I remember when I first started packing for college. My mom kept trying to get me to pack all of my clothes up. At this point, I (very dramatically) flopped onto my bed and refused to move. Now to this day, I don’t know if I meant I was never going to get up from my bed or if I was never going to move out of my house and into my college dorm. It was most likely the latter. I say all of this because of the reason I was so scared to move. I thought that moving to a place that I didn’t know full of people I didn’t know wouldn’t feel like home. And because I wasn’t living at home, and everything was moving on without me back home, I was afraid that home wouldn’t feel like home anymore. I was afraid that I would have two “homes” that didn’t feel like home.
Now I have realized that I have the privilege to have two homes that both feel like home. I walk around campus and feel like this is where I belong. I plan on going home on the weekends, and find myself saying how much I can’t wait to go home. When I’m talking with my friends from back home, I tell them all about what college is like and I find myself calling it home. That’s the thing about college, I guess. If you’re in the right place and make the right friends, you begin to feel less homesick and a little more at home.
Now that I’ve said all that mushy gushy stuff, let’s talk about AMERICA’S GREATEST HOMECOMING!
Homecoming is quite the event here at OSU, and it did not disappoint. The Friday night before Homecoming, they had what’s called the Walk Around. For months the Greek houses had been pomping and working on decorations to put in front of their houses. They were up the whole night before finishing them. I do not over exaggerate when I say that they put their lives into these decorations. And all that time was not wasted. As we walked around Greek Row, I gawked at the giant structures made out of tissue paper and chicken wire. (Just in case you were lost, this process is called pomping.)
I know. Amazing. Tissue paper and chicken wire. Crazy.
Anyways. Walk Around was incredibly crowded. On one to many occasions, I had to grab the back of my friend’s shirt while my friend behind me had to grab my purse strap so we wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. There were plenty of things to do besides look at the decorations. There were tons of little shops selling OSU merchandise, booths trying to raise money by getting people to play a game, a dunk tank, and food trucks galore. I actually ended up eating at this great food truck that sold fried pies.
That, my friends, is a peanut butter, chocolate, banana pie. It was delicious.
After the Walk Around we headed to the basketball arena to watch Hoops for Homecoming, a basketball exhibition/pep rally. I don’t know how they did it, but those sorority girls and frats guys had enough energy after all night pomp to be fired up at the pep rally. I suspect Red Bull might have helped there. It was fantastic.
The next day I went to the game and although it was over 90 degrees outside and I almost passed out (I kid you not), I had so much fun. I had this overwhelming feeling that this is where I belong. This is my family. This is my home. And even though we lost, I will never forget experiencing my first OSU homecoming with my Cowboy Family.
Go Pokes!