The struggles of being an out-of-state student

Starting your years at Ohio State is awesome, but daunting as an out-of-stater. There are so many things you don’t know along with probably being the only kid from your hometown to come to OSU. Here’s what’s rough about not being an Ohioan at Ohio State.

You have no clue where your new friends are from

You constantly look to Google Maps to show you that town your friend just said. Lima? Dover? Medina? Basically your only reference points are Columbus, Cincinnati, or Cleveland. At some point, you simply nod your head and smile. You’ll figure it out eventually.

Not having your high school friends

Freshman year, it seems like everyone in your dorm knows each other. They have a whole high school friend group they can go out with, grab food with, and chill with. They know older brothers having parties or people who have cars so they can explore more of Columbus. Meanwhile, you’re settling with the friendly “so what’s your major?” conversation starter because your friends are all at different colleges.

You’re the awkward add-on sometimes

Speaking of those high school friends, being the out-of-stater, you try and make friends, but it’s hard to navigate through those inside jokes and memories people have together. They laugh about old prom stories or that one football game where something really embarrassing happened. It looks like you revert back to the nod and smile.

You can’t go home that often

A home cooked meal, laundry you don’t have to pay for, a cuddle with your dog, and a real-sized bed. Sometimes that’s all you want from a weekend, but having to dole out money for flights makes those amenities a little out of reach. You watch lots of people go home every other weekend and come back with grandma’s cookies and a load of clean laundry. You’re slightly jealous while you head to Sloopy’s for another greasy meal.

You can’t understand what Ohioans are saying

“Knee high by the Fourth of July,” “the hens are clucking,” or other random sayings are completely beyond you. You do a double take before throwing in that nod and smile again. You know you have weird sayings from home, too, so there’s no judgement—just confusion.

You don’t know where to have fun off-campus

Initially, you don’t know what there is outside of the Ohio State bubble. Who knew hiking was a quick 45 minutes away in Hocking Hills? Or, how would you know that you can find bison at Darby Metro Park? You spend a lot of time acclimating to campus, but it’s hard to know where to adventure outside of that. It takes some time and a few friends to tow along.

You didn’t realize all of Ohio is obsessed with OSU

Until the first game day, you don’t understand the reach of Buckeye fever. Everyone and their grandparents are rooting for the Bucks, and grocery stores throughout Ohio still sell Buckeye gear all to wear. Ohio State football is not just a casual Saturday with drinks and a pigskin—it’s a lifelong love that is ingrained within the hearts of Ohio residents.

Despite the struggles of coming to a new state for college, OSU is such an amazing place to open your heart to. You’ll catch onto the colloquialisms, the game day fun, and find your friend groups. If you were hesitant to come as a freshman, you know you’ll change your mind. Maybe you’ll dread graduation day because it means leaving this place. Go Bucks.