Student Blog
School/Life Balance

Just learning some cool stuff over here! ⟩
September 16, 2013, by Ryan

School/Life Balance

There was an interesting article that I read this weekend for my OT 504: Health Promotion and Wellness class called “Exploring Balance as a Concept in Occupational Science” by Penelope Westhorp (2003). Westhorp discusses the concept of “balance in lifestyle” through an occupational perspective and suggests that research should be done to look at the many aspects of balance. Throughout the article I kept thinking, “What is lifestyle balance, really?”, especially for me. When I think of balance, I think of equal parts sharing the weight. Is that what I need to do to have a balanced lifestyle? Make sure that I do the activities throughout my day equally in relation to time, energy, and attention? But that doesn’t make sense to me. How can one do that, truly?

When I think about a typical day for me and the things that I do, maybe I could separate my time so that each activity throughout my day had the same amount of time and was balanced (i.e., one hour of house work, one hour of school work, one hour of television, etc.). But when I think of the things that I do that are meaningful in my day, I just don’t imagine that I could actually sustain a lifestyle balance of putting a certain amount of time on something like, spending time with friends and family. Or that I could do a craft or looking things up on Pinterest for an allotted amount of time. Personally, I don’t do well with that type of restriction and would not be able to maintain that type of routine.

For the sake of really trying to think about living a balanced lifestyle, it would be better for me to balance my day in a more simple way. To break down a day for me in its simplest form would be the things that I like to do and the things that I have to do. When I think of days that I feel really balanced it is because I have done productive and fun activities throughout my day. That is what I think I need and, after reading this article, it just confirmed what I was thinking.

This also confirms why we need research on occupation as well as occupational balance so that we can understand each individual’s perspective on his or her occupations and what is meaningful in order to help balance his or her lifestyle. It is a really cool experience to read something that seems so simple like this, but that can then open your eyes in such a big way . . . even as you are reading it!

😊 Ryan

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My Occupations in 4 Words: Disneyland and Fight On! ⟩
September 13, 2013, by Clarissa

Getting Involved Living in LA School/Life Balance

Since we don’t start our Level I Fieldwork until the fourth week of class, I had this past Tuesday free and I decided to spend it at Disneyland with three other occupational therapy students. We all got annual passes last year and escaping reality in Disneyland is one of our favorite occupations. One perk about living in Los Angeles is that Mickey and Minnie Mouse don’t live too far away.

As one of the social chairs for the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC), fall semester not only means Halloween decorations at Disneyland but also that it’s time to plan interdisciplinary tailgates for football season! For the game this past Saturday, I coordinated with the socials chairs of physical therapy (PT) for a joint tailgate. The people setting up had to get there at 6:30am and the tailgate lasted until 7:00pm! As you can see, football and tailgating are HUGE parts of USC student culture. PTs and OTs share the same building, so tailgates like these help make the hallways a friendlier place. Interdisciplinary events are also great because they provide students with the opportunity to educate one another about our professions. Over the summer at my Level II fieldwork site, I would co-treat with PTs all the time. It is so important to understand what they do for the benefit of our patients. I’m a big advocate of interdisciplinary cooperation, especially after having worked in an interdisciplinary setting in the Student Run Clinic. In the past, we’ve also done tailgates with pharmacy and I’m also planning a tailgate with the public health program in the future. Did I mention that I also befriended an adorable half dog and half Trojan creature?

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Finding Balance ⟩
September 10, 2013, by Jen

Getting Involved School/Life Balance

Yesterday in my “Health Promotion and Wellness” course, we discussed finding balance (or lack thereof) in our lives. A balanced life includes leisure, individual care, free/unscheduled time, and efforts in school/work activities. It may not surprise you that an overwhelming majority of my day falls in the “efforts in school/work activities” category. Thankfully, I greatly enjoy what I do in school and the work I do outside of school. Something I am very involved in is USC’s Occupational Therapy and Science Council. I am currently the chairperson of the organization and it is a busy time for me because elections are underway for the first-year master’s students in the program. I am looking forward to elections being over, because I remember how excited I was to last year to find out I received a position on the council and want this year’s first-year students to have that same feeling. Because our program at USC is two years long, the term for each of the positions on the council are two years long. Tonight is the night that voting closes, so I’m sure the candidates are eagerly awaiting the results. Good luck to all!

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One of My True Loves: USC Football ⟩
September 9, 2013, by Kate

Living in LA School/Life Balance

Let’s be honest: this past weekend was bittersweet. I am a huge, and I mean HUGE, USC football fan, so let me explain a bit more . . .

Once of the best perks about being a USC student (undergraduate or graduate), is that you can buy a discounted season pass for all the home football games. Before each home game, occupational therapy students put on a joint tailgate with the students from the physical therapy program. We rally around all things USC and spend time getting to know each other better outside of school. It is a great way to spend your Saturday!

However, not all Saturdays end with a “win.” This past Saturday was USC football’s home opener against the Washington State Cougars. I attended the OT/PT tailgate with two of my best friends. We laughed, played games and were excited for our USC Trojans to beat the Cougars! The game itself was exciting. It was a perfect summer night, not too hot, not too cold. But when the game was over, it was not the ending we had all wanted. The Cougars beat the Trojans 10-7, and we left a bit broken-hearted. Not all was lost, though; I remember the great time I had with my friends, fellow OT students and new PT friends. And like all Trojans, we will Fight On!!

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Conference and pageant ⟩
May 1, 2013, by Alisa

Classes Community Getting Involved School/Life Balance

Yes, I made it to my last class as a Master’s student! In Lifestyle Redesign class today, I facilitated my healthy eating group on the topic of superfoods. I hope to work in health and wellness in the future, perhaps owning my own business and implementing Lifestyle Redesign concepts into my practice. I learned a lot from the group members and added to my OT toolbox. I few more hurdles to jump before I graduate. I can’t believe it.

I’ve never felt more tired and sleep deprived until this week. Grad school isn’t easy, but it’s manageable. This past weekend I attended the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference in San Diego. This was my second conference I attended. One perk about attending USC OT Program is that the division sponsors a number of students to attend these conferences, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the students chosen to attend! I realize how small and big the OT community is. I ran into my past supervisor and met my future supervisors there. I also ran into a student from Samuel Merritt University who presented a poster on oncology there as well. I remember hanging out with her last year at the conference in Indianapolis. I also saw a student from CAL State Domiguez Hills who did fieldwork at the same place as me last summer. That’s not it. I also ran into a prospective OT student whom I had given a tour to earlier in the semester. The conference is open to everyone!

I also met new people as well . . . in the jacuzzi. I met three wonderful USC PhD graduates, who now hold faculty positions at universities across the US. One of them in particular, Dr. Pollie Price from Utah, co-authored one of my favorite articles that I’ve read! I remember reading the article Mother Becoming: Learning to Read Mikala’s Signs by Pollie Price and Stephanie Miner in my clinical reasoning class last year and how I really enjoyed it. A lot of the articles and books that we read in class also come from our very own USC faculty, so I feel that I’m very fortunate to have picked the best school to go to.

I was sad that I had to miss the Alumni Reception at the Conference because I had to come back early and prepare for Miss Thai New Year Pageant. I volunteered to help out the temple by participating in the pageant. This was my second pageant (the first one I had done last year just for the heck of it). I ended up helping the temple raise close to $1,000 by selling balloons at the event. The total amount raised by all of the participants were close to $2,000. It was amazing to know that there was so much support and joy at the event. There was also a talent show portion that I was very surprised to have gotten second place for singing Tian Mi Mi, a classic Chinese song. The last portion of the pageant was to dress in a Thai traditional dress and pose. How hard could that be right? It was actually a pain to figure out how to best wear the traditional dress, but without the support from family, friends and strangers, I wouldn’t have survived the event. I ended up getting dehydration and a headache that lasted two days afterwards, but to know that I’ve helped a great cause in raising money for the temple, I am grateful.

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