It is like an Amusement Park...
Since this is my first blog post, it's probably best that I do a quick little introduction. I do these all the time with the students I work with, and I assure you that they love it (they actually hate it), because everybody loves icebreakers (everybody hates icebreakers).My names Alex Broshious and I'm a part-time student in the Master of Human Resource Management program in The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business (did you get all that? there's going to be a quiz at the end). I currently work full-time at Ohio State as a Hall Director and have a undergraduate degree in Education from Capital University and a Master's in Education from Miami University. This is my second year in the MHRM program and I'm currently in the internship search for Summer 2019 with an expected graduation date in 2020 (nothing expected about it, it's happening).
I also have a mini dachshund puppy named Bernie and he's perfect, his Instagram is @livinglikebernie if you want to follow his adorable life.
Now, icebreaker out of the way, I wanted to dedicate my first official post to talking a little bit about the roller coaster of an experience graduate school is and compare it to, well, a roller coaster.
Over Labor Day weekend, I won two free tickets to Cedar Point, one of the largest amusement parks in the world conveniently located in Sandusky, Ohio. I grew up in the Sandusky area, but I hadn't been to Cedar Point for about 10 years, so I pretty hyped to experience all the new rides and relive my childhood memories of The Iron Dragon and overpriced amusement park food. At the early hour of 7 a.m., my friend, Michael, and I got into a car and made the two-hour drive to Cedar Point.
Cedar Point was mostly how I remembered it. The layout was burned into my memory after multiple childhood summers spent running through the park (fun fact: I was so hyped about Cedar Point as a toddler that my mom had to put me in one of those kid leashes to keep me from running through Camp Snoopy with reckless abandon), but there were multiple new rides and buildings that threw me off my game. The park was reasonably packed, so we only got through about five roller coasters before we called it a day due to one roller coaster breaking down twice while we were in line (looking at you, Maverick), but I'd say we got our money's worth.
The most jarring experience came when, about halfway through the second roller coaster, I had a wave of motion sickness hit me. It was a feeling I'd never had before at Cedar Point, or at least something so far back in my memory that I'd forgotten all about it. After that first hit of motion sickness, the rest of the day was a onslaught of metaphorical (and quite literal) highs and lows. While I was living for the experience of feeling like a kid again as we climbed the first hill of roller coasters I'd never experienced before, I was also dying a little bit inside due to the new feelings of motion sickness. Cedar Point was familiar, but also completely new and a tad scary.
So, why admit that I'm no longer the ride warrior (that's what they call people who are all about the roller coaster life) I was when I was 16? What does that have to do with my MHRM experience?
Well, I think the feelings of familiarity and concern that I felt during my time at Cedar Point are similar to my experience in MHRM. Graduate programs, no matter where you go or what you decide to study, are always going to be somewhat familiar and somewhat scary. You understand the structure, you go to class, do papers, sometimes you do exams, but it has this different feel that really hits you in the pit of your stomach. For some, this feeling causes extra stress they didn't know was possible, and for others it spurs you to do the best work of your life. Sometimes you're cheering as you come to a stop after a big final that you just crushed, and sometimes you're holding on for dear life as you fly around a corner.
Much like Cedar Point, I've loved my experience with MHRM so far, even if I still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach at least once a month. You'll hit your highest highs and maybe even some of your lowest lows, but when you look back on what you accomplished, just like how you look up at a roller coaster and can't believe you really went that high, you'll feel this sense of pride and amazement at what you're able to do.
Oh, and the food's much better here at OSU.