Jordan Kelley remarks on the best ways for a student to feel at home.
Hello, Bobkittens and welcome to OHIO. I would say welcome home, because I hope that you will one day feel as at home on our campus as I do, but not all of you will feel at home and that is okay. I used to feel that way too. I want to offer some advice which I sincerely hope will help to make your transition to college a little smoother than mine.
During my first semester, I did not think that I belonged here. I did not join any student organizations, the only person I talked to with any real frequency was my roommate and my resident assistant had not even bothered to learn my name. I became well acquainted with my bed, my mom’s Netflix account and the closing shift workers at Boyd Market. I spent every day thinking about when I would get to go back to my hometown and I cried every time I left. When I went home for winter break, I was not sure if I would be returning. My mom told me that I was not allowed to leave school and that I had to give it another shot.
When I returned to campus that spring, I knew that something had to change. Everyone else was loving college, or so I thought, and I needed to as well. When I talked to my friends from home, they told me all of the things they were doing that made their experiences so much more enjoyable than mine. They were engaging in their communities in ways that I could not imagine. They were making friends, joining student organizations and pursuing goals they were passionate about. I realized that I could not do any of those things within the walls of 326 James Hall.
That first Spring Semester was one full of changes for me. I moved to a residence hall with one of my acquaintances (it had a community much more engaging than mine). I tried my hand at a few student organizations from College Democrats to some of the various organizations in the LGBT Center and an appointed position in Ohio University Student Senate. I applied for things I was not sure I was qualified for because they excited me and because I was passionate about them.
That semester alone, I applied to be a Resident Assistant, I applied to be a student trustee and I ran for a position on Student Senate. Even though some of these risks panned out a little better than others (I won my senate seat even though most of the people I ran with did not, I blew my student trustee interview and I was initially passed up for the RA job but got hired later) I learned so much about myself and about our campus. I am so glad for each and every one of those opportunities.
As I close the door on my third year at Ohio University, my third year in Student Senate and my fifth semester as an RA, I look back at that second semester as the turning point in my undergraduate life as the time when I knew I belonged on our campus.
These are the things I wish someone had told me in my first semester: Get involved and try any and every student org which interests you until you find the one(s) you love. Try to make friends everywhere, but especially make friends with people who do not live in your residence hall (it is nice to get out every now and then). Remember to take risks and do the things you're passionate about because the worst that could happen is you end up right back where you started. You will regret the risks you did not take more than the risks that did not pan out.
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If someone had told me those things, it might not have taken me a whole year to find where I belonged and discover how much I loved the place I now call home. I hope you find similar courage to push your limits and go outside your comfort zone.
Jordan Kelley is a senior studying student development. Want to ask him about which student organizations to get involved in? Email him at jk771913@ohio.edu.
