I am a very proud Buckeye. When I was a senior in high school, I decided to attend THE Ohio State University without so much as a campus visit. It had to be Ohio State. That was it. If you’ve ready any of my other articles, you are aware that I haven’t had the most traditional or clear-cut path through my undergrad, but I’m head-over-heels proud of my school nonetheless.
My freshman year, I lived in Lincoln Tower and could basically see inside the Shoe from my dorm room window. I bought the student ticket package and attended all the home games with my new college friends, and it was wonderful.
The following year, real-life starting rearing its ugly head and I realized that school, apartments, and food all cost money. I got a job waiting tables and forfeited many of my “college experiences”. Rather than at football games and tailgate parties, I began to spend my Saturday afternoons refilling Diet Cokes and bringing more bread to endless amounts of people who don’t realize how lucky they are to have weekends off from work.
My time at Ohio State is rapidly winding down. I believe my countdown is down to twenty days until I have my diploma in hand. With this being the case, for THE game this year, I took the weekend off from waiting tables for those fortunate enough to have just come from the game, and decided to watch it myself.
We all know it was a thrilling game — the first ever game in the history of the rivalry to go into overtime. I watched as JT Barrett just barely made the 4th down conversion and Ohio State was able to run the ball in for a final game-winning touchdown. Then, with the strangest combination of joy and sadness, I watched the entire student section and more rush the field and sing Carmen Ohio together.
I felt joy for my team, my school, and my classmates. I felt sadness for myself. When I get older and have children, I won’t be able to tell them about how great my college experience was. I don’t have many great adventure stories to reminisce over with my friend. I spent my years waiting tables and making ends meet because I messed it up in the first place, all the while watching my friends have their college experiences via Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. It’s something I can’t fix, change, or redo, and that breaks my heart.
I suppose there is really no moral at the end of this story. I could fix many things that did not originally go as planned. I re-enrolled in classes and finished my undergrad much stronger than I started it. My diploma has basically been earned. But as much as it breaks my heart, I cannot redo my college experience. I suppose it is one of the few things in life that you only get one crack at.
So, for anyone reading this who still has time to live their “college experience”, please learn from my mistakes. Find a job, make ends meet, go to class, do your work, but please be sure to make time for football games, tailgate parties, and middle of the night adventures. They are far more important than you may think, and you’ll regret it if you miss out.
