The Best Years of Your Life

College is a place to "find yourself". Before coming to college you rely on your family and friends at home to get you through the day. When coming to college, it's almost like you have to start over. Find new friends, take on new challenges, and find a way to balance it all. Going away from school can be hard because you are away from your family and your old friends. Your family is a big part of who you are. The way you are raised and traits your parents pass on to you shape how you act and live your life. Your friends are also a part of you. Who you surround yourself with says a lot about you, if you truly surround yourself with people who you can relate to and get along with. Your friends show what kind of values and personality you have. When you first come to college, most people try to find people who share common interests and values. You try to find people you get along with and have fun with. College is also a time to figure out how you handle stress, tough decisions, and a heavy workload. It can really show the kind of character you have. You learn new things and apply them to what you already know and practice. You learn to work with people who are different from you and maybe take something away from them. You are also on the track to figuring out what career path to choose. You are finding what your interests are and what kind of work you would like to do in the future. Finding your place in organizations also identifies with who you are. College is a time to be on your own and figure out what your potential is. It's also a time to stand up for what you believe in and not give in to the pressures around you. However, you may identify with people around you who believe in or value the same things you do and create strong bonds with those people. Here at Ohio State, you become a part of something bigger. It means a lot to say that you are a Buckeye. The experiences you have during your college years are ones that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Saying Goodbye

Death is not an easy thing. Especially if the person is someone close to you. I think that death shapes who we are. It makes us take a look at our own life and evaluate how we are living. It also takes a toll on us personally. I have myself only experienced the death of a loved one once. Sophomore year of high school my great grandmother, who lived alone, had fell and was in the hospital. She was 90 years old and the doctors said that they didn't think she would make it because her body wasn't strong enough. My family and I were devastated. My great grandma had 8 children so I have a pretty big family. We all went to see her in the hospital. We each took turns talking to her. When I was talking to her she told me to get off the couch and do something. I laughed because she knew that I didn't like to exercise and I wasn't that active. Even though I knew she was only talking about becoming more active, I felt more motivated to do things to make sure she would be proud. I did start exercising more and I became more motivated to do better in school. I always make sure that whatever I do that my great grandma would be proud. You really don't know how much you would miss someone until you lose them. She was a big part in our family. Going through this together, however, made us all stronger and closer with each other.

Another time I have seen a change in someone when they have experienced death is when one of my co-workers lost his twin brother. It was really hard to see him so upset and see him lose someone so close to him like that. It really took a toll on everyone too because he was so young. He got in an accident. To see someone pass away with that much potential is a very hard thing. I think my co-worker did a really good job of taking something bad that happened and making the best of it. He is now working hard to live his life with no regrets and making sure he's doing everything he wants to do. He's taking advantage of the time he has because you never know what will happen or what the future holds.

Death can shape our views of our own life and not take for granted the time and things we have. It makes us think about what we're doing in our life and where we are going. It helps us grow stronger and build relationships with the people around us.