Jan
28
Since the beginning of my freshman year of high school I knew what I wanted to pursue as a career. Nothing sounded better than being an investigative journalist.
The years of high school passed and on that warm day in May I walked across the stage receiving my diploma thinking to myself “Norman, here I come.” In just a few short months I would be a Sooner who would study journalism.
Let’s fast forward to the end of my first semester as a college student. I had a great semester—got the hang of college classes, got involved in some campus organizations and really made OU my new home away from home. With all these new changes, something I never thought would change, did. I no longer wanted to be a journalist! It’s not that I did like journalism, I just happened to fall in love with something else.
The cool thing about OU is you come here with an idea of what you want to do but there are so many degrees you could get that you may have never thought about pursuing. You can come here, try things out, and if you don’t like what you are majoring in you can change.
I’m now starting my second semester as an Interior Design major and I if I loved it anymore than I already do, they would probably lock me up. I never had any art classes in high school nor would I really have considered myself much of an artist, so you can only imagine how worried I was to declare a major that was so drawing-intensive. In just one semester of Interior Design classes I realized that this was something I loved and excelled at.
So, my moral of this story is that you don’t have to come into college knowing what you want to do or study. And if you do know what you want to study, it could change. Maybe even numerous times! That’s totally OK. College is about finding something that one thing you are passionate about and studying it. It’s quite a feeling to finally know that you are in the right major.
Dalaney Flies
Midwest City, OK
Interior Design Sophomore
Jan
25
When I toured the University of Oklahoma my senior year of high school, I knew it was where I wanted to be. Even though I wanted to go to college out of state, I decided to attend OU in order to be a little closer to my hometown and I couldn’t resist the beautiful campus.
After attending Camp Crimson, I knew I wanted to be involved. The first few weeks of school, I applied for a bunch of Campus Activities Council events, including CAC Concert Series. Sadly, I was not accepted. I was a bit lost on campus because I didn’t feel like I belonged. All my friends were in sororities and other clubs and I spent most of my time with my roommate and a few friends from high school. Unlike many people’s freshmen experiences, I was not having a good time, but things started to look up and have continued that direction!
I decided to focus on my classes and set my sights on becoming a Resident Adviser. After attending the spring class and going through a rigorous application process, I became an RA for the 2010-2011 year! On top of that, I also became a Teacher Assistant for Freshmen Programs and a writer for the Life & Arts Section of the OU Daily. The spring of my sophomore year, I interned with the Norman Arts Council and got to help with some of Norman Music Festival. I was finally around people with similar interests as me and was figuring out how to get around campus.
Jan
23
After my first semester has dwindled down and a new semester has begun, there are a few crucial lessons that I learned here at the university that will help me further on in my college career.
- OU may seem big, but it really isn’t. I came from a class of 96 to a class of 4,000. That’s some intense stuff, and I was extremely nervous about the classes being too big and not being able to meet people. However, OU is the most diverse campus I have visited and you will find your niche here in no time! The campus is really big at first, but everyone here is willing to point you in the right direction! We’re all nice, we don’t bite, just drop your cool and ask for directions. It will save you TONS of time wandering around campus
- Professors are not scary at all. The faculty are here to help you… it’s their job! They are good people and they just want to help you learn and get a degree. So get to know your professor, because you will never know when you need that letter of recommendation!
- Get involved! OU has tons of clubs and organizations, there is bound to be one that fits you! Being involved will help you manage your time and meet tons of cool people.
If you have a desire to make an impact, OU has a place for you! I think my best experiences here at OU are with the friends I made in clubs and organizations here. You never know if you’re gonna find your life long best friend in these organizations until you go! So always check out the involvement fairs.
College is a scary place, I get it, but there are so many people here that are here to HELP YOU, so take advantage of ALL your resources and don’t be afraid to make new friends!
Tiffany Stuart
Class of 2016
Ardmore, OK
Major – Public Relations
Jan
21
Four years ago I was an eager student getting ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Little did I know that my college experience would not only meet my expectations of learning and gaining a degree, but my experience would go above and beyond my wildest dreams. The University of Oklahoma has been a place where I have been able to be whatever I wanted to be. From my Greek life experience to Campus Activities Council, each organization has shaped me into a better person and I know that I will be able to walk across the stage in May and go out into the world to be a successful member in society.
It is important to remember though that I did not always have this perspective on life. I came from a decent sized town in Southwest Oklahoma and graduated with a class of 275. In high school I was always the most involved, most likely to succeed, and most driven in my class. College was a rude awakening though, because I found myself surrounded by every other student who did the exact same things as I did. No longer was I the same Amanda from high school, and it was time to start over. This is what most students go through, but I started focusing on ways to stack my resume, instead of filling my bucket with things I am passionate about and love. The problem with this is that one begins to not truly be the person that he or she is meant to be. When one only wears clothes to impress others, signs up for organizations to have titles, and only wants to be the best simply to just trump others, then ultimately it catches up and he or she can no longer take it. I got tired of doing things for the wrong reasons, and to be honest, it is really hard trying to be something you are not.
So midway through my sophomore year I said, “enough is enough.” I started doing what I loved, and I found that the rise to success comes from passion, not from simply making oneself busy. Do not get me wrong, I definitely found myself busy, but I was enjoying every minute of it because I was passionate about each and every organization. I wish I had known a lot sooner this little secret to life, because maybe I would not have wasted time trying to just be the best, instead of being MY best. This might be a lesson we all have to learn on our own, but the sooner that someone realizes that passion equals success, we will have a lot more successful people in this world.
Amanda Easton
Public Relations Major, Political Science Minor
Class of 2013
Jan
7
As my first semester at OU has come to an end, I feel like there’s a lot that I can say I’ve learned, both in and out of the classroom. There’s so much that an incoming college student has to learn just to “survive” the college life. Coming from a relatively small school, I never even thought of getting lost on my campus (I haven’t yet at OU, but it’s still early). Becoming familiar with the campus if you aren’t already is a very wise move. Then there’s the whole meal plan/points thing, which you’ll get used to eventually, don’t worry. An exchange is the equivalent of $7 at any restaurant on campus except the Caf, where it is equal to one person getting in ($11 I think). Then your points are like free spending money, as one point is equal to one dollar. Hopefully I got all that right. Getting used to the dorm life can be quite the transition, too; however, I’ve made some great friendships with the guys on my hall.
Now the important stuff: school! My first semester of classes here didn’t terrify me as much as I thought they would, but it’s definitely different than high school. Those giant lecture hall classes are a little weird at first (it was kind of like my entire high school in one big room) but eventually you barely notice it anymore. It is easy to fall asleep in those sometimes, so pay attention! If you use your laptop to take notes, be sure and stay focused on the notes and not have Twitter or Facebook open in the other window. Some classes are easier than others and you’ll feel different about certain classes, but don’t let that influence your studying for them all. At the beginning of the semester, I was kind of shooting in the dark about how to create good study habits. I wouldn’t recommend studying for long periods of time in your dorm room, because more than likely you’ll end up asleep within the first 15 minutes. There are all sorts of cool study spots around campus, and when the weather is nice there’s a lot of good spots outside, too.
I guess all I can really say is that college is different than high school, but in a good way. Don’t get distracted and stay focused. Keep that in mind and your time at the University of Oklahoma will be great!
Boomer Sooner,
Tyler Block
Shawnee, OK
Human Relations major
Class of 2016
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