Greetings, Bears! My name is Hallie, and I’m a new Peer Mentor in the CAST office. I’m super excited to contribute to the weekly blog posts! For this week’s post, I wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me.

Who are you?

I am a sophomore from Bentonville, Arkansas majoring in Philosophy with minors in Geology and Creative Writing. I’m also involved in several organizations on campus, including Student Activities Council and University Ambassadors.

Why did you choose MSU?

When I toured the Missouri State campus as a high school senior, I couldn’t help but feel like I was a part of the community. I saw myself living here and building a life for myself here. I know it sounds cheesy, but there’s something so unique about our campus that’s hard to put into words. Now, as a student who has been here for over a year, I definitely feel like I’ve built a life for myself, just like how I saw myself doing back then. MSU also has so many amazing resources for students, and there’s something for everyone to get involved in.

What is your favorite study spot?

There are a lot of places around campus where I like to study! If I had to pick one, though, I would have to say the third floor of Temple Hall. That’s where the department of Geography, Geology, and Planning is housed, so they have all of these cool maps hanging on the walls, as well as some rock and fossil displays. I also like that I get to walk by the turtles that the Biology department has on the second floor on my way up. If I’m not in Temple Hall, though, I’ll most likely be in the library. I love the lobby, the individual study pods on the second floor, and the little window directly under the bell tower that overlooks the fountain.

What’s one thing you worried about before you started at MSU? How did you deal with it once you were here?

It sounds kind of weird, but I think the biggest thing that I was worried about was that I would get trapped in a field that I didn’t enjoy. I’ve always had a hard time doing things for myself, and I’ve had a tendency, especially back in high school, to do or decide things based off of what others expected of me. I hate the idea of disappointing people that I care about, and I’ve let that affect some of my decisions in the past. I was worried that I would unknowingly make a decision just to fulfill others’ expectations of me, and that I would end up unhappy with no way out. At first, college was really weird for me, because I had the freedom to choose on my own what classes I took, as well as what major or minor I wanted to study. I struggled at first, but I’m lucky enough to have met friends and people here that have taught me that it’s okay to do things for myself. It’s harder than it sounds, but it helps if I remind myself that people who want me to disregard my own happiness for their expectations aren’t worth my effort or time, and that a lot of college students are in the same boat as me in terms of trying to feel at home in their academics. I still have work to do, and I still have to be reminded to take care of myself sometimes, but I can proudly say that I am very happy and I am studying what I love.

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me! You’ll be hearing more from me in some future blog posts. I can’t wait to tell you more about my experiences as a student at MSU. See you soon, and as always, Go Bears!

~Hallie

(Bio: I’m a sophomore out-of-state student studying Philosophy with minors in Geology and Creative Writing.)