Student Blog
School/Life Balance

That One Time We Went To Vegas . . . ⟩
January 29, 2014, by Kate

School/Life Balance

“OT School” (as many of us call it) does not have to be all work and no play. Many of us student ambassadors (including myself many times over) have written about our lives OUTSIDE of the OT program. We like to present to you, the reader, that there is much more to being a USC graduate student than our studies (even if that’s a close majority). Especially as an OT student, we want to depict a picture of living balanced lives, where productivity, self-care, leisure and rest are to the levels that make us the best us we can be.

Well, sometimes, leading a balanced life means that you go to Las Vegas with 30 of your friends from the OT program. Our OTSC (Occupational Therapy Student Council) Social Chairs organized and arranged for the first and second years to stay at a very reasonable hotel and get into some great nightclubs. My fellow ambassador, Clarissa, is one of the social chairs and she did an amazing job!!

I roomed with three of my good friends that I met in the program. We dressed up and went to a club on Friday night where we danced and celebrated. It was so fun to be out with them and be carefree. On Saturday, some of our friends from the first year of the program went hiking. My friends and I, however, decided to take part in a Las Vegas tradition: the all-you-can-eat buffet. It was so yummy!!!! Even though we all had stomachaches afterwards, it was so great to experience world-class food together! Saturday night we all headed out to another club where we danced and had fun; after some late night food at 12:30 am, it was time to call it a night. We were on the road back to Los Angeles the next day at 9 am. It was such a fun trip and I’m so glad I took part in it.

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Uselessness is Gorgeous ⟩
January 29, 2014, by Clarissa

Life Hacks School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?

Normally, there’s a little lull at the beginning of the semester before it goes into full swing but this semester hasn’t been like that at all. I hit the ground running once the semester began. I’m really busy and I love it. In order to stay balanced, though, I’ve started thinking a lot about concepts I learned last semester in my Health Promotion and Wellness class. Particularly, I thought about a lecture we had about happiness and how I can ensure I have personally meaningful moments in the midst of my hectic schedule.

I thought our happiness lecture related really well to an art exhibit I saw when I visited Chicago over the summer. It’s called “The Happy Show” by Stefan Sagmeister, an individual who struggled with depression after his mother’s death. Because of his depression, he became interested in whether or not people can train their minds to be happy, similar to how people train their bodies. This one particularly beautiful art piece of his was made out of post-it notes and spelled out “Uselessness is gorgeous.” It looked like this:

Sagmeister accompanied this art piece with a personal experience that relates to the concept of “flow” which we also learned about in our Health Promotion and Wellness class. One experiences flow when completely absorbed in a satisfying activity and ceases to notice the passage of time. By this art piece, he wrote:

Uselessness is gorgeous. I came up with a reputable technique to artificially produce a moment of bliss: take a scooter, drive it on a beautiful road with little traffic so I can ride without a helmet and feel the wind in my hair while listening to about a dozen carefully selected songs, music that I don’t know well (so it won’t have any baggage) but am likely going to like. And very important: there can be no purpose to the drive, just cruising without any goal. This recipe would send shivers down my spine every time. To identify something without any goal and without any function has its own beauty: it’s the difference between a walk in the park and a commute. It’s the different between art and design.

This quote also reminded me of a pediatrics lecture my professor Dr. Erna Blanche gave where she said that without participating in activities that we do “just for the heck of it,” life wouldn’t be worth living. I found that Sagmeister’s view really complemented OT’s value of participating in activities simply because they are meaningful.

As for me, the closest moment I’ve experienced to Sagmeister’s description of bliss was my climb up Yosemite’s Half Dome, pictured below. When I reached the top and looked over all of Yosemite Valley, I forgot about time and space. I have decided to incorporate more nature into my life this semester in order to encourage a work-life balance.

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We Are Back!!! ⟩
January 16, 2014, by Ryan

Classes Externships School/Life Balance

I can’t believe it has been a month already, full of relaxing and enjoying friends and family. I had a pretty good break, but it sure went by fast. I am from the area so I was able to work in the Admissions office a couple of days. I was so glad to be helpful to the Admissions team during the busy time of the holidays and admitting students for fall 2014. Then I went to Tucson, Arizona for the Christmas holiday to visit my uncle, aunt, cousins, and my cousin’s kids. The weather was great and I enjoyed spending time with family that I don’t get to see very often. I watched a good amount of television as well. I caught up on some movies and shows that I never get to watch during the semester. I also took a lot of yoga during the break which was an awesome way to relax over the break after such a jam backed fall semester. However, I am excited to be back at school. This semester is my last semester (Holy Cow?!!!), and as second year students in our spring semester we are able to choose between 12-18 units of electives within areas of interest. I chose 12 units giving me a lighter schedule this semester and I chose a variety of classes that I am excited to learn more about. For example, I am taking Sensory Integration theory course which can count towards a certification if I am interested in continuing after I graduate. Also, I am taking an Acute Care course where I am able to observe OTs at Keck Hospital within the acute setting. I am so excited to get more experience in this area to prepare me for my summer Level II Fieldwork. Well I look forward to sharing more experiences this semester . . . like the Leadership Externship!

Here is the Admission team and Student Ambasssdors for our holiday lunch, Sabino Canyon in Tucson, and my new pencil to start off my last semester!

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Holiday Break Balance ⟩
January 10, 2014, by Jen

Living in LA School/Life Balance

With almost 4 weeks off from classes, I made sure to catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation. I spent the beginning of the holiday break in my hometown in the bay area. I was able to catch up with friends and families as well as engage in some of my favorite occupations: hiking, playing with my dog, and eating. After spending time in Northern California, I flew down to visit more of my family in San Diego. It did not feel like winter in San Diego’s 70-80 degree weather and I enjoyed every moment of my time there. For New Year’s Day, I went to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. I had never been before, but because I now live in Los Angeles it made it very easy (and fun) to attend. One of my favorite floats was the Cal Poly Universities Float (although I am a little biased since I attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for undergrad). The float, titled “Bedtime Buccaneers”, won the Crown City Innovation Trophy. I was very proud of the work they did. Since the New Year, I’ve been spending time with friends and preparing to return to school. My break was full of balance which is one of the most important things to have.

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It’s Winter Break Time!!! ⟩
December 18, 2013, by Ryan

Living in LA School/Life Balance

Well, finals are over and it is time to relax . . . and I mean relax. I had a final on Thursday so that afternoon I went to get my nails done with a friend of mine. It was just what I wanted, something relaxing. And I never treat myself like that. I usually do it myself. It was great! I felt relaxed and had some great girl bonding time.

Then after our last big final on Monday, a bunch of us went to brunch and celebrated the end of our fall semester. I can’t believe I only have one more left! We had a blast! The restaurant was empty (because it was 12:30pm on a Monday) so we would rotate seats around the large rectangular table so we could all talk and catch up after the crazy busy 2 weeks we just had.

And yesterday I went on a hike in the Pacific Palisades, up Temescal Canyon. It was a beautiful day and does not feel like Christmas is just next week. After the hike, we all got frozen yogurt and ended the day playing Balderdash at a friend’s house. So, I would say my vacation so far is going great!

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