It feels as though it’s been a while since I’ve done this.
I’m close to my 4th week of college here at Oklahoma State. I
arrived on the 12th of August and throughout that first week I
attended various OSU Welcome Week sessions that discussed campus life, study
habits, getting involved in clubs and organizations, and starting a career
while still a student. They were interesting lessons, but I was glad to begin
classes on the 18th. Since then I haven’t had too much studying to
do. I’m on the intramural ultimate and water polo teams, and I met a fellow
ex-swimmer, John, with whom I do a workout with a few times a week. All in all,
I like college so far, and I look forward to meeting new people and getting
deeper into my studies.
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| Family Photo before my departure |
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| The view from my dorm room, 11 floors up! |
I can’t believe that it has been over 2 years since I left
for my exchange in Austria. I was actually looking at some of the photos from
my blog this evening, and it felt like a whole different person’s writing and a
whole different person’s experiences. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing.
My senior year of high school seemed to go by faster than
did my year abroad, but it certainly wasn’t as life-changing. It was a ton of
work first semester in applying to college, practicing and taking the ACT,
swimming, staying involved in scouting, and regular homework, but fortunately 2nd
semester eased up a bit, making my final months of high school enjoyable. I
turned 18, got my driver’s license, made my college decision, finished out my
swimming “career,” had my Eagle Scout Court of Honor, had an amazing prom,
scored well on my AP exams, and finally graduated. In the summer I got my first
job as a camp counselor at Camp Rockefeller, Gus Blass Scout Reservation. I was
staff on the S.T.E.M. Program, teaching the merit badges for Astronomy, Space
Exploration, Engineering, and Robotics. I absolutely loved it. I intend to work
there again next summer, and I’m already looking forward to it. So yeah, it was
a pretty involved year upon returning from overseas. I don’t think about
Austria all that much, mainly because I discovered pretty quickly that it was
painful to reminisce about. I miss it so much. The landscape, the food, the
friends, and most of all, my amazing host families. I want to go back, but I
just don’t know when that will happen. I haven’t forgotten it, and Austria will
always be a part of me. The screws in my knee included.
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