that I needed to be there. It also helped that my best friend also was going to transfer to Ohio Northern.

Going into my second year, I know that I am at my home away from home. I get to live with my best friend and I am so comfortable. I love all the professors I get to meet and have, I have changed my major now for about the fifth time and I love it and the department so much. I love ONU and I feel more like me than I have ever before!