Recently we have been blessed with beautiful, fall-like, mid-70s weather in Ashland and in Ohio in general. As appealing as the air conditioner sounds, take advantage of the breeze and sunshine while it is still around. Fall will come sooner than you think, and the winters at AU are cold and bitter.

When you find free time in between classes and busy sports schedules, take some time for yourself to relax. Sometimes we are so busy that “busyness” becomes a personality trait, rather than a way to describe our schedules.

AU makes it especially easy to relax and be present outdoors on campus with the sand volleyball courts, outdoor basketball courts, the quad and plenty of walking, biking and boarding space.

Two sand volleyball courts are located behind the Recreational Center and one is located outside of Clayton, whereas the outdoor basketball court is located directly behind Kilhefner Hall. Grab a group of friends and get active outside!

The quad is located reasonably central on campus, which makes it easy to access from any dormitory hall. On the quad students typically hang hammocks from the trees, lay out on blankets, have picnics, and play sports such as frisbee, football, and kickball.

If you get bored only hanging out on campus, there are numerous outside activities to do off campus as well.

Although Ashland is not a huge town, it is located almost exactly in between Columbus and Cleveland with only an hour drive each way. Take a mini road trip to a bigger city on the weekends or weekdays that you do not have class. There are so many parks in these two bigger cities, and the downtown areas have shops and restaurants that you can walk to. I love to bird around Columbus, which is basically just riding electric scooters downtown and on Ohio State’s campus.

In Ashland there are coffee shops such as Vines Bakery, Downtown Perk, Dunkin, Tim Hortons, and Starbucks. Personally, Vines Bakery is one of my favorites. They are only open Thursday-Saturday, so make sure to get there on the weekend to get a scone and a cup of coffee!

A little over a mile from campus is Yoder’s Red Barn Ice Cream, which is delicious and sits right outside of Brookside Park. You can get an ice cream cone and enjoy nature all in one!

I completely understand being too busy to enjoy anything, but this school year, try to get out of that habit. You have to start romanticizing the small, insignificant things in your life. I once read something that said, “You gotta start believing that your morning commute is cute and fun, that every cup of coffee is the best you’ve ever had, that even the smallest and most mundane things are exciting and new. You have to, because that’s when you start truly living. That’s when you look forward to every day.”

Life is so beautiful. Do not waste it being inside doing homework 24/7, (even though homework is super important, it is not worth your mental health).
Get outside more. Enjoy yourself more.