B is for Bachelor's Degree

Bachelor's Degree : a first degree at a college or university; B.A. or B.S.

[According to the Cambridge Dictionary]

Back in May I graduated from Ohio Northern. I received my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in marketing. It's such a crazy time to think back on because at that point, we were all at the end and we knew it. We were all trying to spend as much time together and make the most of our final days - knowing that life as we had known it for the last four years, was coming quickly to an end. Definitely makes me a little sad - a lot sad - to be thinking back on it.

I think it's so interesting that after four years it all comes down to a piece of paper. It symbolizes all of the hard work and late nights that you put into the books and at the bar - college wasn't just about the classes and the degree. It was about growing up and making friends and making your way in a new place, even if that place was the cornfields of Ada.

I wouldn't give up a single memory from that place, good or bad and I cherish each for different reasons. Whether they're lessons - like don't try to ballroom dance with drunk boys because you'll end up with a black eye before Christmas; stories - like that one time when I dumped my beer on a boy at a party, or just the littlest, most random things that make the biggest impact - like nighttime talks between bunk beds, playing drinking board games and Country music before heading to the bar or listening to Christmas music while working on projects late at night in the business building, hiding from security to not get kicked out. 

Graduation. That was almost eight months ago! That's insane! I can't believe how quickly life passes and how everything changes in what seems like the blink of an eye. To those of you who are still fortunate to be in college, I'd like to say this - Quit your bitching! Seriously the "real world" is nothing like college and it's such a huge change. 

Enjoy the fact that you can take naps and can pull all-nighters and don't have class until 10. Take advantage of all the breaks you get between semesters and Summers! I don't ever get a summer break Ever Again! Spend as much time with your roommates and take advantage of every opportunity and adventure that you're lucky enough to come upon. But if you don't, that's on you and I hope you don't regret it once you get your fancy piece of paper and are trying to make it on your own out here. Just don't take it for granted.

Until next time

    -~- B.

B is for Baggage (Pt. 2)

B is for Baggage - Part 2

Baggage: suitcases, trunks and personal belongings of travelers.

[According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary]

Well this post ends my series from the adventure to Boston. I had to be at the train station before 11 AM in time to wait and board the train at South Station. Unlike my first trip on the train, I wouldn’t have to get off or switch to anything else, it was just going to be a straight ride from Boston to Toledo. So I boarded at about noon and was estimated to arrive at about 5:55 AM on Monday morning. That’s like 18 hours… and also a funny joke because the train somehow got behind schedule somehow - like by a lot. The train didn’t arrive in Toledo until 7:30 AM! So that was fun. It was pretty nice though because I had both seats to myself for probably 75% of the trip. I was able to spread out and lie down and get a bit of sleep.  Other things I did to keep myself busy:

• Finished reading the last 3/4th of a book (The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks)
• Ate snacks
• Watched a movie (Morning Glory)
• Ate more snacks
• Listened to music
• Tried to sleep
• Played a bit of solitaire
• Went to the cafe car to get some “real” food
• Watched another movie (A Lot Like Love)
• Listened to some more music while trying to sleep

Good Times! So yeah, it was a super long ride, but at least the train seats were comfortable. It trip would have been better if it wouldn't have been so long, though. Plus this train was rocking all over the tracks kind of a lot and it was sort of like feeling sea-sick .. not okay. I wouldn't be against traveling by train again, but I'm not about to go again real soon. But at least I can say I've done it!

After I arrived in Toledo, Brentlee was there waiting and picked me up. We got some real "real" food for breakfast at Bob Evans - I love Bob Evans. Then we stopped back at his house so I could get my car and drive the final two hours of the trip back home to get some quality sleep in my own bed. There's nothing like laying down in your bed after you've been away. So nice!

-~- B.

B is for Bus

Bus: a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers usually 

along a fixed route according to a schedule.

[According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary]

Ok so a few days before I was supposed to board the train, Amtrak called me and told me that there was scheduled track work and for part or all of my trip I would have to take alternate transportation. I minorly freaked out, being completely confused my the message, but I called the number back and basically they said that everything was taken care of and all I would have to do was take the train from Toledo, Ohio to Albany, New York, get off the train and board a bus in Albany which would take me the rest of the way to Boston. I guess I did want an adventure right? Well that’s how I looked at the situation anyways - as just another part of the adventure. So here we go exiting the train and being herded into the Albany station. I hear an older man ask a worker what travelers heading to Boston were supposed to do, so naturally I went up to this man and asked if he was taking the bus to Boston too. He said yes and told me to stick with him and two other younger people around my age. He said, "Well, if we miss the bus then we'll all miss it together." I was fine with that. At least I wasn’t completely alone. So we wait over an hour for this bus to pick us up and it finally comes and we get split up a bit. There were two buses and each was stopping at certain stops but leaving out others to shorten the trip. Another bus was coming along about an hour later to be a straight shot to Boston, but I wasn't really in the mood to be waiting a whole additional hour. Anyways I get put on the red bus to Boston, and luckily I’m put on the same bus as Matt, an accounting grad about to get his Masters from the University of Tennessee, returning home to Boston after a family wedding in Rochester, New York. Matt was another stranger made friend during my traveling adventures and we talked about anything and everything during the bus trip. The trip lasted a good 5 hours but when you're occupied that doesn't seem so long and can go by pretty quickly. I was pretty thankful to have had Matt there to keep me company. Unlike the train, the bus had much less room to spread out but fortunately when they filled the buses, this one only had so many people that everyone has two seats to themselves. I couldn’t complain. The trip could have been pretty miserable if everyone had been partnered up, but I was able to spread out a bit and not have all by bags smashed up on my lap. Nearing the end of the ride I got a bit nervous, not familiar with the area I was being dropped off at to wait nor knowing exactly where my friend was going to pick me up at, but Matt knew the area so he showed me where to wait safely and was really helpful. All-in-all the entire trip to Boston was a success and quite the adventure. =)

-~- B.