Christine's Column

Thanksgiving break officially starts Friday, and I’m more than ready for it — even if mine won’t actually begin until Monday. While most students are packing up and heading home as soon as classes end, I’ll still be on campus for the weekend because of work. It’s not ideal, but I keep reminding myself that a few extra shifts now means more spending money later, especially with a busy week ahead. My break really kicks off Monday afternoon when I finally hit the road for Toledo. Before I get there, though, I’m making a much-needed stop in Bowling Green to get my nails done. It has become a little ritual to start every holiday break with a fresh set, and after the past few weeks of exams and projects, the timing couldn’t be better. Tuesday night is reserved for one of my favorite traditions: watching the “Dancing With the Stars” finale at my best friend Claire’s house. We’ve been doing this for years, and no matter how hectic life gets, we always find time to sit on her couch, argue o...

This past Friday, I spent the night in Toledo celebrating my friend Jai-Lin’s birthday. For some background, I worked at a golf course for many years and, through that job, met some of my closest friends. Jai, Kayla, Lamai, Abby and I all worked together, and while we always have a blast during the summer when the golf season is in full swing, we don’t get to see each other much during the school year. That’s mostly because I don’t go to school in Toledo. Despite the distance, one tradition we’ve kept alive is celebrating each other’s birthdays. No matter how busy things get, we make sure to show up for those moments. Jai’s birthday fell on Thursday this year, but the official celebration took place Friday night. The birthday girl also requested a "cowgirl/country" theme, so of course we delivered.  To mark the occasion, Jai rented a pedal bar downtown. For the record, we are all over 21. The group was bigger than usual because she invited several of her other friends, wh...

 As my first blog back, I thought I would walk you through my very hectic last month of summer. On Aug. 2, my mom told me she was moving in 30 days. She was very excited about it, and I also thought it would be fun. However, I quickly realized that I was leaving for Florida on Aug. 13 and moving back to school almost immediately after returning. That meant I had about a week and a half to go through everything I owned. It’s also important to note that I am not moving back home after I graduate in May — I’m moving to Florida. So it wasn’t as simple as packing and moving my things. It was a cleanout of everything I owned. I don’t know how I managed to get it done, but by the time I left for Florida everything of mine was already pitched or packed. I then, thankfully, went on to have the most relaxing vacation. My boyfriend and I are long distance — he lives in Florida — so we decided to have a little getaway before we both begin our last years of school. Naples Pier, FL We went t...

My morning view when I open the course                 Well, spring break was boring. I basically spent the whole time relaxing and watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I did work, but because I work at a golf course when it rains, we close. I only ended up working at the course half of the days I was scheduled to work due to being called off. Toledo, Ohio didn’t suffer any tornadoes, thankfully, but we did have some bad rainstorms throughout the week causing the course to flood. Luckily, I also work for my aunt’s locally owned business and coincidentally they had a lot of work to do that week and wanted my help. So, I still worked most of the time, just not where I thought I was going to be. Mike, aka, Golf Boss             On the plus side to being called off, I had time to hangout with some of my friends, including my friend Morgan, who I haven’t seen much since high school be...

Twins x2!               As spring break approaches, I get more and more excited about a break from school. Sadly, I am not going on vacation anywhere, but I am working. I work as a bartender and beer cart girl at a golf course in my hometown. Normally the course is not open yet by this time but this year since the weather has been decently nice the course is open!             Many people don’t find their job fun, but I love mine and have fun every shift. I have worked at the golf course for many years – this year will be my seventh season. I started working there when I was 14 years old as a clubhouse assistant. Clubhouse assistants, or ‘juniors’ as we call them, basically just maintain the carts by washing, gassing and parking them and help keep the clubhouse clean and kept. When I turned 18, I was able to start beer carting and then the following year I began bartending as well....

  Last week I received a text in my family group chat from my uncle asking my brother and I if we were able to come home for the weekend because he wanted to have dinner to celebrate my grandfather’s seventy-fourth birthday. My brother and I were both eager to go home and see the family and our dog, Barrett. I was especially happy because my brother said he would drive us – all I heard was I didn’t have to pay for gas to drive home myself. We didn’t end up going home for the entire weekend, only Saturday to make dinner and then we drove back to Ada that night. We live in Toledo, which is only about an hour drive, so it was easy for us to simply go for the day. My brother and I have always been close and with him graduating Northern this May it’s nice to spend time with him before he leaves, even if it is just a car ride together. When we finally arrived in Toledo we hung out with our mom and caught up on what’s going on in school and life. The three of us have always been super c...

Being at school obviously makes me miss my family and friends, however, I always miss my nephew, Leon, especially. Technically, Leon is not my nephew, and we aren't related by blood, but he is my best friend's son. Emily and I have been best friends since high school and have always been there for each other, except for one period during Junior year we refer to as 'The Lost Year' and we didn't like each other but that's beside the point. Despite that, I have known Leon since he was a newborn and over the past couple years since he was born, I have always thought of and treated him as if he was my real nephew.  Emily and I have a relationship that is more similar to a sisterhood than a friendship. Beyond my relationship with her son, I have relationships with all of her family members including her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and vice versa, she is considered family within my family. I go on their family vacations, attend family holiday pa...

  My job has given me many things, one of those being some of the best friendships I have. Kayla, Christine, Jai-Lin, Lamai       Throughout last Summer, some of my coworkers and I became very close friends. They all live in Toledo so at the end of Summer when I had to go back to school it was a sad time for us all. Luckily, I don’t live too far from school so I was able to go home on weekends to see them. We are all so much alike and we all have such a good time when we get together. Kayla and Lamai are 23 and Jai-Lin is 21, so we all joke that I’m the baby and I love reminding them that they’re friends with a 19-year-old…they, however, do not like being reminded.           Over this past weekend I went home to celebrate Kayla's twenty-third birthday with them. Since Kayla’s birthday wasn’t until Saturday, I decided to go to Bowling Green on Friday to see Jai because that is where she goes to school. I had a great tim...