Living In Ada
Going to school in a small town has its ups and downs. Ada, Ohio, is a small village a couple of miles east of Lima, Ohio. Many people do not understand how I could go to school in an area with “nothing to do.” While it is true there isn’t many things going on, people at Ohio Northern learn to make their own fun.
I am from Akron, Ohio. This means that I am used to having many things around me. When I decided to come to Ohio Northern, I knew that Ada didn’t have much and I thought I was going to be ok with it. In my second semester of my second year, I can confidently say I love Ada.
Living in Ada has taught me to value my friends. After having class all week, heading to the apartments and spending a night in is exactly what I want to do. You learn to love the few restaurants you do have here. For anyone who does not go to school in Northwest Ohio, you need to try Padrone's Pizza as soon as possible. It will change your life. Outside of just pizza, a restaurant called 3 Brothers has ice cream and they DELIVER. Within the past few years, Ada was gifted with a Taco Bell. Enough is said. Viva Marias is the place to get Italian food. It has the best chicken parmesan and the prices are fantastic. Nightlife in Ada is not the best but again we make it our own. We have two bars in Ada. Yes, two and neither are 18 and over. Therefore, from what I can tell, people have fun at the bars! Of course, this is a college campus with athletic teams and fraternities. With that being said, there are house parties every weekend. Ada is what you make it.
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| Coffee Amici in Findlay |
Since there are not many places in Ada, I enjoy going to Findlay for a few more dining options. Findlay is about a 30 minute drive and is basically an upscaled version of Ada. I actually love going to Findlay. It is a nice way to get out of “the village” for a little bit. Coffee Amici is hands down the best coffee shop within a 30 mile radius from Ada. If you go, which I highly recommend you do, get the Amici Mocha blended. I will drive 30 minutes solely for this drink. Coffee Amici also has open mic night every Friday and live music every Saturday. A great place to get breakfast is Scramblers Marie. Ada does not have a breakfast place so when friends come to town, this is where I will take them. If you’re looking for a nicer dinner, is my go-to place. The Bakers Cafe is an adorable little bakery with just about anything you’re looking to eat!
Living in a small town can be hard at sometimes, but I would never imagine going to school anywhere else. The education I get here is outstanding and the friends I have made are the absolute best. I have learned that college is about making your own fun. You make your experience whatever you want it to be. I chose to live in Ada and I could never live anywhere else.
Abigail, I could not agree with you more in this blog. First off, I am glad that you have found a love for a town such as Ada. When I started off here freshman year I HATED it. I was jealous of all of my buddies that were going to huge schools such as Ohio State and Miami. One thing that has kept me here is baseball and the bond that I have with my teammates. It is nice to have something to go to when school starts to stress me out. It is sort of my get away. I always look back to freshman year when I almost transferred out of ONU and think that it would have been the biggest mistake of my life.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever related to a blog post so much. My first semester I was questioning my decision to come to such a small school, but like you said it's all about making your own fun. Ada is such a special town and ONU is such a great school that I know I made the best decision of my life coming here. I could not imagine myself anywhere else and am grateful to be here everyday!!
ReplyDeleteI was questioning my decision too! I didn't really know what i had gotten myself into when I started going here, but now I find joy in the little things like the restaurants and friends just like you said. I also find comfort in really cool people from all over the world being in my program (we even have a girl from Australia studying Musical Theatre) so they keep it lively and fun!
DeleteI think that living in a small town like Ada can be better than living in a big city. It forces you to find out the things that you like to do and can cause some creativity to cure boredom. I think that it is awesome having to create your own fun sometimes and the friends that we make here doing those things will last.
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