Student Blog

LA Times Book Festival ⟩
April 17, 2012, by Alix

Getting Involved Living in LA

Before I came to LA, I worked as a book editor in New York City. So my past and present lives will collide this weekend when the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books comes to USC. We’ll have a booth there to showcase USC OT faculty books and spread the word about OT, and we’re also hosting a health tent with free stress management, weight management, low-vision, and sensory integration stations (free stuff!). I’m looking forward to exploring the festival and possibly seeing some of my old publishing co-workers, this time from the completely different perspective of an industry outsider.

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Warrior Dash and CICLAVIA ⟩
April 16, 2012, by Chris

Living in LA School/Life Balance

Man, this semester has passed rather quickly. It seems like it wasn’t so long ago that I was just entering the program and now I’ll be graduating soon. I’m in the process of trying to find a place to live in San Diego for my upcoming fieldwork experience at California Children’s Services. Aside from that, a few weeks ago my friends and I completed the Warrior Dash 5K obstacle course. Crawling through mud, swimming in extremely cold water, scaling walls, and jumping over fire was the perfect was to punctuate the weekend. Yesterday, my roommate and I attended the bike festival in downtown LA called “CICLAVIA.” The city closed streets throughout downtown and let cyclists from all over LA ride without the risk of getting hit my a absent-minded driver. Next up, I really should start studying for COMPS, I can’t believe it’s almost here.

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Time Well Spent With Me Myself and I ⟩
April 16, 2012, by Floyd

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

I can only please one person a day, and today, I choose me.

Sometimes you just need time for yourself without any distractions of deadlines, projects, and assignments. And this weekend, I did just that . . . nothing! All weekend, I had the “Don’t bother me unless I am needed for surgery” mentality. It was awesome!!!

I got to sleep in, catch up on TV shows, read the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy, and ate ice cream. It feels great because I am refreshed and reenergized for the week to come. I know there will be a lot to do this week, but I don’t let it stress me because I know it will come and go in a flash. Hopefully I make the most of the last few weeks of school. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am skipping along, while stopping to smell the roses. Gosh they smell good!

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Living Green ⟩
April 13, 2012, by Kimberly

Life Hacks

This week in my Lifestyle Redesign class we learned about the rejuvenating effects of nature on our health and well-being. We all know that it feels good to be in the outdoors, but it’s actually backed by science! Research has shown that hospital patients who are in a room with a window overlooking nature recover faster, have less pain, and complain less than patients with windows looking out into a wall or cityscape. Other studies show that living in areas with more trees affects satisfaction levels, stress levels, and quality of life. Even things like having a nature scene as your desktop background can affect your day to day mood. Interacting with pets has the same effect as interacting with nature as well. So next time you take a coffee break from work or find yourself overstimulated by all of our various communication tools, walk outside for 10 minutes. Will do you lots more good than you might have thought!

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April is OT Month! ⟩
April 3, 2012, by Alix

Community Getting Involved

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association: “Each year in April, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students in practice, education, research, and science host a month long celebration showcasing the importance of Occupational Therapy. It’s the time of year when everyone in the profession goes out of their way to tell the world about what we do.” At USC, we’re doing our part to promote the field for OT Month. Yesterday, we hosted an “OT Month Kickoff” event with entertainment from the dashing and talented ambassadors Chelsea Robinson and Chris Thompson. We also got free lunch (!) and custom-made OT buttons (also designed by the shockingly talented ambassadors). D’Andre (Dee) Holland emceed the event, which was incredible. Thanks, Dee! We hope that everybody remembers to represent occupational therapy this month by taking a few minutes to tell a friend (or a stranger) what you love most about the profession.

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