By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Between you and me, I’ve had a pretty rough day. This morning my laptop refused to turn on and since then, I’ve been rather bitter. (Please learn from my mistakes and back up your computers!) Also, s/o to the Laptop Loaner Program for enabling me to write this post. There’s one person who is getting me through these dark and stress-filled times. No, not my mom. Although she’s a constant source of comfort. It’s John William “Will” Ferrell. With Springfest shut down before the headliners and the USC administration forcing Lil Bill’s Bike Shop to move off campus, many USC students, myself included, have been feeling disappointed and frustrated as of late. (Sign the petition to show how much Lil Bill and his shop mean to this campus)! There’s one person who won’t let us down, one person who will always be our ‘Buddy,’ one person willing to be our Anchor(man) when our metaphorical ship veers off course. And that person is Will Ferrell: USC’s 2017 commencement speaker!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Friday, I met some amazing and inspiring peers at the Diversity Networking Mixer at SCA through several rounds of “speed dating.” The event was hosted by Acción Latina, USC WCA (Women of Cinematic Arts), African American Cinema Society, the Asian American Cinema Association, and Queer Cut, the School of Cinematic Arts’ diversity organizations.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Moving in with someone is a big step in any relationship, so not matter how well you know your soon-to-be roommate, it’s perfectly natural to be a little nervous. Whether you met through mutual friends, knew each other in high school, found common ground in your generic posts in the USC Class of 2020 facebook group, or both opted for the “random roommate” in an admirable leap of faith, there’s no way you know what it will be like to live with them until you actually do.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

When you’re thousands of miles away from home, everyday annoyances can seem like serious dilemmas, especially when they’re harder to solve in a country you aren’t as familiar with. It’s upsetting but not the end of the world when your laptop malfunctions at USC or your credit card gets lost or canceled, but when you’re several countries away from the nearest Apple store and your bank has no branches in your host country, it can be fairly terrifying to say the least. It happens to everyone at some point or another and just like that, the honeymoon phase is over.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Now that I’m ~almost~ a senior in college, I can truthfully say I’ve done my fair share of studying in my day. Some of it was productive, some of it was fueled by procrastination, some of it was downright intolerable, but it doesn’t have to be. As I begin my midterms this semester in Argentina, I’d obviously rather be doing something else, but at least I feel like I know how to prepare and tackle the tasks at hand. This ain’t m first rodeo.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

I entered USC as an Undecided Major and I hope to exit triumphantly next spring with 2 majors and 2 minors, pending how some of my abroad credits transfer in. Though I do not work in the Admissions Office, I do in fact, know almost all of the majors USC offers simply because I’ve considered declaring most of them.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Spring Break is a well-deserved break after midterms for relaxation and recuperation, but like all good things, it must come to an end. And though finals are still far enough in the distance, the day-to-day tasks that were fine before Spring Break can often become unbearable after 10 days on a beach or in a tent or pretty much anywhere more scenic than Leavey.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

There’s a lot of different reasons to study abroad but one of the most common, and important, is to learn about a culture different than your own. I’ve learned first hand how challenging this can be- to embrace the unfamiliar, to accept my own cluelessness, to depend on strangers, to laugh at my mistakes, and keep on putting myself out there be it conjugating verbs or trying to use slang words correctly.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Yesterday was my first day of school in Buenos Aires at la Universidad de San Andrés, where 6 other Trojans and I will be taking our classes until our finals end in mid-July. It was a beautiful start and I have high hopes for what is yet to come. The program that USC students take, PLAS (Program of Latin American Studies), includes a number of cultural activities so this past weekend we all had the opportunity to go on a guided tour of the city and at least have a frame of reference for all it has to offer (a lot!).

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Nearly one-third of students entering two- or four-year college in the U.S. are first-generation students. Who are first-generation students? Those whose parents do not have four-year college degrees are considered first-generation. If you fit this description, you may have felt, as many do, at a disadvantage compared to your continuing-generation peers while adjusting to college life.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

…I’m in California dreaming about where we’ll go next week. Might I suggest a quick road trip out of the city and into the great outdoors?