Hi! I'm Sean, and I'm just about to finish up my first semester here.

According to StrengthsQuest, my top five strengths are positivity, ideation, activator, adaptability, and connectedness. In all honestly, I'm not all that surprised that I got "positivity" as one of my top five strengths. It was albeit a little hard for me to understand at first--as someone who's struggled through depression, "positive" wasn't always the first word I'd use to describe myself, but the past two years have changed me a lot for the better. I've also always tried to be positive in how I talk to other people. I don't like to be the downer in a group, and I'm always trying to get friends to look on the bright side of things. Even after my initial confusion I think that positivity is a good strength of mine.

My tips for anyone thinking of going to THE Ohio State University are maybe a little more geared toward what I would have told myself, but they could help someone else and are as follows:

1) Don't be worried about not finding anyone to talk to. This campus is so large, the probability you won't find at least a HANDFUL of people to talk to is highly unlikely.

2) Don't be afraid to drop a class if the stress is getting to you. If you have too many hours or one particularly stressful class, is it really worth taking if it's lowering your grades and your mental health?

3) Try your best to not only eat junk food--I know, this one is hard, since actual food can be expensive. But if you can ever afford to splurge and get some health food, I'd highly suggest it. Good for your mind AND your body.

4) Put time aside for yourself! Studies and grades are important, but so are you! Make sure you set some time aside to do something you enjoy or join a club or try a new hobby!

5) KEEP TRACK OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS! A lot of work isn't due the next class, rather way in the future, and if you forget about that stuff (like I tend to do) it can really pile up!

My personal favorite Ohio State tradition is the OH-IO cheer we do with our arms in photographs. I particularly like how we do that on exchange programs. If an exchange group goes to Paris, we're more than likely to get a picture of the OH-IO cheer in front of the Eiffel Tower. I think it's really cool that even all across the world, alumni, fans, and current students all have this little gesture to keep us together.