Off the bat, I'd like to apologize, as my title is misleading. There will be no rhyming in this blog post. You might be asking, "Matt, why post another blog, the class is over?" which is a valid point. But I felt like my year needed more closure than a picture of Jim Halpert (see below). So, read on to hear the inner ramblings of a 19 year old Buckeye.
Change is something a lot of people, including myself, fear/feared. This was one of the reasons I picked OSU. I live an hour and a half away, and figured that was the perfect length away from home to where I could be my own person and still be close to the sheltered world I grew to know and love. At the end of high school, I knew who I was and I loved that person. I, and my friends, was worried that I'd change into someone different coming to college. And right now, I couldn't be prouder to say that I did.
Pardon me if this paragraph comes off as egotistical, as that is not the intent. As I grew up, I was always one of the honors kids, I was always a leader, and I was always interested in helping the world. At the same time, I was a class clown who always got in trouble for talking during class. Some things never change, I suppose. I am still that same person today. I still get good grades, I still goof off a lot, I'm still interested in helping those around me, and most importantly, I am still a leader. But in a different way. All my life, I was told I had potential to achieve great things. I went through the motions of life, doing cool things here and there, but I will admit that I did not realize the true potential I had until college.
They always tell you there's a big world out there after high school, and you believe them, but you have no clue what they're talking about until you experience it for yourself. This is another thing I love about Ohio State. The possibilities for your future here are LITERALLY endless. Ohio State can offer you anything your heart desires. I realized that this year, and have taken life by the horns because of it.
This optimistic, new version of me, didn't come without his hardships along the way this year. Minor hiccups from a break-up to roommate conflicts inhabited my year. But perhaps my biggest moment of weakness occurred Spring Quarter. I was busting my ass for my Fraternity and was not getting anything for it. I was getting treated like crap and my hard work was causing my grades to slip. I reached a point where I said, "Screw it. I'm done. I'm done working on the recruitment committee, and I'm done with Pike all together. They can move on without me." And had it not been for Nevin Folino, I might've made the biggest mistake of my life. He sat me down, let me vent, and asked me, "Well. Why did you join in the first place? What did you want to get out of this?" And that's when it hit me. I had gotten so caught up in the "do this, do that" of Pike, that I had lost sight of what I wanted in the first place. I wanted to become a better man. And the irony was that my bitching about not getting anything out of Pike was completely wrong. I was getting exactly what I wanted. These hardships were turning me into a better man. I was learning skills that some people don't ever learn in life, as a freshman in college. I can honestly say that I've learned more about psychology and political science, or dealing with people, from my Fraternity experience, than in any of my political science or psychology classes thus far.
So, rest assured, friends back home. I am the same person. I am still sarcastic, I still buy comic books, and I am still a night owl. But I have changed. I have changed for the better. The mopey, complaining Matt is gone. A phase of the past. Here before you lies Matt 2.0, who has realized the potential that he has, who deals with his problems, and who has decided to be the face of the change he wants to see in this world. Just like at the end of high school, I love the person that I am now. However, I am nothing but excited to realize that who I am is not who I'll be in 3-4 years at the end of college. I will continue to grow and become a better person each time I do. Look out world, because you're not going to be the same when I'm done with you.
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