Why Im a Buckeye. It was always going to happen. Dad went to State, but he didnt finish. It just wasnt in the cards, and life happened, and eventually he had a Shaun Barcalow to feed, and he dedicated his life to making the best opportunities and having the highest expectations and hopes for me. I cant even fathom all the things he must have given up for himself, in order to make sure my brother and I were able to become the people we wanted to become. Even at a young age, I knew Dad was proud of the time hed spent at OSU, how he met Coach Hayes on the Oval for a few minutes, and Coach remembered him as Mingo Junction when he saw him again at a later date. As his son, I got it in my head that that was where I was going to go to college. It was the only place I applied to; I was that sure I wanted to be a Buckeye. So I went. And I was overwhelmed by its size. I almost flunked out the first year. But I stuck with it, and Dad was there encouraging me all the way. I struggled. I didnt plan to go back after the second year. About halfway through summer break something clicked in my head. And I knew I could turn it around and salvage a dream I always had. All those hundreds of walks across the Oval through snow and rain had to turn into something other than a regret; all that emergency cramming and starting of ten page term papers at midnight when they were due at 8am had to be made into something good. Eventually, things came together and worked out. I graduated. One of the biggest reasons was that I always wanted to make Dad proud; I wanted to make his work and effort and sacrifice for me worthwhile. I took his advice to heart, eventually, after trying to do it the hardheaded way. When he told me that a lot of life was jumping through hoops, and I wasnt exempt from hoop jumping, it finally sank into my thick skull after the zillionth time. Walking that campus in the rare times I get back to it brings a flood of memories. Getting sick off of some skunky Rolling Rocks on my way to the Quarterbacks birthday party, meeting people I havent seen in more than a decade now, but who still pop into my head. Fighting, laughing, camping. Living in squalid rentals. Halloween parties Ill pretend to remember for the rest of my life. Mind numbing classes, life changing classes. Having a boxing match with a friend on Ohio Stadiums 50 yard line before it was locked down like Fort Knox. Piles of good people. Lots of learning, most of it not in a classroom. All of it still electric and exciting. Growing up and getting knocked down. Knocking yourself down. Learning to overcome yourself as your own biggest enemy. Maybe you could do those things in any number of places. I did them at #osu. I did them because my dad dreamed big dreams for me about that magic place in Columbus, Ohio. Wayne Barcalow was the first Buckeye I ever knew: a darling, beautiful soul, a big dreaming selfless sacrificer. Thanks for giving me Ohio State, Dad. #gobucks
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 00:26:30 +0000
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