My Final Weeks in Australia

Posted on December 9, 2014
by Kelsey Thomas

These last few weeks that I was abroad were definitely the hardest. Everyone began to study for finals about 2 weeks before they actually started. We were given a reading week, basically used just to study, which was very nice because we don’t have that at Oswego. It definitely gave me a lot more time to understand all of the material throughout the whole semester. Even though this was useful for schoolwork, it meant that everyone was hidden away in their rooms or the library for a majority of the time. At the time I wanted to see everyone the most, it was that much harder to do so. Studying was really important but I wanted to see all of my friends before I left.

My first final was on the first Saturday. SATURDAY! I didn’t know that ever happened. It was nice to get one out-of-the-way though. My other two finals were on Monday and Wednesday so there was a good chunk of time in between each to continue studying. As I finished my last final on Wednesday, November 12th, I couldn’t have been more excited! In the morning I was heading to Tasmania for a week to travel around the island. I quickly packed my bag so that I could get a couple of hours of sleep because my flight was at 6 AM. But before all of this happened, I sadly had to say goodbye to my friend Arj who lived in Canberra. He was leaving for home while I was in Tasmania so I had to say my final goodbyes. It was a lot harder than I had expected but I knew we would see each other again.

At 5 AM my friend Scott drove me to the airport for my final vacation in Australia. Tired but excited, I boarded my plane (alone!) that would take 8 hours to take me to Hobart, Tasmania (that included a stopover and an hours time difference). It was exciting to be able to travel on my own for once but it is always more fun to travel with a friend however all of them still had finals. I knew this would be an amazing experience to meet new people from around the world and to see one last part of this amazing country. Once I landed in Hobart, I boarded a bus that took me to my hostel. It was such a beautiful place and I ended up getting a room all to myself for the night! I put all of my bags down and decided to take a walk around the city before everything closed at 5 PM! It is a small city, only 200,000 people in total but the largest in all of Tasmania. It has a lot of older buildings with a lot of history. Dinnertime came around and I decided to get some Chinese food from the restaurant next to my hostel. I ate and was exhausted from all of my travelling so I headed to bed because my tour guide was picking me up at 7 AM the next morning for a 5-day tour around the island.

Welcome to Hobart!

I woke up the next morning and met my tour guide, Rhen, and boarded our bus. Another woman, Felicity from Germany, was already on the bus. We then picked up 5 more people, an older couple from San Francisco, Nicklas from Germany, and Yannick and Axel from France. As we left Hobart, we all got to know each other. We rode to a few waterfalls in the rainforest on the western coast of Tasmania to begin with. It was a lovely and cold walk through the forest. The western coast of Tasmania was extremely cold compared to Townsville. Townsville was constantly humid and at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit while Tasmania was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It was a good thing I brought a few pairs of pants and long-sleeved shirts with me! One the same day we stopped at Lake St Clair for lunch. I had bought a loaf of bread and PB&J for the week and the first thing I hear is, “you are so American.” We arrived in the small town of Strahan which had about 500 residents and settled into our rooms at our hostel. We all made a barbecue dinner together and ate outside while we talked more. Bedtime came early again but not before I video chatted with my parents so they could feel a little better about me travelling by myself.

Lake St Clair

Tasmanian waterfall

Saturday was boat cruise day. We boarded the Eagle run by World Heritage Cruises and sailed towards the Southern Ocean and through Hell’s Gates. This was where prisoner’s from the mainland came through on their way to Sarah Island, the place where the prisoner’s were kept and were worked many years ago. The boat stopped here and our fantastic tour guide told us all about the island and prisoners and the stories of all of their lives. We also saw aquaculture pens for salmon and trout at Liberty Point and sailed down Gordon River. We were served lunch on the boat as well while the captain shared history about the area. The ship returned to Strahan by stopping at the Morrison’s Huon Pine Sawmill so the family could do a demonstration and tell us about their business. To end this relaxing day, Rhen took us to the longest beach in Tasmania where we played Frisbee and went for a walk.

Rhen and Nicklas playing Frisbee

Such a beautiful cruise!

The next day was a hiking day!! It was one of my favorites. We left Strahan and headed to Lake St Clair National Park where we saw the beautiful Cradle Mountain. The hike up to the top of the mountain next to it was fantastic. There were chains along the way to help you pull yourself up and the hike was only about an hour to the top with amazing views of the surrounding park area. This was probably my favorite day out of the 5-day tour. It made me realize the type of environment I want to live in when I’m out on my own. The mountains and the lakes were stunning and I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing view. This long day in the park lead to us driving to Launceston, the second largest city in Tasmania, where we checked into our hostel and relaxed for the night. Sadly, Nicklas and Felicity had to leave but we picked up 3 new people; Tiffany was from Arizona and we also picked up a Danish couple, Jan and Meredithe.

Cradle Mountain

In the morning, before Felicity left, we all went on a nice walk through Cataract Gorge in Launceston. It was such a beautiful sunny day filled with flowers, peacocks and a beautiful walk. From here, Rhen drove us to the Bay of Fires! This area is on the east coast of Tasmania and is basically a large area of beaches with sand that squeaks and extremely blue waters. So, this day was a beach day. I collected some shells, saw a wild echidna and platypus and took so many photographs. Although the east coast was so much warmer than the west, sadly it was still not warm enough to go swimming.

Wild Echidna!

Launceston Cataract Gorge

Bay of Fires

The final day on the tour was another hiking day. We entered Freycinet National Park, home of Wineglass Bay. Rhen had mentioned that the hike up to the top of Mount Amos, which overlooked the bay at its highest point, was really difficult. I had done quite a bit of hiking back home so I was excited to give it a go. The only other person who wanted to try the hike was Yannick so we headed up the mountain together while the rest headed towards the lower spot that led down to the beach. The hike was a lot more difficult than I expected! It was a flat rock face for a majority of the hike and it was extremely steep! We had to put our feet and hands in cracks in the rocks so that there was something to hold onto. The hike although difficult was not very long and we reached the top of the mountain in about 1 hour and it was absolutely worth it. The views were unbelievable and made for some wonderful pictures and memories. From here, we climbed back down which took a bit longer. It was actually really scary because it was so steep. We both slipped a few times and after sliding down the rocks on my butt, we made it to the bottom where we met the rest of the group. After Freycinet, we drove to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary where we met some furry animals and fed some kangaroos. Our tour guide gave us a talk about each animal, most of which were rescued from the wild while some were born at the sanctuary. Sadly, this was the last stop on the trip. The drive back to Hobart took a couple of hours because the Chinese President was in town, making for a bit more traffic than usual. But we finally made it back and I said farewell to all of my new friends. I checked back in at my hostel (I stayed at the same one I had the first night in Hobart) and met my roommates. One girl flew from Sydney just to see the Chinese President (she was from China and studying in Sydney). She said that everyone had lined up along the road on the sidewalk so they could simply have a glimpse of their president however they sadly never saw him. Another roommate was from Denmark and had just arrived to Tasmania and was trying to find things to do. I shared my experiences with her and hoped she got the opportunity to enjoy her trip.

Wineglass Bay

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary: Wombats

A group of kangaroos is a mob

The next day I boarded a bus back to the airport. My flight was at 1 PM and went from Hobart to Melbourne to Brisbane and finally to Townsville. It took me 10 hours of travelling to reach uni where I would only stay for another 30 hours before I left for good. My final day was relaxing. I took one last walk around campus picking up papers and getting a few souvenirs to bring home. I spent quite a bit of time with friends that day. We had dinner together and eventually went out to town to celebrate the end of such a great semester. I couldn’t help but get emotional a few times throughout the night. I was the first one to leave which made it so much harder. I did not want to go AT ALL. I knew it would be hard to say good-bye but I never thought it would be that hard. I made such good friends over the 4 months I spent abroad and that’s what was the hardest to leave behind. They are all such amazing people who I hope I get to see again one day. It’s very cliché, but I know that this was more of a see you later.

I have been home in the USA for about 3 weeks now. It has taken me this long to finish my last blog about my travels because I knew once it was written that it would be the very end of it all. There is no amount of words that could explain what I got to experience abroad and it can only truly be understood if you take the opportunity to do so yourself. So, take advantage of all of these opportunities given to you now. This is the time to see the world, meet new people and make amazing memories. I have grown so much as a person and travelling has taught me to be more independent and more comfortable being myself. If you want to experience something truly breathtaking, all you have to do is travel.

Marissa’s Japan adventure Blog post #2

Posted on December 7, 2014
by Marissa Sarbak

Day 2: Osaka

Everyone. is. so. nice. SERIOUSLY EVERYONE. Take our waitress for example- I asked her how to say “water” in Japanese and because she wasn’t too sure of her English, she found someone to help her and she drew a picture to explain it to me! She really went out of her way to try and help me, something I’ve noticed many people here do, especially in Osaka. We are also having a difficult time with the trains here because everything is basically written in Japanese characters… and no one in our group can read any of it. Problematic, yes I know. Every single person I have asked directions from on the trains can’t speak a word of English, yet they all go completely out of their way to try and help you! We have had people walk us right over to the platform we needed because they couldn’t figure out how to say it in English. Slightly different from the train stations in New York, huh?!

Now today was the day we got to actually meet the Japanese students, so needless to say I was pretty excited! In all honestly, I was kind of nervous as well, because I didn’t know what they thought of our students, or Americans in general. As a culture, Japanese people are pretty polite and they are not blatant at all in what they say (generally unlike many Americans). Sometimes this is kind of nerve-racking because you aren’t sure whether they actually like you or if they are just being nice… I am much more equipped to deal with people who tell it like it is I think! However, I could not get over the overwhelmingly positive response we got from the Kansai students!! It was such a relief. They aren’t really a hugging kind of culture… it is actually part of their culture to bow when they meet people. But after we introduced ourselves formally they came running over to meet us and hug us! I physically couldn’t stop smiling because it was such a warm feeling. Everyone was also so excited to talk to us and practice their English!

Kansai University

Ally and I were invited to stay and have dinner with the students on campus, and they were so awesome that we ended up staying for two hours talking, getting to know one another and our cultures, and just having a good time. Best part of the day? The Kansai students wrote my name for me in Japanese characters!! What I didn’t know is that there are actually two different ways to write it in Japanese, and a third way to write it in Chinese Kanji. (what they call the characters.) So here is a picture of all three! COOL RIGHT?!?! They made my day!

It was pretty incredible to see how infectious all of the smiling and laughing was as we got to know each other and the different things about our cultures. It really goes to show that no matter what language you speak, some emotions are just universally understood! Stay tuned…

Marissa Sarbak

Touring Townsville

Posted on August 4, 2014
by Kelsey Thomas

Wombat! What a cutie.

The first 2 weeks of my stay in Australia are officially over. I feel like I have been here for a longer period of time though. My floormates are all so nice and friendly and I have made some great friends so far. O Week was filled with talks about everything from the basic rules of Australia to a tour of the campus to fun things to do around town. JCU also offered so many fun things to do during orientation week as well, besides all of the informative presentations I had to sit through, including a visit to Billabong Sanctuary where I met some beautiful koalas, kangaroos, crocodiles, wombats (my new favorite animal), snakes, birds, dingos. They were all so precious and we were able to touch and hold some of the animals as well. A lot of the animals were rescues that were taken in to live out their lives in peace.

A koala named Ray Charles. He was hit by a car that blinded him when he was a little joey.

There was also a scavenger hunt that took our group all over the campus to find random items such as a ukulele, surfboard, wig, jump rope and some other difficult things to find, especially since we were all study abroad students that brought the least amount of things with us possible. Most things were borrowed from Australians, so we made quite a few friends along the way.

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Take a picture in front of the menu board at Green Plate Cafe

Over the weekend a group of friends and I took a trip to Magnetic Island, which is a 20 minute boat ride away and stayed for the weekend to relax on the beach and get out of Townsville one last time before school started. We went hiking from the backpackers resort to the other side of the island where we found a beautiful beach to go snorkeling at. The water was a little cold, but for winter it was absolutely amazing. There were giant boulders on each side of the beach so we got to do a little rock climbing as well. We spent the whole day there and eventually caught a bus back to our hostel. The next day we went to a closer beach and laid out for the day and looked for seashells.

Horseshoe Bay

Florence Bay

The gang.

The vacation ended of course but the first week of classes went pretty well. My schedule was very difficult to understand at first but I thankfully made it to all of the classes. It was basically an introduction week so there wasn’t much to do but all of my professors are funny and nice so the semester should go well. I also get to go on a field trip for my Rainforest Ecosystems class to a rainforest! That was definitely a good choice for an elective! Now that the second week has started there are assignments already so I know I need to stay on top of them all before it becomes overwhelming. Each subject seems really interesting so I’m sure it won’t be too difficult to keep up. When it came to buying school supplies I cut back so much from what I usually have at home. I didn’t bring anything with me so I had to buy it all. The basics for me included notebooks for each subject, post-its, a highlighter, and a mini stapler. Luckily I only had to purchase one textbook so that was another money saver. Also, I only have 4 classes to take here, Rainforest Ecosystems, GIS, Invertebrate Zoology and Behavioral Ecology. It’s nice to have a smaller work load for a semester and the behavioral class is even based off of field work every single week! Everything is great here so far and I can’t wait to share what happens next. (:

We Have Arrived: James Cook University

Posted on July 17, 2014
by Kelsey Thomas

After travelling for over 35 hours, I am happy to say that I made it to Australia! This was the longest trip that I have ever made away from home and it was not a fun time. I started my travels by leaving my house at 9 AM on Tuesday, July 15th and drove down to JFK with my parents where I met my travel buddy, Deanna. She is in the same program however she does not go to Oswego, but goes to Oneonta instead. We had been discussing everything before the trip but this was the first day meeting each other. After having trouble printing my boarding ticket, I finally said goodbye to my parents and headed toward the gate. It was easy to find the gate and navigate through the airport. But of course there had to be a thunderstorm directly headed our way so our plane to LAX was delayed 3 hours! It was a good thing we had a long layover there because by the time we landed and got our next boarding pass, the plane was boarding for Sydney, Australia. This wonderful flight was a whopping 14 hours over nothing but ocean water, and it was a red-eye flight so there wasn’t much to look at. Luckily it wasn’t too hard to fall asleep and I slept for 8 of those hours, making the trip a little more bearable. There were also plenty of movies to be watched which took up the rest of the time. But this flight did have one good part to it; the girl who sat down to my right happened to be going to the same exact place as Deanna and I; town, school, dorm building and all. So we made a new friend, Natalia. There was another study abroad student, Luke, who sat in front of us who was traveling from Kansas State to Perth, Australia.

We all got off the plane together at about 6 AM on Thursday, July 17th. After collecting our luggage in Sydney, and going through customs, we got separated from each other! I did freak out for a few minutes but then realized that if I just keep going to my next gate that we would meet up there. As I got back in line to recheck my bags, I found Natalia but Deanna was still nowhere to be seen! I waited with Natalia for a few minutes before getting on the bus to our next terminal. Finally, when we found the gate, Deanna was there with Luke, safe and sound. Luke’s plane left first and we said goodbye as we prepared for boarding as well and after landing 3 hours later at our final destination, we went to pick up our bags and meet our ride to the Uni (what they call the college campus). There was of course one more setback; my bags were lost. Come to find out, they were left in Sydney and never boarded the plane to Townsville. But I brought 2 changes of clothes and travel size shampoo. Deanna let me borrow a towel for the shower and I should be getting my bags today (Friday)!

Townsville Airport

After arriving to uni and our dorm building, I met my RA, Andrew, and got to see my room for the next 4 months. It has its own balcony which is the highlight of the whole building. People, mostly those here for the whole year, have decorated them and even have hammocks too. But besides this awesome feature, it is a pretty standard dorm building. It’s not as enclosed as those in Oswego, for obvious reasons, so there is more air flow making for a beautiful tropical feel.

The view from my balcony

The balcony

My room

My room

Deanna, Natalia and I decided that we would go to the store and get a few things after we showered and looked decent after travelling for such a long period of time. We asked someone on our floor how to get to the store that was on the uni and they said it was a short walk down the street, so off we went. It was literally a 5 minute walk, and I just got a few things, including a phone that I could use just in Australia. We walked back, dropped our stuff off in our rooms and walked around for a bit, exploring a little before we went to the dining hall for dinner. We had a nice chat with one of the cooks who told us about some of the local birds and the kangaroos that enjoy sitting on the grass right next to the dorm building! I also met another exchange student from Norway! She got there the day before. Her name was something very Norwegian (I could not pronounce it to save my life) so she told us to call her Chessa. There are so many people to meet still and O week hasn’t even started yet. It is going to be an exciting time here in beautiful Australia!

Oz Bucket List

Posted on September 10, 2012
by Kwame Belle

We are already two weeks in and I am trying to figure out where all the time has gone. This year was always guaranteed to go by quickly because (drum roll) I am graduating! This semester to be specific, into the winter I came and out of it I will go.

Knowing that the end is in sight has gotten me a little sentimental and reflective. SUNY Oswego has been good to me and I truly want to cherish every moment that I have remaining here. I’ve definitely had good times but when I leave I want to say that I’ve done it all and with your help I just might be able to accomplish that goal.

Here’s how

I along with some truly creative and gifted people from SUNY Oswego have devised a plan. A senior bucket list or sorts where I go around gathering different people’s suggestions and ideas of the best things to do on campus or in the surrounding area before it’s all said and done.

You suggest something, and me and my camera man (the ever talented Kevin Graham) will go out do them and cross it off the list. Ideally I’d love to hear from everyone freshmen all the way up to my fellow seniors(who knows maybe one of you can join me on a couple) and even the alums. I would especially love to get some alumni opinions on what are some of the things that formed your fondest memories in Oswego.

You can provide your suggestions in several different places as I’m sure ideas come to you at different times.

The comment box below

Twitter (with hash tag #Ozbucketlist)

@Mr_Belle

Or @sunyoswego

Facebook

SUNY Oswego

Kwame Belle

Look forward to hearing what you guys have in mind the more the merry the clock is ticking and the camera is rolling!

Space

Posted on February 23, 2012
by Chris McPherson

Poetry used to be a passion of mine. I loved getting my thoughts and feelings on paper. And ironically I was not a fan of non-fiction. After deciding to pursue both genres in my creative writing minor, the tables turned. I think that taking a poetry class taught me a lot, but stressed to0 much formalized uniformity to a chaotic passion of mine. There was a time where I thought I only had space for one: non-fiction or poetry…. But recently I have learned, that just like jello, there’s always room for more…

This inspired me to write a poem focusing on the word Space

Spatial Issues

Confined in our own place
Intertwined in our given space
Love life laughs jokes unshared
Stares, grins, moans, sighs placed upon this burden we all share.

Nucleus membrane microscopic motives
Lovely lashes batted by the mystery queen of vision

You can make no sense but people love you
For you are space
Given arrangements

Love in color coded segments

Bubbles of mercy

Facillitated and delegated before thee

In an emergence of your entity
I find additional space for you
Reservations for two

Senior Year

Posted on October 11, 2010
by Rodney

School has been in session for several weeks now and it is really starting to hit home. This is my last year, not only is this my last chance to get some 4.0 semesters but I also have to start preparing for my life post graduation. This will be even more work outside the classroom in addition to my internship and campus responsibilities. There are many things a senior has to do that everyone else does not have to worry about. Not only will the classes probably be the hardest this year but there is so much more to do. Some things I have planned to do in the upcoming weeks are to research some schools, start filling out graduate school applications, apply for graduate school scholarships, begin studying for the Graduate Record Examination more commonly known as the GRE’s, begin studying for the LSAT, research some companies I would like to work for and possibly begin preparing for relocation. Whew! Let me catch my breath. That is an enormous amount of work to do considering I am also going to be a full time student. This can all be managed with some Time Management, a skill which I have developed over the years.

Maybe I will do some heavy studying for my GRE’s this semester and do some heavy studying for the LSAT’s next semester. Maybe I will study each section of a book in quarters over the next four months (Random Thoughts). There I am not exactly sure how I will go about that yet but I will be putting a plan of action together very soon.

As you can imagine this process can be a very stressful one and everyone partaking in this journey with me should use adequate resources, plan everything out with spare time, and use mentors to help with the process. The compass has information on when the practice GRE’s and practice LSAT’s are so Ill begin this journey by consulting with them.

Long time, No Blog :(

Posted on September 19, 2010
by Lizz

Hello there!
I apologize for my absence on the blog scene. I have had a lot going on, but when don’t I?

So this summer, I didn’t get the chance to go to Italy, the financial aid didn’t come through in time so hint of advice, DON’T WAIT! I saw some pictures of a few friends who went and they were absolutely beautiful. I WILL be going either on Spring break for a week to Rome or I’ll go in the summer of ’11.

However, I did get the chance to camp in the Adirondacks for 5 days, let me tell you that was an experience! I have never really camped, I mean with a tent and cooking out and all that jazz. It was amazing. I woke up every day around 5 a.m because of the sunrise and Rollins Pond was as calm as could be, it was a humbling experience to say the least. I’d get up and fish with those I was camping with and I caught my first two fish ever! I was so scared to hold them. I got to visit the Olympic Village in Lake Placid and see Saranac Lake. I climbed to the top of Whiteface Mountain! That was unbelievable! I plan on going back to climb the rest of the peaks in the ADK! That was definitely the highlight of my summer experience.

So on the school side. I’VE STARTED MY SENIOR YEAR! Holy moly, where has the time gone? My co-blogger Samantha Shelton, was my roommate freshman year and we can tell you every single detail about move in week. It was so much fun! It seems like that was just yesterday.

I’m in the capstone class for Public Relations Majors, which is the final class you need for the major to graduate. I am so excited. We’re working on a PR campaign for any business of our choice and my group decided to work with The Mustard Seed, an all natural food store. We are able to put into practice everything we’ve learned from freshman year on about surveying, research methods, print layout and design and of course the writing of press releases! I am so excited to see the end result. The business has the choice of implementing our work or not but the manager seems really excited to work with us and use our materials.
In my other PR class, we’re working the United Way Kidney walk and we get to put that on ourselves. Our class is broken up into groups such as T-shirt committee, recruitment, thank you committee and others. Also in that class, we get the chance to design our own campaign for ScanDisk and send it into PR student of the year! How awesome, we’ve had 5 students in the top 5 of the competiton and last years winner was from Oswego! How awesome! He was awarded a paid internship and a cash prize!

I seem to be working in groups in all of my classes except for Math 102, which I will give you another hint of advice, don’t wait until senior year to take a 100 level course, you’ll more than likely be the only senior in there and it’s just annoying to look forward to taking “math in the real world” four years later ha! But, in my marketing class we get to design a marketing campaign for any product of our choice and we can’t decide between Dove Chocolate or Starburst. We get to create our own commercial, print ads and PSAs. The graphic design department is working with us to design our commercial, which is great because it will be other students helping us!

In management, we’re working on case studies of ethical behavior and my group is doing the case of “baseball and steroids.” Should be a very heated discussion in class! I also get to write a paper on ethics and leadership, which is a topic that really interests me!

Lastly, my interpersonal communication class is probably my favorite class. Professor Eichhorn is a great teacher and the topic is just interesting in general. I am going to be evaluating a group of people who work together and teach them ways to improve their communication skills in any area I so choose, I haven’t figured out which area quite yet but all in due time!

So, there is an overview of my classes and all that I will be doing this semester. I can’t believe it! Senior year, time sure does fly! I’ll be writing more soon updating you on the extra curricular stuff soon!

Chao 🙂

How is it senior year already?

Posted on July 16, 2010
by Katherine

Graduation is imminent!

The summer has flown by! I can’t believe it’s halfway through summer! I wish that I had more time to work for the summer, but I also can’t wait to go back to school. I’ve been having the weirdest dreams about being late for journalism classes with Professor Gilligan, who I’m not even taking classes with next semester! I think that comes from being late for Investigative Reporting a couple of times and freaking out until I realized that Prof Gilligan was later than me, luckily.

In thinking about the summer flying by, I think the past three years have flown by, actually. For me college has been a blur of staying really busy and doing a million things, and now, all of a sudden it seems, it’s senior year! In less than a year, I’ll be out of college and into the workforce. Holy cow!

My first year, I started out as a freshman at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks. I remember moving in all anxious about meeting people, but excited to start studying (I’m such a nerd). I had already been to boarding school my junior year of high school in Arkansas, so I wasn’t afraid of being away from home, but there were those moments of “am I going to fit in?”

The nice thing about PSC was that there were 800 students there. And there was a ratio of 7:2 guys to girls; that was very beneficial 🙂 Overall, people were very warm to me because of the size of our community. I loved it there. The students are fun, and the teachers are great. I miss it there sometimes. I left because the program wasn’t the strongest – environmental writing. I had my fun, but moving on to Oswego was a good decision.

Sophomore year came and went. I got used to the bigger size of Oswego and the weather. The classes are my favorite part of Oswego (nerdiness once again). Also, I really enjoy the ability to connect with other people on campus, whether they’re faculty, staff, or students. I feel like with the size of Oswego, there’s the opportunity to build close-knit groups, despite the thousands of students. You find your niche with people of like interests, and you gravitate toward each other, but that takes a little more time than I expected.

I feel like Oswego has been cliquey, though. It’s a lot harder to make friends at Oswego than it was at PSC because people aren’t as open with each other. Where I knew nearly everyone’s name at PSC (no joke), at Oswego my sophomore year, I felt a little lost in the masses at Oswego. It wasn’t until this past year, junior year, that I finally felt like I found my own niche.

The problem I think that I had was that there is only a relatively small group of student activists who have similar causes as I do, despite the thousands of students. Oswego has a lot of divisions from fraternities and sororities, who can tend to seem solely exclusive for members of Greek organizations, to sports groups, who seem to be exclusively for athletes, to the members of Humans v. Zombies, who tend to be just for those who enjoy LARPing (live action role playing).

Maybe it’s just my Southern background that makes me feel like the people at Oswego are a little more separatists than unitarians (in the literal sense of the words_, but, maybe that’s just college life. Anyway, tangent aside, I feel like my time at Oswego has been really great. I’ve made some friends and done A LOT of activities on campus. I’m just looking forward to life after college for a little bit. The time of living for partying on the weekends has been over for a while. I’m ready to start doing what I love as an occupation, and then go back to school in a couple of years.