Student Blog
Floyd
Year of the Dragon! ⟩
January 23, 2012, by Floyd
Today is the first day of Chinese New Year 2012 and the corresponding zodiac animal is the Dragon, the Water Dragon specifically. Unlike western culture where we celebrate the New Year on January 1st with the dropping of the ball in Times Square, we celebrate the New Year depending of the lunar calendar.
My understanding of the folktale of the zodiac animals came from my grandmother’s stories she told me when I was little. Thousands of years ago, the Buddha decided to designate animals to the lunar calendar to help the farmers know when the best times to plant and harvest crops. He devised a huge race and invited all the animals throughout the land. The first 12 to cross the finish line would be given spot on the zodiac in the order of crossing. During the middle of the race, there was a long river which many of the animals could not cross, so they had to take time in traveling around the riverbed. Rat and Cat were best friends and decided to venture the race together. The cunning and devious Rat knew that Ox could ferry across the river with ease, so he asked Ox to help ferry Cat and him across the river in exchange for his clear sight and the cat’s sense of direction. Ox had poor vision, so he gladly obliged to ferry them across the river. In the middle of the river, Rat thought to himself that he wanted first place, but worried that Cat would be faster than him. So, being devious and knowing that Cat hated water, Rat pushed Cat into the river while Ox was oblivious due to his poor sight. When they reached land, Rat jumped off Ox and was the first to cross the finish line, following by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and finally, the Pig. When Cat finally reached the finish line, Buddha sadly told him that all the spots were taken already and that he would not be able to be part of the zodiac. Cat was furious and swore revenge on Rat, which is why cats are always out for the hunt for rats nowadays.
Happy Chinese New Year!
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My Last Semester ⟩
January 17, 2012, by Floyd
Gosh, I can’t believe that this will be my final semester of graduate school. I feel like it flew by so fast. As I think back, I am happy to say that I do not regret the path I have chosen for myself in becoming an Occupational Therapist. I am glad that I always took the initiative to be part of every opportunity USC has to offer. Such like this position as a Student Ambassador. This position gave me the opportunity to work in the area of recruitment where I get to interact with new and promising faces of OT and talk to them about what I am passionate about — Occupational Therapy.
I can’t believe 2012 just started and I am already thinking about my new adventures after I graduate. I wonder where I will be in 5 to 10 years. Hopefully doing something I am happy and proud of. Since I know it will be in OT, I know confident that my goals and aspirations will follow.
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Good food and conversation ⟩
November 8, 2011, by Floyd
Seriously, I think my class hosts a potluck almost every week! Whether it’s for a USC football game, someone’s birthday, or just a Saturday, we are always grubbing on delicious home-made foods and having tons of laughter. Just thinking about this past weekend and the food that everyone brought to the potluck makes me so hungry. Not only was the food great, but it was wonderful to be able to meet my peers outside of school to catch up on our personal lives. I feel that my class really values each other and sincerely wants to know about how each other are doing.
For this potluck, we created it for a faculty dinner where we invite a faculty member from our program to talk outside of school. We had Dr. Samia Rafeedie, one of our esteemed professors and practicing OTs come this week. It was nice to chit-chat about her life and about her pregnancy . . . she is 8 months pregnant. We got her a children’s book and signed it with our love and luck. All I all, we had good times and great conversations that we will always remember.
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OTAC and Mermaids ⟩
October 27, 2011, by Floyd
Last weekend I went to the 35th annual OTAC (Occupational Therapy Association of California) conference in Sacramento and had an incredible time meeting other occupational therapists, while attending sessions. It was great getting an opportunity to be part of the conference because they offer so many resources that help further the profession. Not only did I get to meet many potential employers from different areas of OT from pediatrics to geriatrics, I got to meet other students that have the same aspirations that I have.
One of the best times I had was being part of the student scavenger hunt where we got tour the city of Sacramento and find the historical values that the city has to offer. My team ended up winning the activity and got OTAC shirts and gift cards as prizes! My team consisted of 1st year students at USC so it was a great opportunity to meet them running around the city.
Not did we get to learn the newest ideas in OT from the best and brightest, we took the opportunity to tour the city. We found this really cool place called the Dive Bar and had drinks while gazing at the mermaids swimming in an aquarium above the bar. It was so awesome! Thank you OTAC and Sacramento for a great time!
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Career Day ⟩
October 12, 2011, by Floyd
Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?
What do an occupational therapist and funeral counselor have in common? We are both paired up as related professions in order to speak to high school students for Career Day.
It was great to meet so many high school students who are enthusiastic and curious about their future. This was a good opportunity to spread awareness of occupational therapy to the youth so they can have an idea of the wonderful profession of occupational therapy. At first I thought the students would ask questions relating to compensation, but I was totally wrong. Most questions were addressed to the lifestyle of an OT and the satisfaction of working with people. The students and even the teacher were engaged and very interested in learning about this profession. It is always nice to see the expression on people’s faces when they first learn about what occupational therapy is and how it can impact a person’s life and well-being.
I also learned much about the skills needed to be a funeral counselor. They work with people during times of sadness and sensitivity. Sometimes, therapists have to do the same, so it was nice to find a commonality between our professions. All in all, it was a great learning experience for all of us.
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