Wittenberg University

It always amazes how quickly the first weeks go by—everyone is always so busy, picking up new activities or clubs, catching up with old friends, engaging in sports, and sorting out their classes. For a school with only approximately 2000 people, which is relatively small in comparison to many other schools, it’s surprising how many people you run into on a weekly basis—just going in between classes.

But before I get ahead of myself, as I often tend to do, I guess I should tell you all about me, so you can have an idea of where I’m from, and why I’m telling you about Witt.

I am currently in my third year here- which makes me a Junior. Everyone always talks about how quickly time passes by- and they really aren’t lying. It feels like just yesterday since I came here- with my two suitcases—both of which my Dad had to trudge around because they were far too heavy for me.

Ohio, was a bit of a surprise for me. Firstly, when I got off the plane it was 69 degrees F, and I was FREEZING. Before I even left the airport, I had already located one of the only two sweaters I had owned at the time, and I was complaining to my Daddy about how cold it was. I’m telling you this, because at this particular moment in time it’s also 69 F outside, which to me is absolutely glorious weather for Ohio. I wasn’t as accepting freshman year- as I am now. But that’s one of the good qualities about Wittenberg, it has a way of unconsciously changing you for the better.

Originally, I’m from a place with a most picturesque landscape; beaches, rivers, waterfalls, mountains and exotic plants. It never snows where I’m from, and to be honest it never really rains much either. The sun is always shining, and before coming to Ohio I’m proud to say I had never experienced a temperature that was below 65F. The music genre reggae was created in my country, and we are also currently home to the fastest man in the world. I’m not sure how historically inclined any of you are, and I really am not either to tell the truth- so I guess for all those who haven’t guessed it- I’m from the beautiful island JAMAICA. If you haven’t visited- I must say it should be number one on your list of things to do.

Since being here, everyone always asks me why I came here? Why I chose Wittenberg? And of course the everyday: “You’re from Jamaica, Why on earth would you come to Ohio?” Well, for starters Wittenberg offered the type of Liberal Arts education that I really wanted to have. I didn’t want to have to stick to one field of study, I wanted to be well-rounded. At the time, I was also really excited to leave home- I wanted to start a new chapter or beginning in my life, and Wittenberg was the perfect place for it. After all it was 4000 miles away from anyone I knew.

In the two years I’ve been here- I’ve changed so much. I’ve met people from all over the world, and I’ve gained so much knowledge and experiences that I know I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Truthfully, I’ve never been happier with any decision I’ve ever made. And I look forward to telling you all about my experiences here- so that maybe you too can see why every student and even faculty member considers Wittenberg to be their home away from home, and maybe, hopefully consider making it yours as well.

-Ciao.

Amanda Fraser

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at 12:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.