I’ve been thoroughly amazed with all of the awesome experiences I’ve been able to have during my first two months at OU! I’ve already mentioned some of them in previous posts of mine, and I probably need to think of more things to talk about because this seems to be the only theme of my posts, but I think that only having these cool things to talk about is what makes OU so great, because these opportunities are present for me and all other students almost every day, and if not that at least every week! For instance, tonight I’m going to eat dinner at President Boren’s house with PLC! PLC, or President’s Leadership Class, is a group of around 100 students who are chosen to be a part of this program their freshmen year based upon leadership and community involvement they demonstrated in high school.  I’m very lucky to be a part of this program.  If you’re applying for admission to OU, make sure you take your time and put thought into the scholarship questions because it is through these that you’ll be considered for programs such as this one! PLC meets every Tuesday night after eating dinner together in the Caf and is given the opportunity to talk to and learn from leaders around campus, the state, the country, and maybe the world (if we’re lucky enough to have someone visit campus this year!).

Last week, I signed up to attend a dinner with the Faculty in Residence, who live in every OU housing center, and a special guest he and his family were bringing in.  The professor who lives at the bottom of Walker tower where I live is named Professor Landis, and he is a very accomplished man who impressed me not only because of all that he has been able to do in his life (like learn 4+ languages, graduate from Harvard AND Princeton, and more), but also because he is a very personable, easy to talk to person who is genuinely interested in the students he meets. The speaker he brought in was fascinating. Mona Eltahawy, a renowned journalist and speaker on Muslim and Arab issues, talked to the 30 or so students present about her personal opinion on how Islam should be interpreted and the misconceptions many people have while we had an authentic meal of Middle Eastern cuisine prepared by Professor Landis’ wife, who is from Syria!

Every week I see fliers and advertisements for different speakers coming to visit campus, or for student led performances such as RENT, which was just put on by the Theatre Department.

Other cool things I’ve done have included swimming under waterfalls and climbing rocks in Southern Oklahoma with OU’s Outdoor Adventure club while helping clean up trash in a state park, meeting with student’s going through OU’s Center for English as a Second Language program to help them practice speaking English and conversing with people, and continue to meet an extremely diverse group of people.

The people I continue to meet are one of my favorite things about this university, and every single person I talk to offers a unique perspective on whatever we happen to be talking about.  Making contacts from around the country is also a huge plus for numerous reasons! I have a new friend from Colorado who I’ll hopefully be able to visit sometime to go hiking or skiing, and another in South Carolina who has told me all about the great sweet tea and seafood there that I’d be happy to try someday! This past weekend I was able to stay at a new friend’s house in Dallas for OU/TX weekend, which was very fun!

Speaking of OU/TX, it is something that every OU student or fan must experience at one point in his or her life! The state fair the day of the game was crazy! I didn’t have a ticket to the game, but thousands of people dressed in crimson or an off-color orange is a still a sight to behold and it’s awesome to hear loud roars emanating from the stadium in the center of the fair park.  The amount of fried food available to try is somewhat disgusting, although I curiously tried way too much of it.  Fried cookie dough was my favorite fair food from the weekend, but I also tasted fried chocolate, a fried peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich, and fried Oreos.  Friends I talked to stomached fried pizza, fried butter (blegh =p), fried cheesecake, fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, and even fried Frito chile pie! Despite the minor headache the rapid ingestion of fat seemed to cause, it was worth it, especially since OU WON!

Wherever you choose to go to school, take advantage of all of the opportunities you will be presented with because they will amplify your college experience! OU would definitely not disappoint you! Come visit!

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