The first week of college classes for many people is close to the end of August. I moved into my college dorm on a Thursday before my classes started. I am a freshman studying mechanical engineering at Ohio University. This first week has already brought big and exciting changes into my life. These changes include new people, college-level classes, dorm living, new opportunities, and learning how to get around campus.

I thought that meeting new people would have been difficult for me to do. I was always so used to having my parents and people I knew around me, until I decided to leave all of that three and a half hours away and take off to Ohio University. I came to Ohio University only knowing a select few people, people I remembered from Bobcat Student Orientation and a few people from the high school that I graduated from. The first week of being at Ohio University I had really stepped out of my comfort zone. I had talked to so many strangers, that most I now consider friends.

High school classes and college classes are two completely different battles to fight. In high school I was always on top of everything and it was relatively easy for me to pass and understand what was going on in the classes. In the first few days of college classes I found my way to my classes alright, but soon became overwhelmed with the workload and all the online things that needed to be done. I soon got a planner and wrote all of the assignments on the dates that they were due so I could prioritize the things that needed done first easily. A couple days went by and I am slowly getting the hang of things.

Dorms in college are kind of a strange thing. I guess it is probably kinda like living in an apartment, which I have never done. It's just awkward to me because I don't get along with many females very well and my whole floor on my side of the building is females. The whole roommate thing isn't that weird to me because I have shared a room with my sisters since I was a little girl and I get along with my roommate great.

College presents many new opportunities to get involved. I have also stepped out of my comfort zone in the way of getting involved. I have attended one club meeting already in week one and plan to attend quite a few more club meetings. I am also planning on join a fraternity for the major that I am in, which is very unlike me. I never would have seen myself as going greek, until I met the people at the student involvement fair that were at the fraternity table. They were so nice and welcoming that I want to join them.

Learning where things are and the quickest way to get there is definitely going to be an ongoing process, but I thing that I am getting it down pretty well.I enjoy just walking around campus taking pictures or just figuring out where everything is. Ohio University is such a beautiful place full of wildlife and things to do. In the short time that I have been at Ohio University it has really become my home away from home. I am proud to be a Bobcat and to call Ohio University my hOUme.