Student Blog
Life Hacks

Why I use a paper planner . . . in addition to all my synced ones. ⟩
February 3, 2020, by Catherine

Life Hacks Living in LA

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Newport with my family. Despite being a couple of weeks into the semester, meaning I am now revving into full gear of balancing residency, classes and my private life, one of the benefits of living in the Los Angeles County area is that no matter where you are living, you’re never too far away from some fun in the sun. Luckily, having visitors from out of the area always gives us the excuse to take full advantage of this.

Throughout my experience in the OTD program, I have found that it is helpful to not only develop a planning system that works for me, but to also to set realistic timelines for how much each task will take. Balancing the schedules of my family members with my own has taken a considerable amount of trial and error, but I’ve found a way that has worked for me and my family.

First is my schedule, it has been natural to utilize the Google Calendar and Outlook applications that connect seamlessly with my USC and Chan email accounts to make sure I am on top of any event invitations offered by the school, and any meetings that may be scheduled throughout the semester. I have been able to subscribe to my nephews’ school calendars that are automatically synced to my Google Calendar, so I can be aware of any school events or holidays in advance. This has allowed for a nicely organized monthly calendar on my laptop.

However, this can sometimes get a bit cluttered. While de-selecting some calendars will help in visual clarity, I have a secondary paper planner that I use to organize and orient myself daily.

I use this as my daily mental practice of calm. Going through my “master calendar”, cross referencing with my shared calendars, and then prioritizing my tasks into a to-do list. In my experience, taking about 10 minutes every morning to do this has been very helpful not only in keeping track of my tasks, but giving me a minute to connect with what is meaningful to me personally, and motivating me throughout my day.

With this daily practice, I am able to stay on track, plan my week, and make sure I make the time for not only my work, school, but for those special memory making moments with my loved ones.

⋯

Thank you occupational therapy for . . . ⟩
January 28, 2020, by Kevin

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

I’ve loved every class and experience here at USC in the Entry-Level Master’s Program! Not only have I grown as a profession and student, but I have grown greatly as a person from my time in this occupational therapy program. So to show my gratitude to this wonderful profession, I would like to say thank you occupational therapy for . . .

Showing me the importance and meaning behind the occupations in my life. From school, to family, to leisure, I learned the value that each occupation holds in my life and how to balance my daily schedule so that I can spend more time doing the occupations I love.

Teaching me to be mindful. The concepts of mindfulness were covered in several courses throughout the program and I have adopted many of the mindfulness strategies into my life such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and most importantly being present in the moment. Mindfulness has allowed me to connect with clients, friends, and family on a deeper level than I had in the past and I will always be grateful for this.

Giving me the strength and knowledge to pick myself up when I feel stressed or down. Through the mental health immersion and wellness courses, I gained valuable insight into the impact occupation has on my mood and stress. By keeping in touch with my emotions and stress, I have been able to make small changes to the occupations in my life to improve my wellbeing. For example, after performing a self-assessment called the Occupational Questionnaire, I realized that I was no longer exercising which was an occupation that always helps me reduce stress. With this information, I was able to reschedule my days to allow for time to exercise and quickly regained the physical and emotion benefits that come along with physical activity. 

Improving my leadership and advocacy abilities. Both in the program and in my role as a Student Ambassador, I have had the privilege to step into many leadership roles and promote the profession of occupational therapy.

While I only named a few of the things I am grateful for, there are numerous ways occupational therapy has improved my life. If you have an interest in occupational therapy . . . know that you have discovered a gem of a profession that will give back as much as you put in!

⋯

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes! ⟩
January 24, 2020, by Noelle

Life Hacks

I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions. They make me nervous . . . too much pressure. I prefer to take a much softer, guilt-free approach. At the start of every new year (and/or birthday), I take out my journal and sift through past entries, making sure to check out my predictions from the last new year. See, instead of resolutions, I write general but confident predictions for the year ahead. I don’t know how to describe it, but I have a kind of future vision — no, not like That’s So Raven — let’s just call it an intuition and its usually pretty spot on.

This year is a bit different though, because it doesn’t take a psychic or even intuition to know 2020 is going to be a big one. Graduation, the board exam, beginning my OTD residency . . . I mean really! So I’d be naïve and lying if I didn’t say I have a few goals that are on my mind at the start of this semester, and very important year.

The first one is basic: To keep up with my readings. This is not to say that I didn’t do 100% of all my readings thus far 😏, but that I feel it is especially important as to get the most out of my elective courses. I also want to get into the habit of reading scholarly things on a regular basis so that I am an OT who stays current and curious to learn.

Another, more exciting goal is to cook more frequently and to accumulate more dishes for my domestic resumé. If you know me, you know I live on Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese, Trader Joe’s butter chicken, and pot stickers. And you know what, if that is your lifestyle too no judgment here! But I’m 22 years old and it has occurred to me that not only do I not enjoy/know how to cook, I do not know how to grocery shop! Luckily, I have a “therapist” (a fellow OTS) in my Lifestyle Redesign® elective to help me master this IADL.

The last goal I’ll mention because this is getting long, is to find a nice place to live after graduation. As much as I love the OT house, I think its time to explore another area and experience what its like to live apart from a university. I have never had to go apartment hunting before, so that’s going to be new. We’ll see how that goes, I’ll probably blog about it once I get closer to making a decision.

So that’s where I am at this semester. Stay tuned for new recipes, LA apartment hunting adventures, and more!

I’m hoping you already know David Bowie’s “Changes” as referenced in the title of this blog so here’s a song I’ve just added to my Venti Vibes playlist (AKA my study songs): “Sleeping Lessons” by The Shins. Enjoy!

⋯

New Year, New Challenges, But We Got This! ⟩
January 22, 2020, by Catherine

Classes Life Hacks

This is my first blog post of 2020 and it feels great to be back. The holidays are a magical time of the year, but my passion for occupational science and occupational therapy puts a little more pep in my step when I walk into CHP. And while we are talking about the subject of the new year, we cannot exclude the popular tradition of setting goals, resolutions for our self! I had an interesting discussion recently during my OT 649 course about health behavior change models and in particular, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), that might provide you some insight if you feel that you are having trouble sticking to any resolutions of your own.

In short, SCT states that people are in charge of their lives and environment and can be motivated to overcome challenges through a positive sense of self efficacy. This theory can inform health promoting behavior change interventions in occupational therapy, and other health professions.  In other words, we are taking about the just right challenge.

One of the requirements of during the first semester of the OTD program is to pass the NBCOT exam and become a certified occupational therapist. Trying to juggle my residency hours in preparation for the 2019 Occupational Science Symposium, attending class, and studying for the boards required a lot of balancing priorities and self-control. I did not think that I had the mental and physical capacity to achieve this goal. What got me through this time was the support from faculty, colleagues, and the overall sense of community I have always been provided here at Chan. This support allowed me to maintain a level of self-efficacy that motivated me to overcome my doubts and proactively push myself to close the gap of what I thought I could not do, and what I wanted to do. And according the SCT, self-efficacy is key.

Experiencing and overcoming the challenges of the Fall semester has enabled me to increase my sense of self-efficacy and will motivate me to challenge myself in this semester, and the next, until I achieve my long-term goal to obtain my OTD degree! So if you feel like you might not be able to keep up with your news year resolutions, find yourself a cheerleader, adjust the goal, tackle it in parts, instead of going to the gym 5 days a week, start with today. And then next time, your mind and body will know, if you did it once, you can do it again, and you will be better positioned to go twice a week, and then three times a week, until you ultimately reach your goal.

⋯

Winter Break with the cohort! ⟩
January 17, 2020, by Japeth

Life Hacks Living in LA

After the stressful finals week, some of my classmates organized an out-of-state trip to Utah to visit two national parks: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. Driving to Utah takes about 8 to 9 hours, depending on the traffic, speed, and of course the rest breaks! So, we decided to do a stop over in Las Vegas and to eat lunch there, since Las Vegas is also known for its sumptuous buffets everywhere. By the way, driving from LA to Vegas takes about 4 to 5 hours.

After having lunch, we all decided to go back on the road and head to Utah. From Las Vegas to Utah, it took us almost five hours to get there. On the way to Utah from Vegas, we passed by Arizona — and the view is very relaxing! I am sharing some snaps of the view but my apologies if they are unclear, since the car was moving when I took them. 

We rented an Airbnb and surprisingly, the house was big enough to accommodate us all. One thing that made the house extra special was the hot tub that was available for use!

First day: Off to Zion National Park

In this national park, you can choose as many trails a you want to enjoy; but given our time shortage, we chose one of the easiest but beautiful trails there was: The Watchman Trail. This trail typically takes about less than 3 hours going back and forth. However, it took us more than four hours because we enjoyed so much on taking pictures almost in every good spot we find along the way.

When we finally reached the top, of course, we took more photos! We stayed on top for 30 minutes, enjoying the view while eating our snacks. The snow covering the mountains made the view extra beautiful. The sun being extra sunny that day, helped so much in braving the cold weather.

To end the day, we looked for a local coffee shop to warm ourselves up; and even the coffee shop did not fail to surprise us! The place was so beautiful, and they have a balcony area where you can sit outside, have your coffee, while looking at the lake and mountains.

Day 2: Bryce Canyon National Park – Sunrise Trail

This trail was amazingly beautiful as well! We started from the top and we trailed down. Just when I thought that in order to see the beautiful view, we need to reach the top first, this trail proved me otherwise. Going down from the top made me appreciate the scenic view too! It goes to show that sometimes, we shouldn’t just focus on the beginning or the end; rather, we can also focus on the journey and enjoy every moment with the people we are with.

Here are photos of us before and after the hike!

From the visitor center near the starting point of the Sunrise Trail, we drove a few miles from there going to Sunset Point — another point at the national park where the sunset is really gorgeous.

This trip will always have a special place in my heart and memory. Being with my classmates outside the classroom was a different kind of experience. It was a joy to be with them for several days and I certainly wish for more trips with them. Also in this trip, two other Trojan friends joined us: Nana Lin who is a Masters in Microbiology and Immunology student, and Eden Lin who is also doing her Masters in Computer Science.

Until our next adventure, Fight On!

⋯