I want to say two things before the article:
1. You may not agree with what I say and it’s totally fine. This article is just my own thoughts
2. If you are a boy from my past and think I mentioned you in the article—then I probably did.
Finals week is almost over and it’s going to be summer soon! Many of us, just like me last summer, decide to take summer classes at Ohio State. I have to say I had a bad summer term last summer, so I want to give you guys some tips to avoid this happening to you.
May session is very intense
May session sounds like a good choice: discount on tuition, short study time and more free summer time. However, according to my experience, May session is super intense and you need to be ready for it. I chose a May session sociology class last summer and got a B+ (my lowest grade so far). I had to read at least 50 pages of reading material and take a quiz every week. I had to remember lots of things which is super hard for me since I’m not good at memorizing things. My other advice is don’t choose May session and six-week session-one together. Otherwise, you will have a final and a midterm in the same week (this is what happened to me last summer).
Try to make new friends
It is possible, especially for international students, that none of your friends decides to stay in Columbus. It happened to me last May since my friend wouldn’t be in Columbus till June. This is when you need to try to make news friends—you never know who you will meet in the summer. Class is a good place. I met a girl from my CSE class last summer, and we had a good time having class and doing homework together.
What if all your classes are online? What about the time out of class if you and your classmates live far away? Oval Beach or coffee shops are also good places to make friends. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. I met one of my friends Christine at Oval Beach. At that time, class hadn’t begun and I was kind of depressed because I was hurt by someone deeply. I was wandering around the Oval trying to make myself feel better and then I saw Christine and her cute dog. I was always afraid to talk to strangers, but I decided to give it a try. We became friends and she helped me get through my most difficult time last summer.
Try new places in Columbus
It is also a good time to explore new places, especially those far away from campus in Columbus. As someone who lived and spent most of time on campus in the freshman year, I went to new bunch places in Short North last summer. I kept visiting many of them this year as I live off-campus and don’t have a meal plan. I also went to a classic concert with my friend. I dressed up in my evening dress, did my makeup and went to a fancy restaurant before the concert. As someone who likes classical music, it was a quite amazing experience.
Cedar Point and Columbus Zoo are two places that worth going (and no, this isn’t a promotion). I went to these two places last summer, and I love them. If you are going to Cedar Point, the price of the ticket will be cheaper if you buy it online. If you really love roller coasters and want to try all the famous roller coasters there, I recommend you buy a quick pass. Sunscreen is also very important for Cedar Point. Remember that you need to reapply the sunscreen every two hours—I got sunburned last summer because I forgot to bring my sunscreen and reapply it.
Explore yourself
Although we all want to be with friends, it is still good to have some time alone. Summer term is a good time to explore yourself and find what you really want as there will be fewer people on campus and more free time. You will have more time to think about what is truly important to you right now, what mistakes you made during the past year and what is something you want to improve. Just lying on the grass, enjoying the sun and thinking about who you truly wanna be. For me, I decided to goodbye to the old and sad past and have a fresh start. I realized that I really wanted to do something and sadly I basically did nothing in my freshman year. Luckily, I found Her Campus OSU and AWOW, and I did many meaningful things with many amazing girls.
You are LOVED by this world
Mia (ins: miastylebook)
Photo 1 by Aral Tasher on Unsplash
Photo 2 by Tra Nguyen on Unsplash
Photo 3 by Jorge Flores on Unsplash
Photo 4 by Tim Trad on Unsplash
Photo 5 by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash
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