The Power of Play

February 2, 2018
by Ali

Living in LA

Hello! Since I am originally from Northern California, I am still learning about all that Southern California has to offer with beaches, food, entertainment, and so much more. This is my fifth year living in Los Angeles and each weekend I find something new and fun to do. My friends and I took the two hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park for the first time, and I fell more in love with what this part of the state has to offer. This park is full of the infamous Joshua Trees and huge boulder structures. The landscape was so different from the Redwoods and mountains I grew accustomed to in Northern California. We spent two whole days climbing over boulder structures, crawling into caves, and jumping over cacti. This semester I am signed up for OT 564: Sensory Integration and OT 565: Sensory Integration Intervention, which means that I have been given the opportunity to study play in action and the science of play.

This past weekend was the first time I engaged in play in so long. Joshua Tree provided me an adult play structure to explore a new environment and engage in an occupation for the sake of joy, creativity, and fun! I explored a new environment with friend and was able to experience first-hand the power of play as an occupation even at the age of 23 years old. This weekend I was reminded once again how glad I am to be a student studying occupational therapy at USC. I was able to use my occupational lens to appreciate the meaning that the hiking and climbing brought to my life all in 80 degree weather in Southern California!

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