My name is Oliver Luckett and I use he/him/his pronouns. I am a junior in the Women's and Gender Studies department! Here on campus I am involved with the Gender + Equality center as the LGBTQ + Health Programs Intern, as well as a peer educator for Sexperts and D8ME, and a member of the LGBTQ Program Advisory Board. I am also involved with Camp Crimson and will be an Orientation Guide this summer!
Moving on from academics, you might have noticed I say y'all (a lot). That's because I was born and raised in central Mississippi right about....here:
I always say Mississippi isn't really a destination for most people, unless they have family there. Some of you might have used HWY 49 to cut through to go to somewhere more exciting like Florida (which, if you did, you cut right through the middle of my hometown!). However, there are a few things to do in Mississippi. My favorites include visiting the Vicksburg Military Museum, swimming at Merit Creek, and driving through the delta.
Moving on from academics, you might have noticed I say y'all (a lot). That's because I was born and raised in central Mississippi right about....here:
(USA Mississippi from wikimedia; edited by Oliver Luckett)
I lived in the same small, back-woods town until I was 16. My dad and his family still live there, and I go back to visit occasionally. In fact, that's what I did over the break! I absolutely adore my dad, he is the biggest goofball anyone will ever meet. He lives in Mississippi with with wife and their granddaughter.
(Great Weather for a Baseball Game by Valerie Luckett)
Some Frequently Asked Questions about Mississippi:
- Is it hot there? Sometimes, mostly it is just always extremely humid.
- Did you go down to the beach often? No, Mississippi beaches are brown and gross.
- What is there to do there? Not much around my small town, really.
I always say Mississippi isn't really a destination for most people, unless they have family there. Some of you might have used HWY 49 to cut through to go to somewhere more exciting like Florida (which, if you did, you cut right through the middle of my hometown!). However, there are a few things to do in Mississippi. My favorites include visiting the Vicksburg Military Museum, swimming at Merit Creek, and driving through the delta.
(Illinois State Memorial at the Vicksburg Military Museum nps photo)
(Merit Creek taken by Toni Greganti)
(Blues Trail in the Delta taken by Oliver Luckett)
On December 31, 2013, my mom, younger sister, and I moved to Moore, Oklahoma. We live withing 5 minutes of my grandparents and my aunt and uncle (and their kids), we since being here we have all become very close. It's not uncommon for the...nine of us to hang out during the week, and every Sunday is family dinner. Here's a fun picture of most of us getting ready to do a Color Me Rad Run together (I'm dead center with sunglasses on my head in case you were wondering):
(Ready for Color Me Rad by Charlotte Greganti)
And just for fun, here is a picture of most of us after the run (note my cousin Mollie's unimpressed face at the bottom):
(After the Run by Toni Greganti)
Don't we just look like we love each other a lot? They're all definitely a hoot and a half, but I have to say my heart will always belong to my cousins, Mollie (4) and Joey (1).
(Amalia "Mollie" and Joseph "Joey" Greganti by Amanda Greganti)
Another extremely important family member is my dog, Jack. He is a mix of corgi and German Shepard and lord knows what else. His doctor calls him a "fat old man" and he is possibly the sweetest dog you could ever hope to meet, in my opinion.
(Jack with his Baby by Toni Greganti)
So that's family life! Knowing about the people that surround me is a huge step in understand who I am as a person. Another way to get to know me is my interests! My biggest interests/hobbies are drawing, watching Netflix, reading, playing the Sims, collecting things, listening to podcasts, and playing dungeons and dragons (nerd alert). As of writing this post (Jan 12 at ... eh 10am ish) here are my currents:
- Netflix/Hulu Shows: The Crown, The Great British Baking Show, Steven Universe
- Reading: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
- Collecting: Glass jars, polyhedral dice
- Podcasts: The Adventure Zone, My Brother My Brother and Me, Sawbones (I highly recommend all of these)
I love, love, love talking and will gladly talk to almost anyone about almost anything. If any of this stuff interests you and you want to talk about it, or if you just want someone to listen to you talk about your interests, I'm your guy!
Ha ha, a mess from Mississippi: what a fun introduction, Oliver... and that before-and-after picture from the run is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a Corgi/Shepherd mix sounds seriously fun: maybe Jack will make an appearance in a story you write this semester, aided and abetted by the cousins in some adventure... perhaps fueled by some dungeons-and-dragons creative energy!
With all the groups you are involved with on campus, you can let me know about events to publicize in the announcements! Gender + Equality Center and OU CSJ use Twitter to publicize events, which is so helpful; I learn about a lot from what they share via Twitter.
WGS always has seemed like a cool field to study! I hope you find it super rewarding (it seems like you maybe already do!). You definitely aren't out of place here with a "y'all" every couple sentences. I'm actually shocked how little I try and use it in writing given how often it pops up in my texts and speech! In my experience WGS majors always have such a unique perspective, so I'm super excited to see how you take mythology (which is so often horribly sexist) and turn it into a positive message for everyone!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! I love that you are all about family and that it's so big! I have a kind of small family so big ones always sound so fun to me! I am unfamiliar with WGS department but it sounds seriously cool and I would love to hear more about it! Your dog looks so cute, dogs make the world a better place in my opinion. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and reading your posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver
ReplyDeleteYour dog is so cute! I've never seen a corgi and German shepherd mix before. I've been meaning to start playing Dungeons and Dragons myself, but my friends and I haven't quite figured out a time to play yet. Also, Steven Universe is probably my favorite cartoon that's currently airing, and while I've only listened to the first episode of The Adventure Zone, so far I really like it.
Wow, it sounds like you're doing some great stuff. You're really involved on campus, and with some groups that are doing some really important work.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm from Connecticut on the East Coast, and just going to OU for almost four years now has snuck "ya'll" into my vocabulary, so I can understand saying it a lot if you grew up around it!
Also, it's good to find another DnD player. I'm a relative novice myself, but I say well met to a fellow nerd.
Hey Oliver! It looks like there's a lot of DnD players in this class. I get the allure of collecting dice, I spent way too much on my set. All the pictures of family were great, especially the dog! I don't have one, but I have two cats at home. It sounds like you're pretty involved on campus, which I imagine is super rewarding. Can't wait to see what you write!
ReplyDeleteIt is super awesome to meet you Oliver! I loved the introduction of your family - they seem super cool and very loving. The pun you used - a mess from Mississippi - had to be my favorite part because I love a good play on words! I think it is so cool that you collect glass jars and dice. I collect bouncy balls and just about anything associated with the Marvel superhero franchise. I have never played DnD but it sounds awesome and I have been begging my brother to teach me! I am really looking forward to getting to know more about you (and your super cute family)!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! I think it's awesome that you're so involved with the GEC and LGBTQ+ stuff. As a lesbian, that kind of work is close to my heart. I've tried to play DnD before, but it's hard for me to push myself enough out of my comfort zone to play a character in front of other people. I've always been more of a single-player RPG video game kind of girl. Sounds like we have a lot of players in this class though, maybe we'll have to meet up for a one-off session, if someone's interested in DM-ing!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! You joke about people driving through your town to get to Florida but I am quite certain my family and I passed through HW9 last year when we went to Florida. I have seen ads for those Color Me Rad Runs before and I always thought that they looked fun. Was it hard to breathe with them throwing all of those dyes at you? By the way your dog looks so cute! I wish I had a corgi of my own.
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ReplyDeleteHello Oliver, my name's Naomee. I found the title to your introduction to be very humorous and that's so cool how you are from Mississippi! I've never been to that state but your description has me wanting to visit there soon. Being close to family is a real blessing and it looks like you're embracing that. I hope you have an awesome semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! I love your title of your introduction, it actually made me laugh when I read it. I love that you are a Women and Gender Studies major. I am an international studies major but I have taken three WGS classes and I have seriously loved them so much. I actually debated changing my major to that for a while, but then I realized I was too close to finishing with my degree. It seems like you are a really big family guy which is so important, so that is great! I hope your semester is going good so far and I wish you luck for your future endeavors!
ReplyDeleteOliver, hi!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to see that you are also in this class! I don't have to tell you how proud I am that you're on Orientation Staff this year, and how much I love Camp as well!
I loved reading more about your family, both in Mississippi and Moore. Your favorite places in Mississippi look like sites I'd like to visit, and the color run seems like it was a lot of fun!
I look forward to reading your stories this semester!
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ReplyDeleteHey Oliver! You seem very involved in school, which can help you out so much. I also have a southern accent that comes out sometimes. What was it like growing up in Mississippi? I love your dog. I am a dog person and my animals are held pretty high in my life. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! We actually took a class together last semester, Social Justice and Social Change. How cool that we are in another class together! I didn't realize just how involved you are on campus, but I think that is pretty awesome. I'm sure it looks hella good on your CV and resume as well, being so involved. My family also has a little old man dog, his name is Oscar. Old little dogs are just the best, to be honest. He is constantly barking at nothing and snoring super loud. But he is sweet. How cool, though, that you and your family are so close! I wish I had a big family too.
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver!
ReplyDeleteIt really sounds like you are passionate about what you are studying in and are very involved with it on OU's campus which is great! I love that you gave us a little background about where you were from in Mississippi as well as your current location in Moore. I bet its been a big change.
Also, I love your dog. He is absolutely adorable, and I'm a sucker for Corgi's so the fact he has some of that in him, makes him even cuter!
I look forward to reading other posts you post!
Oliver,
ReplyDeleteWhat's up what's up?? I'm surprised that it has taken me this long to end up on your page. I am so impressed with all of your work with the GEC... we both know what a special place it is, and I love that you continue to pour everything you have into the work it does. I also love all the photos and the "currents"... I've heard so much about Steven Universe and really need to start.
Hi Oliver,
ReplyDeleteI love that you're so involved on campus! I think that the number one way to make your college experience great is to be involved.. so kudos to you! I have never watched the British Baking Show, but I love love love Chef's Table if you're ever interested in watching a show about the chefs behind the world's greatest restaurants.
Hey Oliver! I loved your introduction. I totally understand the joys and pains of living with and being so close to a lot of your family. Nearly all of my extended family lives in my hometown and my grandparents lived with us while I was in high school.
ReplyDeleteFrom your interests, you've got great taste in TV shows! It is also nice to find another fellow Sims player. We're kind of rare, I feel like.
Hey Oliver, nice to meet you. I really enjoyed reading your introduction. It is great that you are so involved and compassionate about what you are doing here at OU. I feel like being involved on campus is really a great way to stay grounded in college. Also, I love your dog. I am a complete sucker for dogs! I hope you have a great rest of your semester.
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! Your title got me, because I relate! It's awesome that you're so involved on campus and love TV, too. I spent my summer in London last year, so I'll have to give the British Baking Show a try for sure. Being from Mississippi is probably pretty rare here at OU, but I know you've gotten involved which helps make it feel like home! Good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Oliver! It was lovely reading all about your family and it sounds like you have a lot of people in your life that care about you which is wonderful! I think it is awesome that you are so involved on campus, and the causes which you are involved in are so important. I cannot wait to read some of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Oliver! I love the title of your introduction, haha "a mess" pretty much describes my life half of the time. I'm also involved with Camp Crimson as an SGL so I'll probably see you around in the summer :) also, I am in LOVE with your dog! He's too cute. I hope you have a great rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteOliver!! I think it's super crazy but also super awesome that at the beginning of the class I talked about being involved in Camp Crimson and how we might see each other in the summer, and turns out you're my OG!!! I love that. I cannot wait for this summer with our #JMBfam.
DeleteSo funny how things like that happen!
DeleteHey Oliver! First off, "Introduction to a Mess" made me actually laugh out loud! It was so relatable! I love how in depth you were with your introduction because now I feel like I know so much about you than just the basics! I've never been to Mississippi! Also your dog is to die for! Good luck with the rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Oliver!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to meet you! That is so cool that you are from Mississippi! I have never met anyone from there! By the way I love the pictures you added to your introduction blog post. Your little cousins are so adorable. Also, I love corgis a lot. I really want one of my own, so I love the photo of your corgi mix. I enjoyed learning a little bit about you!
Hi there Oliver! I have read through your D&D storybook and thought I'd come see some more stuff about you! I absolutely LOVE that you have a corgi/German Shepard mix! I love corgis and I plan to get one after college, and I think corgi mixes are some of the silliest dogs ever and I love it.
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ReplyDeleteHey Oliver! You are actually the first person that is in the Women and Gender studies program. Have you enjoyed your time at OU so far? The program seems to still be fairly new. It seems like you have had a very exciting life. What made you want to go to OU? Good luck with the rest of your time at the university!
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