Going to Penn State had been my absolute dream since I was in 6th grade. Quite honestly, I don't know what exactly drew me to the school in the first place, aside from knowing that football there was a huge deal. Neither of my parents went to Penn State, nor did anyone else I was close to. But for some reason, I was dead set on the idea that I was going to apply to Penn State come senior year of high school and god willingly get in. As the years went on, my reasons for attending Penn State grew.
Everything Penn State had to offer convinced me more and more that the stars were aligning and that it'd be the perfect fit of a university for me. However, there was one huge problem standing in my way—I lived under the same roof as quite possibly the biggest fan of Penn State's rival--Ohio State.
My dad has been a huge fan of Ohio State since he was in high school when the dream of him playing football for them almost became a reality. While his life took him down a different path, his passion for the university and their football team never died, and to this day he's almost always sporting some sort of Ohio State clothing article as well as showing off his Ohio State license plate and phone case, and just about everything else he owns. He's obsessed. And unfortunately for me, he's also converted my sister.
However, when my acceptance letter from Penn State came in the mail, and I cried hysterically over how ecstatic I was, he couldn't be happier for me. While I'm sure he would've loved to see his daughter attend his favorite school, he has been nothing but supportive of me and my endeavors at Penn State.
My younger sister is currently a senior in high school, and while it's an exciting time for us all as she makes her decisions on where she wants to send her college applications, we all know she really only cares about hearing back from one school. I've tried to convince her with everything in me how cool it would be for her to attend Penn State with me and how great of a school it would be for her, but just like my dad, her heart bleeds for the Buckeyes. I won't be surprised that come a year from now, she'll be sporting scarlet and gray and cheering for their nut of a mascot (quite literally).
It's certainly not easy living under the same roof as two die-hard fans of one of your school's top rivals. Especially come football season when your two teams are both battling for a spot in the Big Ten Championship, or even the College Football Playoffs some years. We've all had our moments where we've taken our school pride out a little too hard on one another, but we try to remain civil when possible. It's usually a constant nagging or joking around of how one school is better than the other, or how one football team beat the other, but we try not to let our passions destroy our family. It also definitely helps that my mom is a true Nittany Lion and will never betray me for the Buckeyes.
I would never let our school's rivalries get in the way of how my family functions. As with most families, everyone is going to disagree or differ in opinions on something at some point in their lives. For my family, it just so happens to be our favorite universities. But I believe that we handle the rivalry pretty fairly and know when and where to back off from the lighthearted harassment.
While my heart will forever be in debt to Penn State and the Nittany Lions, I have an immense amount of respect for Ohio State and my dad and sister's opinions. And it will always remain that way, even if I don't show it all of the time. Because let's be honest...sometimes a little competition isn't too harmful.
