Breathe it in

Coming into college, I never thought I would be as involved on campus as I am, but I also never thought I would learn so many skills outside of class. Sure, I’m a marketing student- I can tell you the importance of the 4P’s, knowing your audience and maintaining brand awareness. I’m a PR minor- I can tell you how what you post on one platform isn’t going to translate to another or how important it is to post consistently if you want to start gaining a following. But I’m also a videographer/editor and all 4,000 hours I’ve put into learning and doing that the past three and a half years didn’t come from a class. I know I still have a lot to learn there, but what I’m talking about isn’t just where I want to push my career. I’m talking about how Ohio Northern has played a pivotal role in curating me into a leader- which is still weird to me. 

Over my past three years I’ve set different goals for myself. Freshman year, it was to make ONU home. I did that by joining a sorority, figuring out that I actually didn’t want to be a surgeon or an actuary, but rather a content creator/specialist/producer and learning it’s ok to follow your passions. My sophomore year, it was to put myself out there. To raise my hand in class if I knew the answer, to join other organizations and apply for leadership positions. To be involved- which somehow landed me an ONU “outstanding leadership” award (which I never saw coming as I sat there livestreaming the announcement). My junior year, it was to apply how I’ve grown. I was a resident assistant for a freshman dorm, a business peer mentor, I started my position as the vice president of membership for my sorority which I was egged into doing because a bunch of seniors told me how they see me as a leader. A leader. To seniors. Totally weird- yet pivotal. Now here I am in my senior year. With everything on my plate, it seems like my goal is to just get through it, but I tend to miss out on things while being so involved. 

So, my goal for this year is to breathe it in. It’s senior year. Some of the people I’ve met here will be friends for life. Some of them won’t and maybe I will miss seeing their faces every day. Though senioritis is definitely taking its hold, I know I will miss being in a classroom, wearing what I want, joking around with my friends and not exactly doing the nine to five routine. I encourage my fellow classmates that may be reading this to do the same. You won’t see these faces every day here soon, try to breathe it in.