That guy at the WKU football game in my cover photo with long hair and the red hoodie on is the new guy. Well, I am the new guy actually. The names Jacob Gary, and I thought for my very first post here with The Odyssey at Western Kentucky University I would give everyone some insight into who I am. I'll talk about how I got to where I am today and what I plan to share here with The Odyssey. Basically just a little get to know me session before I get started with posting.
I never really saw myself as a Creative Writing major before I entered college. Well, to be honest, when I was at Oldham County High School in the suburbs of Louisville, I really didn't think much about what I wanted to do. I really didn't think about my choice of major until after my first year of college was over. And what a journey my first year was.
I didn't start my college career at Western Kentucky, I started it at a smaller college in Richmond, Indiana. The name was Earlham college, and I was recruited to play football there.
You might've heard of it because it actually made it on ESPN fairly recently, a segment was played on College Gameday about the current coach (I played the year before he was hired, my coach got fired) and the team itself.
Another fun fact, they are currently on the longest losing streak in all of college football, from division three to the NCAA FBS teams. So as you can imagine, after going 0 and 10, I decided I needed to transfer and retire from football.
Both of my parents went to Western Kentucky, so it was almost natural that I came here, one of my top nonathletic based choices. So when I got here I was in a funk already adjusting a second time to a new campus. I remember walking the hill every day to classes, getting those calf muscles strong.
As I stated earlier, I didn't know what I wanted to do until my second year. I tried a lot of stuff (computer sciences and coding was definitely not my thing) and ended up deciding to take a lot of English classes. My Dad was an English major too, and all throughout High School, I had enjoyed writing more than anything else. I knew I made the right choice after my second year was over.
Professor Miller and Dr. Bell really made me see some of the great personalities that our English Department employed. I think now, I really made the right choice. I was a little worried about the opportunities (because let's be real, who hears English degree and thinks immediately about how much opportunity there is in that field)
I would have with that degree, but I really think that I was wrong in worrying. I'd highly recommend going into the English Department at Western Kentucky to any new student who is unsure of themselves that is reading this, especially if you have a creative side and love to read/write.
What do I plan to bring to The Odyssey? Well, I'm just going to spark some conversation about things I'm interested in. One of the big things in my life, as you can tell above, is sports. I think sports are amazing, so many inspirational stories and smiles come from sports, with important lessons being learned from them if you play.
I'll mainly cover Football and Basketball (because they are just my absolute favorites), but I may venture into Baseball or Hockey here and there. Hell, I might cover all sports at some point in time, depends on how my audience responds. I don't want my readers to hate me, but I have to say this and get it out of the way, I'm one of the biggest New England Patriots fans you will ever meet.
And yes, I would cry tears of joy if we drafted Lamar Jackson, but my feelings on why he would be a hall of famer with the patriots will be saved for another post. Oh, if you can't tell I'm also a Louisville fan, but don't worry, I love Western Kentucky athletics too. You'll catch me at every basketball and football game, with the occasional appearance at the baseball or soccer fields.
Two other things I feel like go together that I really enjoy are video games and anime. I've played video games since as long as I can remember. I remember Stronghold 2 and the original Halo were huge for me, I loved those games and they will always have a special place in my heart.
My favorite video game franchises have to be Halo, Gears of War, and Dark Souls. Although I can think of a couple others that I really enjoy, it can wait for another post. I'm pretty much only on Xbox, for I don't have the money to build my own PC to game on.
Expect a lot of opinion pieces on themes in video games, fanbase reactions, and on games themselves. I'll also most likely go through the free games on Xbox monthly and let you know if they are worth the space to download. I can't lie, I watch more anime than I do regular TV.
I probably won't talk about anime as much, but whenever I write a piece on video game material I will follow it up with an anime piece as well. I'll talk about my opinions on anime in another post because I have seen so much (some I wish I had never seen) and have so many opinions that I don't want to add the easy one thousand words that I'll type about it to this post. So yea, prepare for all this.
Sometimes I will post a short story or poems on here too. I love to write, and sometimes I will feel like I don't need an opinion piece or list that I usually do, and I just want some original creative content on here. Those are the days when I will write a short story for you all. Poetry can find its way in too, I love writing it. I'll end my post actually with a poem I wrote just the other day, enjoy:
Someone I Wish I Knew
You were at the printer
And I put up some small talk.
There were things I wanted to say
But couldn't as we walked.
Would you go out with me,
I wanted to shout it out!
I knew I was attracted to you,
But nerves forced the shy route.
Instead, I asked how you were
And you replied Fine.
It'd be better if you were with me,
And I tried to cross that line,
But I got stuck here.
I could feel the heat rise
And my mind was static,
A blunder like this, so unwise.
And I wished I wasn't there
Then realized this isn't true
Because wherever I'm at
I want to be there with you.
But you said you had to go,
Your class was the other way.
I let you go, thinking maybe,
I'll summon the courage another day.
Well, with that I hope you all understand a little about me. I'm just here to have fun and share the fun with everyone who reads this! Don't worry, next post I'll start adding some pictures and cool reaction gifs. Just wanted to have a first, straight-up post with no BS. Until next time, peace out.