Hello! My name is Anusha Gopalam, and I am a second-year pre-med Biology major. I live in Marion, Iowa! Many of my friends at home and in OU ask me why I decided to travel all the way to the University of Oklahoma. To answer, I must say that I fell in love with the small but large campus feel at OU and all of the little quirks I can experience! My favorite is the collection of red telephone booths found throughout the campus. They are so cute and make me think of one of my favorite series - Harry Potter!
Just imagine walking into a telephone booth on campus and being transported to the Wizarding World.... now that would be really cool!
Aside from obsessing over Harry Potter, I also have decided to venture into the Marvel Universe. Lately, my two younger sisters and I have been watching all the movies in release order. I'm a sucker for reading stories and watching movies about many characters and complex plotlines. It's like one giant never-ending puzzle for me, and the more I continue to discover about how it all comes together, the more I love the story!
I just finished watching Captain America - Civil War, and, wow, I have to admit, one of my favorite characters is Scarlet Witch. She is probably one of the most powerful superheroes in the Universe, with her mind manipulation and telekinesis abilities. She is a very unique and fascinating character!
Since my classes are all online this semester, I will be staying at home in Iowa while attending my classes. I'm really thrilled about this, because I get to spend more time with my family. My mom is teaching me how to make a few dishes, and I'm also baking a little with my sister. We made a coffee cake this summer; what do you think?
Hi Anusha! I also love the small feel, family atmosphere here at OU. It is something that I love to share with my friends and family in my hometown as it is surprising that you get that atmosphere at a bigger campus. I also am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read the books countless times and went to the Harry Potter movie premiers when I was younger. I hope you have a good semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Anusha!
ReplyDeleteYour experience coming to OU makes me soooo happy to hear, as I am a tour guide and work for the Office of Admissions and Recruitment here! The feeling you described is exactly what we aim for - that students feel comfortable, safe, and welcomed the moment that they arrive on campus. At the same time, it is so nice that you get additional time with your family! The coffee cake looks wonderful - you're making me hungry!
Oh, yay for Harry Potter, Anusha: maybe you will want to do a Harry-Potter-themed project for this class. The Patil sisters are a great way to start imagining that (what do they know about the magical traditions of India!)... or... more scary: Nagini, whose name comes from the great Nagas of India link... and keep an eye on Rama's brother Lakshmana in the Ramayana if you're interested in Nagas; some people consider him a human incarnation of the cosmic Naga, Shesha link! And of course a Marvel mash-up would be cool: I'm wondering if maybe Scarlet Witch could be yet another manifestation of the goddess who also manifests as Kali link and as Durga link... anyway, you can just see where your imagination takes you! Imagination is all you need to create stories (unlike needing real flour and sugar and eggs to bake a real cake!). I hope you will enjoy the class from there in Iowa! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnusha,
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is also one of my favorite series. I agree that online classes have some benefits like being able to stay home and hang out with your family. Your coffee cake that you made looks really good!
Hi Anusha,
ReplyDeleteDid you know that during WWII there was a battleship (now retired) named the USS Iowa that served in the Atlantic Ocean? I never got into Harry Potter or Avengers so I don't know how they are but they sound interesting. It's good to hear you are able to spend time with your family in Iowa and develop your cooking skills. That coffee cake looks delicious! Also, good luck with med school.
Hello Anusha! I've never thought much about the telephone booths, but seeing you connect them to Harry Potter made me see them in new light! I'm also glad that you can spend time with your family this semester. I had to be on campus due to labs, but I would have loved to just stay at home with my family. Have fun baking and good luck for this semester.
ReplyDeleteHi Anusha.
ReplyDeleteI also love the booths on campus I think it is something that just helps make OU Unique. I also thought about staying at home this semester but I have one class in person so that wasn't quite an option for me. I am excited to read your stories this semester especially is they are connected to Harry Potter. Good luck this semester.
Hello Anusha!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are doing well and healthy! I really enjoyed reading your intro! It seems like you make the most and see the good things in life! The coffee cake looks pretty delicious! I am happy to read you are trying out the marvel movies they are some of the best! Just wait till end up ( it made me rear up)! my boyfriend made me watch the harry potter series through quarantine and lets just say I am now a HP fan! good luck the rest of the semester!
Hello Anusha!
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to get to know you through your Intro blog post :) I also really like the Marvel cinematic universe. I think my favorite character would be Iron Man. Iowa seems so far from Oklahoma but I'm glad you get to stay home and spend time with your family, I always forget to appreciate being home. The coffee cake looks delicious!
Hey Anusha it was nice to read an introduction from another premed student! I wish you the best as you continue your journey to becoming a physician! I also really love the reason why you chose to come to Oklahoma because of the red telephone booths lol. I fell in love with those as well when I toured OU as an incoming freshman!
ReplyDeleteYo Anusha! I freaking love coffee cake! That stuff is the best. I am also in a pretty similar position as you are this semester. With all my classes online, I am not currently living in Norman, so I am spending the majority of my time at home. I really love longrunning connected narratives as well! My favorite story of all time is just that. It is basically multiple stories in one huge connected plot. I'm excited to see some of your own stories in the near future!
ReplyDeleteHi Anusha!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear about why you chose to come to OU. I work in the office of admissions and recruitment as a tour guide, and making people feel at home with a small community in the midst of a large, flagship campus is our goal!! My boss would love your intro ;) The coffee cake looks absolutely stellar... I have a weird trait where I love all things coffee flavored, but I don't like coffee itself. Have you ever tried mocha ice cream? I bet that would be good with the cake!
Hi Anusha. I am a big Harry Potter fan and Marvel fan myself. I am excited for you to be learning about the marvel world. Two newer Marvel movies I would recommend are Captain Marvel and Into the Spiderverse. Even though Spiderverse is animated, it is amazing, like seriously, so good. It has become my number 1 marvel movie, which I didn't think was possible. I went into the theater with low expectations and had my mind blown. I watched it in theater 6 times. The soundtrack is badass too. Captain Marvel is special to me because I enjoyed seeing a female superhero portrayed the way she is. I am a huge Buffy fan, and this movie is about a hot blonde with superpowers, set in the 90's, so that might have had something to do with it as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all of your online classes and have fun baking and writing!
Hello Anusha, it is very nice to meet you. I am also a Pre-med biology major here at OU finishing my final semester here (hopefully). OU has plenty of fun experiences for people interested in the healthcare field. I had a similar experience when I first moved to OU, however as time went on my social skills improved and made a crap ton of friends. I am sure you will do great things here at OU, while you are here.
ReplyDeleteHi Anusha!
ReplyDeleteMy brother also really loves Harry Potter! While I enjoy it, he takes it to another level. I can never remember what each movie is about, so every time I watch it, it's like I am watching it for the first time all over again! It's a blessing and a curse. As for Marvel, I also really love it! My favorite is Iron Man/Tony Stark regardless of how narcissistic he can be because he was able to turn himself into a superhero with science. I look forward to reading your work in this class! Good Luck!
Hi Anusha,
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting you live in Iowa but decided to come to The University of Oklahoma. I also fell in love with the small but large campus that OU has to offer. I hope you're doing great in your second year pre-med biology major, I'm sure it is very tough. I am not a big coffee guy, but I sure do love some coffee cake. That looks amazing.
Hey Anusha, I have never met anyone from Iowa, nor have I been there, but I totally agree about the character our campus holds; it was a huge factor in why I chose OU as well. Have you ever checked out the book swap phone booths on campus? There's one in campus corner that I know about and it's basically a library inside of the booth and it's free! The photo you took of the homemade coffee cake looks professional and I am SO impressed.
ReplyDeleteHey Anusha! You must be one of the last people in this class that I need to meet. But yes! I am from Norman and I have always thought that our campus holds sooo much character, charm, and beauty. I hope things are going well in Iowa, I bet it is probably getting much colder there right now. Norman has just been gorgeous the last few days. I hope you are safe at home right now, and will get to come back to campus here soon :)
ReplyDeleteHi Anusha,
ReplyDeleteThat coffee cake looks amazing!! (Also, you did a really good job photographing it.) I didn't get to stay home this semester since I still had a lot of in-person classes, but I will be home for the rest of the semester now that classes are online. I definitely agree with you---it is so nice being able to spend time with family :) I also share your fascination with the red telephone booths on campus---I haven't seen the Harry Potter movies, but they definitely add a certain anachronistic whimsy! I'm glad you like OU's campus