What I'm Really Learning From College

2005 was a pivotal year in my life, the lives of my friends, and the lives of many Americans. In the last 365 days we have seen happiness and heartache alike. Many of gained and quit new jobs, we lost people close to us, as well as gained new folks close to our heart. Nationwide, many Americans in the South were left devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Halfway across the world, many in the Far East have spent the last year trying to rebuild their lives after a devastating tsunami.

In my own life, 2005 started off tragically, as I and the people close to me lost a dear friend, for reasons we will most likely never know, a devastating loss that is still felt today.



Time passed as it tends to, and months later would find my 21st birthday. A bittersweet milestone signifying that I am no longer a kid, yet, can also get drunk at Applebee's if I so please. 2005 would also find more friends like Adrienne and the late comer Latimer hitting this junction in their lives.




Classes at Ohio State continued, well, for most people. Spring quarter found Nick and I drinking most every day due to our painfully easy class schedules. Really more astonishing for Nick than me, since I take JCOM classes and he now changes control rods in nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, from Brother's to Too's. Four Keg's to case races, it was good bonding time, irregardless of how much alcohol and cheap wings fueled it.




Spring began to turn into early summer. Ah yes, the beginning of summer, the temperature's not too hot, but school's not quite done, and it's a perfect time for me to get mugged. And then taken to the ER for a weeklong stay in the hospital. And later, gaining a sprained ankle with a near hairline fracture. Most of this sucked, but at least I was discharged on May 5th, 2005. Why
do I remember that? No, not because of the insane OSU Medical Center bills, but because it was Cinco de Mayo.



Shortly after my stay in the hospital, I took a thankless, underpaid job as a master control board operator at NPR 820AM, and ended my 3 year career stint in the Registrar's office. Early summer also brings with it the end of school - which on this particular year, meant many friends graduating, but in particular, it meant Laura, Marilena, and Nick would be saying goodbye to Columbus.... after the requisite Senior Crawl and graduation parties... of course.











Around the same time Mike Quade moved in with us for the summer. This isn't particularly noteworthy, I will just always laugh when I think of watching him accidentally shoot out a car window with our BB gun.

The highlight of Summer 2005 could quite possibly have been laying waste to Spinnaker's on July 4th. There's a certain sense of accomplishment for being directly responsible for a business not turning a profit on the last day it is open.... among other reasons why that night rocked.


After hitting that high, summer quickly dropped into a lifeless routine as friends came and left Columbus (in some cases, the country). Summer became a repitition of work (or looking for it), occasionally highlighted by hanging out with Neil Diamond at the Schott, but not Ozzy Osbourne at the Germain (son of a bitch couldn't even come to his own damn show). The summer was so dull, the president and FEMA seemed to still be on vacation when Katrina hit...

Eventually the weather cooled back down and September reared it's head once more. To mark the occasion, I quit my job at NPR, and gained a new one watching a computer lab in the design department. Not suprisingly, this much easier job also paid more than my previous job of being completely responsible for a public radio station on the weekends. Irony - she is quite the bitch.

October came, and with it Halloween and Halloween parties. (Incidentally, if Tim Payne or any of the Hollabacks are reading this, neither of you have reimbursed me for keg deposits.)



Leaves slowly, but eventually changed their colors as Fall continued onward. Some of the boys and I went to Michigan (and jumped in Mirror Lake beforehand) for the ol' rivalry game - directly followed by Thanksgiving dinner.



And just like that, after coming back from Thanksgiving holiday, we found ourselves vamping up for Christmas. At the same time, exams and work continued to rob us of time, while several others were simultaneously (and finally) hitting their 21 mark.



Add in some time with the family and a few days for yourself, and you find yourself where I am now - at 7.00am on the morning of New Year's Eve, looking back and reflecting on the last 52 weeks of your life, and wondering where the hell they went. You wonder if they have passed so fast, what will the next 525,600 minutes in your life bring, what unpredictable tragedy and happiness could be in store?

Guess I'll tell you in a year.