By: Kelly Kinas ‘16

It’s that time. First semester juniors are saying their goodbyes as they pack up for 8 months for good. A solid amount of USC students go abroad the second semester of their junior year and we, their friends in any and every grade, must somehow learn to live without them because Skype only does so much.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Some say do what you love and you’ll never work in your life. Others like to take it farther and ruin things by adding “because that field probably isn’t hiring.” Usually about this point I interject and tell them how Global Studies is an up- and-coming field and literally the entire world is my oyster, but that’s not the direction I’m heading with this post. As finals begin to affect your sleep schedule and maybe even your hygiene, I want to encourage you to take a short, well-deserved break to ask yourself why you’re doing all this in the first place.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘16

To all those older than 21 reading this blog, I mean no offense. To me, this day has been a long time coming and now that it’s here, I feel old. Luckily, I am surrounded by great resources at USC how can help me through this life-altering event. I’m legal! And now I feel like I should have a 401k. What else can go wrong?

By: Livey Beha ‘18

During the process of choosing a college, I created a long checklist of all the things I was looking for in a school. Unsurprisingly, USC topped the list for its bike-friendliness, 24-hour access to coffee, beautiful libraries, solid infrastructure for alumni and business networking, but most of all indefinable requirement that sat on the bottom of the list: “VIBE”. For a long time, I thought USC was special because there were people here who were similar to me, who approached and interacted with the world in the same way that I did. But in coming here, I realized what makes USC’s “vibe” unique is its diversity. A diverse institution allows for a vast array of varying perspectives to engage in intellectual, sometimes controversial, discussion.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘16

It is a known fact that there is a cross town rivalry between the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. USC vs. UCLA is a tale as old as time (as Beauty and the Beast would say it). But what I have always wondered WHY. USC is always against UCLA. Everything is “Well, at least we’re not UCLA.”

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Today, November 25, is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, an international recognition of the violence against women that is not confined to a specific region, country, religion, culture, or societal standing.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘16

Let me guess. You have always wondering what Thanksgiving dish you are. Isn’t that why we take all of those BuzzFeed quizzes? I suddenly had to know what song from Justin Bieber’s new album matches the closest with my personality.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

November 20th is International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender prejudice or hatred. And tragically, there are many victims to remember; according to TDoR’s founder, Gwendolyn Ann Smith, every two weeks, on average, someone is murdered in the United States in an act of anti-transgender violence and internationally, these killings occur almost daily.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

I’m in Matagalpa now which is super cool compared to Managua, both in terms of climate and also just in terms of the general vibes it projects. I’m working on my ISP which stands for Independent Study Project, emphasis on the independent.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘16

Has everyone been counting down the days until the end of the semester and now that it is so close, you want it to go by so much slower? Just me? Didn’t think so. It’s not even 3 FULL weeks left; Thanksgiving break is in there and we get those three days off too. We are so close. I still have a ton of assignments left to turn in (not late or anything. They’re just scheduled for later in the semester) and I know I am not the only one in this situation.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘17

Knowing that you go to the greatest university of the world can change you in some ways. One of those ways is linguistically. Here at USC, we have some different ways to describing things or places. Take a look through the list and see how many you recognize!

By: Kelly Martin ‘17 (Guest Blogger)

It seems that there’s only one accepted to story to tell about college students and mental health. You probably don’t have to think too much to guess the main points. since we hear them repeated again and again here at USC: