Actually, I'm not even going to attempt to tackle the aforementioned question--please, a college education doesn't prepare you to tackle such quandaries!
Instead, this entry is about where I am. (delightfully more egocentric topic, hm?) In my blog picture, that is.
When I first started blogging for OSU, one of the first things I was asked was for a location in which I would pose for a photo for this blog. I picked Hagerty Hall, an unassuming block of glass and sand-colored brick on the south side of the Oval. This may seem odd--at the time, the classes for my major--ostensibly that topic about which I must be most passionate--took place on the Medical campus, and I lived in Lincoln tower. My favorite library was the Biological Sciences & Pharmacy library near Lincoln (because the bohemoth now reigning over all of central campus had not yet been opened). I've written in the past about enjoying the outdoors, but I didn't chose the Oval or Mirror Lake or even the Olentangy bike trail...
So why Hagerty??
(1) Hagerty Hall, in its (ok, anthropomorphically...) own words, is "where the world awaits."
It's home to every foreign language department at OSU, from Swahili to Mandarin. See, I'm passionate about biology and research--don't get me wrong. But I'm passionate more than that for the nations. To see and experience different cultures, learn about different languages, and meet all kinds of different people. I love OSU for its racial, cultural, reigonal, and socioeconomic diversity. And nowhere do I see that more than at Hagerty. Seriously, the Cafe area has TVs showing shows from all over the world. Where else can you get your daily fix of Iranian news or Japanese cooking shows?
(2) The Crane Cafe in Hagerty boasts the cheapest and the most frou-frou coffee drinks on campus.
As well as good "real" coffee too--but seriously, it's the cheapest place to get a mocha or a vanilla latte or whatever other creation they've got brewing. Somehow, too, the Cafe manages to expel the most alluring, powerful smells of any eating or drinking location on or near campus. I concede, even, that sometimes it's hard to work here, so great is the temptation to partake of a panini or at least a multi-berry muffin.
(3) The windowsills are incredible.
Pictures pending for sometime when I remember to bring my camera here. The whole building features really deep windowsills that are perfect for curling up with a laptop, a book, or just to look into the courtyard. And did I mention!
(4) The courtyard!
In the spring and summer, there's a beautiful courtyard in the building with tables, trees, and plenty of natural light. It's where my picture was taken and it's always breezy and peaceful.
(5) It's got a computer lab with $5 free printing!
One wall of the courtyard is windows of an OIT Student Computer Center, open to all OSU students and to an extent, the public. Plus, all OSU students get $5 of free prints on their BuckID at the beginning of each quarter, usable at a select few locations--Hagerty is one of these locations. And not only are the computers fast and pretty--they all have foreign language support on them. So if you ever want to type in 中文 o en español complete with the accents and tildes and characters...all the computers support it.
So if you're ever touring or visiting campus, be sure to take a stop at HH. And if you're a student here...please don't. Because it's MY secret favorite place! ;-)