By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Today is not just another day of finals preparation, excess coffee consumption, and a test of human willpower. In case all the days have sort of run together, today is, in fact, Mother’s Day!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

I met Evan Brown on a Peaks and Professors Hike this semester and upon hearing he was a senior, asked the (for many) dreaded question, “What are your plans after graduation?”

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

My screenwriting professor’s parting advice to us in our final class last week was to throw our phones off the balcony of our second story classroom in the cinema school. She explained that, after teaching for over 20 years, she has seen the detrimental effect cell phones and social media have had on the productivity of her students, citing how all of us immediately turn on our phones and computers during the 15 minute break, unable to go even three hours without being connected to the outside world, as a perfect example.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

As I wrote in a post last week, I had the opportunity to portray the amazing turning points in the life of a woman named Carolyn through the new program called Living Canvases. When I sketched and resketched and eventually painted these moments, my understanding of Carolyn’s life came from a recording of her describing these moments, a photo of her, and a sketch she had outlined herself. But, on Monday, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Carolyn in person, along with two of her amazing neighbors, and her mother, Dorothy.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

The deadline for college decisions is fast approaching and if your younger sibling is still in between schools, you don’t have much time to act.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Yesterday night in Bovard was the Spring Xpressions show and it lived up to all the hype. Xpressions, founded relatively recently in 2009, is completely student-run, with student choreographers and dancers, and even funded by USG, so y’all keep doing your thing cuz it is working!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

I’m a big believer in this quote because I don’t know if I’ve ever been right about someone based on my first impression of them. And while it is very easy to assume the worst about the person who cuts you off on the highway or the person who honks at you when you don’t turn right away or the person who wrongs you in other frustrating non-driving situations (Can you tell I hate driving?), there is probably a lot more to that person that would justify their actions if only you knew a little bit about their life. Everyone has a story and all you have to do is ask a few questions and listen.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Probably the most valuable lesson I’ve learned in college is that there is a whole lot in this big, beautiful world of ours that I know very little about. I won’t ever know everything, but I plan on learning more and more, even after graduating from USC in May 2017, which is approaching way too quickly. To facilitate this, I’ve started checking out my options because honestly the dream is to continue going to school as long as possible.

By: Grace Carballo ‘ 17

In good conscience, I cannot insist you take a day off of school because I once calculated the cash value of each lecture at USC and it was startling. That being said, while learning in the traditional sense of the word is, of course, very important, you really cannot underestimate the value of learning from life experiences.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of attending Navy Ball with my most cherished friend, Evan. He is in the NROTC program here and through him, I have gotten to meet some amazing people and future Navy and Marine Corps. officers. Also thanks to his patience and my incessant questions, I like to think I have a better understanding about what ROTC and serving in the Navy really means.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Yesterday evening, I attended the 11th Annual Tommy Awards because an organization I am involved in, Women and Youth Supporting Each Other, was nominated for recognition for our service. (Side note, it is currently #WYSEWeek2015 if you want to check out what we’re all about). This was my first time experiencing the Tommy Awards, and though we did not win, and attendance in general was less than I anticipated, there was an impressive display of desserts and that is an award in and of itself.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Yesterday was a particularly great day, not only because it was a Monday, but because Special Events Committee pulled some strings and got HBO to host a Game of Thrones prescreening. See that throne I’m sitting on, that’s the Iron Throne, the real one from the set. It wasn’t particularly comfortable but that’s what power feels like and I loved it. There’s really no turning back now.