Column: An Ohio State student’s perspective on the start of a new school year

Back to school season is upon us! Dare I say I am… excited? I mean, let’s be real, I’m not stoked about all of the work that comes with classes starting. However, I can’t wait to see my friends again, meet some new people, and of course, see my first Ohio State football game in person as a student!

I wrote a recap of my freshman year earlier this summer, but in case you missed it, I’ll give you a little background about me. I will be a sophomore at OSU this fall, majoring in journalism with the goal of becoming a sports broadcaster. Last year, I didn’t get a ton of opportunities to gain career experience due to the pandemic, and I mainly took my general education classes to get them out of the way. Obviously, it was not a normal start to college, but I tried to make the best of it!

This year, I am really excited to return to school. Since I know my way around campus, already have some friends, and just generally know how things work, there is a lot less stress this time around. Another thing that makes me feel better about this year is the fact that I’m going to be really busy!

Last year, I’m not going to lie — I was bored... a lot of the time. Pretty much all I could do was sign on for my Zoom classes, and do the work associated with that. There weren’t many other events being held. However, this year, most of my classes are in person, which I am excited about. I’ll still be writing and podcasting for LGHL (maybe be on the lookout for a new one, starting next week). Oh, and remember how I mentioned I was trying to secure an internship with the Columbus Clippers a couple of months ago? Well, I got it, and I’ve been interning for them all summer! I will continue to do so until the end of the minor league baseball season, too.

The job I am most excited about this year is the work I will do with the Ohio State Video Production team. I get to either operate a camera or work in the control room of pretty much any sporting event that I want. Obviously my goal is to be on the sidelines for football games, so I am hoping that I can work my way up to that. But, until then, you better believe that you will catch me in the student section, cheering my heart out for the Buckeyes!

I absolutely cannot wait for football season to start. I have been to OSU football games before, but I have heard that they are just another level once you become a student. This season comes with a lot of new faces and unknown situations, so that makes it even more exciting that I get to watch all of it unfold. The home game I am most amped up for has to be Penn State. I mean, Halloween weekend, up against one of our biggest rivals, always a close game — it’s going to be ELECTRIC.

There are a lot of things to look forward to this year, barring any potential disasters from the dreaded virus. My nineteenth birthday is about two weeks after school starts (Sept. 9 in case you want to send presents), I’m going to the Breakaway music festival a few days before that, and I will be at the home opener against Oregon on Sept. 11.

And, I get to do all of this with my friends, hopefully new and old. I am super optimistic about this year, and I can’t wait to share all of the highlights with you all!