UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
STUDENT BLOG
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Navigating Your First Year as a USC Trojan
by Lanie Brice
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Navigating Your First Year as a Spring Admit
by Lanie Brice
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How to Balance Your Social Life During Finals
by Donal Buckley
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Study Tips and Habits to Get Through Finals Season
by Lauren Liang
looking for something to read?
Campus Safety: Earthquake Preparedness
By: Karla Leung ‘22
After the recent summer earthquakes — a 6.4 and later a 7.1 magnitude only 150 miles away from Los Angeles — earthquakes have become an even more pressing issue in California. Throughout the Los Angeles area, the quake and its aftershocks were felt and California residents have been increasingly concerned of impending earthquakes in the future. If you’re from out of state and have never experienced the threat of an earthquake, it’s important to be aware of the steps to take in case one hits during your time at USC.
How to Stay Awake in Class Without Coffee
By: Antonia Le ‘22
We’ve all been there. You tell yourself that you’ll stay up a little bit to study for your midterm, but when it comes time to actually take the test, you find yourself wanting to doze off halfway through. Or maybe you had a great night’s sleep, but there’s that one professor whose voice just puts you to sleep. However, you might not want to reach for that cup of coffee just yet. Drinking too much caffeine (or caffeine at the wrong time of day) can mess up your sleep schedule and send you into an infinite loop of feeling tired, reaching for a cup of coffee, and not getting enough sleep. Instead, try these tricks for staying awake in class!
College Budgeting 101
By: Alexis M Peters ‘20
Ah, money management. As broke college students, it’s something we all inevitably struggle with. We’re new to this big wide world, and now we have to figure out how to responsibly use money. And studying at USC, there are so many amazing opportunities that, unfortunately, cost money. So it’s extra important to manage your moolah wisely. Here, I’ll share a few tips that I’ve found to be helpful when you’re starting to budget for the first time in college.
How to be Productive when You’re Sick
By: Antonia Le ‘22
Last weekend, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had a rough draft of my WP-4 for my Writing 150 class due on Monday, but I was also coughing my brains out every five minutes, and the last thing I wanted to do was write. Everyone knows that the worst time to be sick is when you’ve got a big deadline or test coming up, and sometimes getting an extension just isn’t possible. Sometimes, when the forces of the universe conspire against you, you’ve just gotta pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get to work. I managed to do it this past weekend, and you can too. Here are some of my tips for staying productive on sick days!
Don’t Sweat It: Getting Over Gym Anxiety at USC
By: Antonia Le ‘22
Let’s face it, with midterm season still in full swing and finals season edging closer every day, going to the gym is probably one of the last things in your mind. Even if there was all of the time in the world, many USC students do not take full advantage of the fitness opportunities available to them. Right on USC’s campus, there are two state-of-the-art fitness centers, the Lyon Center and the USC Village Gym, that students can walk in and use for free. It’s normal to have anxiety over going to the gym (especially if you’ve never gone before, or have little knowledge of the machines), but there’s no better time than the present to start your fitness journey. Gym memberships will only get more expensive once you graduate, so if you wanna make the most of your USC experience, here’s some tips for getting over gym anxiety and living your best life.
Removing Toxicity and Practicing Self-Love
By: Natalie Oganesyan ‘22
I was recently moved to make this post because of an experience in my personal life concerning relationships. Without going into too much sensitive detail, I cared about a person who did not reciprocate my same feelings. They led me on and, in the end, I felt a whirlwind of overwhelming emotions that I could not shake for a long time — frustration, anger, sadness, betrayal, even stupidity. I felt cheated, discarded, naive, especially since this was my first attempt at a romantic relationship. I wanted to make this blog post to help others who may be in the same position, who are struggling to get over a friendship or relationship with a toxic person or who need a little help practicing self-love in getting rid of people in their lives that only spread negativity.
Sexual Violence Protection Services and Title IX Policy at USC
By: Sumaya Hussaini ‘22
With recent events on campus like lawsuits being filed against the USC Student Health Center and growing conversations over sexual assault, it’s imperative that students understand the services that their university has to offer. If you’re unaware of USC’s current policies and regulations concerning sexual violence prevention and protection, don’t worry! This article will explain Title IX policy, RSVP Student Health Services, information regarding rape kits and date rape drug testing, and what the Undergraduate Student Government is doing to protect the sexual health and safety of its students.
Plan B for Plan B: Emergency Contraception Around USC
By: Karla Leung ‘22
Accidents are a part of life, and in a pinch, it’s good to know where to find emergency contraceptives. Purchasing Plan B, a pregnancy test, or any other sexual health item can sometimes be embarrassing or nerve-wracking. Luckily, there are a variety of places around and off campus that provide discrete and convenient access.
Self-Care During Midterm Season
By: Natalie Oganesyan ‘22
Let me paint a familiar picture. It’s midterm season and you’re spending all your available hours and sanity on studying. You’re stressed beyond belief, but in a week or two the worst will be over. That is, until you get hit with the common cold. Or something in your personal life goes horribly wrong. Or you realize you spread yourself way too thin. Your first thought is “Are you kidding me?” and it’s closely followed by “That’s just my luck.” But I’m here to tell you that it’s not the end of the world. Even if you feel like death now, and everything feels like it’s coming crashing down, here are a couple things you can do to give yourself a break and push through this trying time:
Advice on Sleep from an Insomniac
By: Sophia Pei ‘22
We’ve all heard how sleep deprivation can cause short-term consequences like poor judgement, weakened immune system, and poor concentration and is also correlated with detrimental long-term effects like heart disease and neurological degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately in an age of instant gratification and ever more invasive technology, maintaining healthy sleep habits is becoming more difficult. Sleep difficulty has been cited as the leading factors affecting USC students’ academic performance (along with stress and anxiety which also cause further lack of sleep, leading to an awful positive feedback cycle). As a diagnosed insomniac, I’m definitely guilty of not getting as much sleep as my body needs. The following are some tips that have helped me obtain a more consistent, healthy sleep schedule.
How To Stop Yourself From Having A Bad Day
By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - William Shakespeare
Imagine this: It’s Monday morning, you’re about to walk into a discussion which you are already late for, and then, you realize you forgot your bag. Later, someone bumps into you and spills hot coffee all over you. Or maybe, you hear about a bad grade, instead? Whatever it is, you feel your mood getting worse and worse and in the end, you end up sulking the entire day because of a couple of bad events. Do not get me wrong, sometimes things happen which completely deserve time to grieve and process, but others are trivial matters that we tend to inflate in our own heads. If this is your case and you feel yourself increasingly getting bothered throughout the day, maybe these tips will help you feel a little bit better.
Going 0 Waste in College
By: Alexis M Peters ‘20
Maybe you’ve heard this term thrown around before: zero waste. Maybe you think it’s impossible. There’s just no way that a person can make absolutely no trash or waste in life, let alone in college. And I will admit to you, it is very, very difficult. When you’re trying to live a zero waste or a minimal waste lifestyle, you have to be conscious of every purchase and every event, and every meal.