Student Blog
Bethany

New Year Resolutions ⟩
January 13, 2021, by Bethany

Life Hacks

Welcome to 2021! We’ve reached a whole new year. Now is the time when people expect change, when people make resolutions to be their own new and improved selves. I wanted to give you some encouragements about making life changes:

Any time is a good time to start — Yes, it’s a new year and a symbol for new beginnings, but January 1st does not have to be the start date of the new you. Sometimes change happens gradually or unexpectedly. Sometimes it starts January 2nd instead, and sometimes it starts in July. And that is okay. For me, I wrote a blog a while ago about tracking my calories for an assignment, and I have been doing so ever since. It may not be January 1st, but October 21st is just as good a day to start a change.

Set attainable goals — I think setting attainable goals is an important skill as a future occupational therapist. We have to know how to give our clients and ourselves something to celebrate. Do the same when you’re making changes for yourself. Putting yourself through a long Chloe Ting challenge? Celebrate the fact that you made time for it just today. If you can’t do a month-long challenge, go for two weeks. But celebrate milestones in the process of change, not just the end goal!

Change can happen slowly — Unfortunately, with the start of 2021, we’ve seen how January 1st is not COVID’s expiration date, but at the same time, we know that vaccines are developed, we are all getting more used to wearing masks and keeping our community safe, and we’re on our way to getting back to “normal” safely. Something similar is true about our own change. We can’t expect ourselves to learn a new instrument in one day, but we can practice. Give yourself some time to learn the sound of the instrument and see how long it takes to change your tone, to build up the endurance to play for longer than three minutes at a time. (Hint: It’s okay if it feels like a long time.) Celebrate that you’ve stuck with it for so long, because sometimes gradual change is more exciting and surprising when you look at how far you’ve come.

This week, I started a new change. I have been placed at my first Level II Fieldwork site! For me, this is an opportunity to build my clinical reasoning skills, to learn to think like an OT as I practice being an OT. I’m excited to apply what we learn to real life. My first couple days have been long. I went from having a winter-break brain to working from 9 to 5! But I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve set my own goals/resolutions for fieldwork, and I hope to be able to make progress towards them over the next twelve weeks:

1. Be okay with uncomfortable conversations
2. Initiate a new project
3. Make time for myself

Let’s work towards new goals together in this new year! We got this!

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Ring In the Season ⟩
December 18, 2020, by Bethany

Living in LA

It’s December! The holiday season means it’s time for some of my favorite occupations. Personally, my family and I celebrate Christmas. I wanted to share some of the ways we start setting up for the holiday! Enjoy this poem about how I celebrate Christmas with my family:

The time has come to decorate,
Bring out the boxes. Yes, all eight.
The garland, wreaths, and Christmas tree, 🎄
And in the background: Mariah Carey
Sings her song with jingle bells. 🎶

So deck the halls, enjoy the smell
Of evergreen and peppermint.
Have hot chocolate with the remnants ☕
Of candy canes, whipped cream on top.
Because 70 is cold. Don’t tell me it’s not. ❄️

Take off the lids, open the box. 🎁
Untangle the snafu of Christmas stuff.
Lay out the garlands, row by row,
And check the lights! Make sure they glow. 🌟
The wreaths and garland are put up in style
Giving everyone who walks by a smile.

The Christmas cards are ready, too,
For all our family and friends to peruse. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
We tell them what happened in our year
And send them a little Christmas cheer.
Sealing all the envelopes ✉️
To exchange some love and hope.

When the cards are done, we snuggle up.
With flannel pajamas and another cup
Of hot chocolate. It’s movie time. 🎅
We argue between “Elf” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The movie starts and brings that wonderful feeling.
That Christmas is here. So ring in the season. 🔔

Hope this gets you in the mood. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ❤️

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What I Miss on Campus ⟩
December 2, 2020, by Bethany

Living in LA

Now that I’m back home, I find myself often reminiscing about my home away from home. I spent three years on the University Park Campus (UPC) and a fourth year commuting between UPC and the Health Science Campus (HSC), and now I miss both of them. Some places, though, bring back more memories than others. Here are a few of the places I miss going to:

Tommy’s Place
Hidden in the basement of the Tutor Campus Center on UPC, this chill little hideaway is where the pool tables are. I played a few games with friends, and although I’m not that great of a player, I still had a lot of fun. Tommy’s Place is also where the flute section members who had stayed home would gather on away game days to watch the game together.

Adult Rehab Lab
Adult Physical Rehabilitation was one of my first classes in the Master’s Program. Inside the Rehab Lab, I had some of the most physically challenging OT experiences. We worked with standardized patients to help us learn how to best position ourselves to get our clients up and walking after a hip replacement. We also made hand splints. This past semester, I got to enjoy seeing Instagram stories of my friends who are in Adult Physical Rehab go to the lab in masks and face shields to learn how to do transfers to wheelchairs or how to put on a gait belt.

Cromwell Field
From freshman to senior year, I spent so much of my fall semester on Cromwell Field practicing shows. After a long day of classes, I’d run to practice, pull out my piccolo, and play and de-stress. I may have given myself some minor hearing damage (Note to self: use earplugs with a piccolo!), but it was worth it. There’s nothing like saluting the real, live Traveler with “Conquest.” Or running through one last set and realizing Alan Silvestri is there. At your 7am practice. Conducting the finale of the Marvel show. The 2019 Flute Seniors also made a pyramid during band camp. Unforgettable memories.

Bookstore at HSC
It’s a small little store, tucked away in the corner by the food court on the Health Science Campus. But the best part about it: they have OT gear! Get hats, license plate frames, mugs, the whole shebang representing the Division and OT. Sure, the UPC Bookstore may have a Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, but it’s at the HSC Bookstore that you can buy the best gear (Though, I have to admit, this statement is slightly biased).

The Great Lawn
Located in the USC Village, the Great Lawn is conveniently right behind Trader Joe’s. On those nice spring days that aren’t too hot or too cold, where you can see the blue sky above the trees, you’ll find many people sitting out on the lawn to play spike ball or just talk. I have enjoyed a great many picnics out on the Great Lawn, including one where a friendly dog came by and made us throw a frisbee. Multiple times. My own dog preferers belly rubs and napping to catching frisbees, so it was a nice change of pace.

Keck Cafeteria
During lunch, my friend and I would always head over to the cafeteria. They make some amazing, decently-priced quesadillas and wraps. So we would often head over on days where I had not packed a lunch. Another friend of mine took classes nearby and would occasionally meet us there for lunch to talk about life and classes. The cafeteria was a great place to take a break and enjoy some good eats, as well!

Mt. McCarthy
There is a well-known quad right outside of Leavey Library called McCarthy Quad, the center of many school events and our weekly farmer’s market. And right next to this quad, is a hill: the highest point of elevation on the University Park Campus. Many students study, hammock, or both in the shade of the trees. It’s a great spot to get together for lunch with friends, and it’s right next to the weekly farmer’s market.

Coming back to all of these memories of campus is bittersweet. I miss being on campus. I miss being in each of these places. I miss spending time with people I care about. But for now, it’s enough to reminisce and meet up on Zoom. And hopefully, once things open back up, then, reader, you’ll have some ideas on how to make new memories.

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Clowning Around ⟩
November 18, 2020, by Bethany

Classes

Recently, our OT 540 Leadership Capstone class had a visit from an AOTA member who was able to discuss with our class the importance of advocacy and quality in OT. The speaker was invited to stay for our next special presentation. And the “presentation” was a visit from clowns. Yes. Three clowns, complete with red noses, hats, and names like Yebo, showed up in our Zoom meeting. At first, the whole class of 138 people was extremely confused. Our serious discussion about the quality of OT services had suddenly turned into Captain Noodles asking our professor if she had picked her nose today. One of our classmates got so freaked out he hid under his desk and was deemed by the clowns to be a professional escape artist.

As various text messaging groups pinged back and forth trying to find the source of the hilarity, one of my friends sent a link to the Institute for Theatre & Social Change (ITSC) and their medical clowning program, and we recognized one of the clowns who visited us on their website. The medical clowns use laughter and humor to impact medical and psychological benefits. The program itself is a unique partnership between the USC School of Dramatic Arts and other medical centers associated with USC, such as LAC+USC Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where the clowns will do clowning rounds and visit patients at these sites. However, with safety regulations due to the pandemic, the clowns have moved to virtual platforms. You can even sign up for your own 15 minute Zoom clowning session!

It is amazing to see our fellow students from other schools across USC coming together to impact health. Thank you for your visit! As strange as it was to have three clowns show up during our Zoom meeting, it was a nice stress-reliever and a good laugh. Keep up the good clowning work! And, fellow students, as we head into finals season, keep laughing and keep being your awesome selves.

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The OT Necessities: Fiction Edition ⟩
October 28, 2020, by Bethany

What are OS/OT?

With fieldwork coming up, I have been reflecting on the traits that make a good occupational therapist. I’ve also been able to think about my role models that embody those important attributes. Surprisingly, not all of my role models are real-live people. Below are ten fictional characters and ten qualities that would make good OTs. With Halloween season upon us, it’s a great time to think of some of these inspirational characters.

Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)
First up on the list, we have the lovely Queen Lucy of Narnia, known for her compassion toward others. From when she first enters the world all the way to when she becomes queen, her kindness toward others and desire to help people are what drives her actions. Her compassion will also help her as an OT.

Master Shifu (Kung Fu Panda)
When trying to engage Po in training, Master Shifu is observant about Po’s interests and motivations. He notices Po is motivated by food, and Shifu uses that to train Po. In a similar way, OTs must be aware of their client’s motivations and must be observant during sessions.

Oliver Wood (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
We all know the name Harry Potter, but we have to recognize the skill of his first quidditch captain. Oliver Wood has the teaching and communication skills to break down a wizard sport to someone who had never heard of it before. He would be able to explain activities to his OT clients easily, and he could perhaps add some magic to the mix and make sessions even more exciting.

Mulan (Mulan)
Mulan is known for how she can look at a problem from a different angle, whether it’s climbing up a pole using weights that were supposed to make the task more difficult, or whether it’s causing an avalanche, she has an ability to find new uses for objects. Her ability to see things from unique perspectives to solve problems creatively will benefit her in OT practice.

Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon)
When working with a wild dragon, Hiccup demonstrates incredible patience in building rapport. He is able to deal with the dragon’s frustrations, as he tries to understand where Toothless is coming from. Hiccup is willing to learn how to fly alongside Toothless. If he has this much patience with a dragon, I can only imagine his patience with his OT clients.

Gru (Despicable Me)
Gru has three young girls to take care of, and when he reads them a bedtime story, he takes their love of puppet books into account. He uses his own creativity to tie in their interests and passions into his care. Any OT willing to bond with their client through a nose puppet book is winning.

Skeeter Phelan (The Help)
Skeeter uses her writing abilities to capture individuals’ stories and to advocate for what they need and deserve. In a similar way, Skeeter could use her abilities as an OT to create carefully worded and carefully spell-checked writing and documentation to advocate for services for their clients and to document their progress.

Elastigirl (The Incredibles)
This supermom is literally and metaphorically flexible. She can stretch herself, literally, to vacuum under the couch and to parachute off a plane. She is also flexible in adapting her approaches to how she handles parenting and how she handles saving the world. Her flexibility will help her as an OT in adjusting to clients’ needs or even clients’ mood.

Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins)
How did this nanny make a name for herself? Her ability to engage her wards in chores they originally don’t want to do by making hard work fun. She hums her tunes and draws them into activities by building rapport and being creative, qualities that will make OT sessions easy for her.

Captain America (The Avengers)
Cap is known for how he works as a team player in a group with people of different strengths. During the final battle, he directs each of his teammates to where they are needed and where they can best help. On an interprofessional team as an OT, Captain America would understand everyone’s unique perspectives and roles and how to collaborate to best serve the client.

What incredible role models! There are so many important qualities that go into making a good OT. My goal is to keep pursuing OT driven by compassion and to continue to build the rest of these skills along the way.

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