Student Blog
Life Hacks

Totally Worth It ⟩
December 5, 2019, by Catherine

Life Hacks

Having a family with two school aged children to take care of, and leaving the comfort of a steady income from having a job, was not an easy decision that I had to make before coming to USC. Yes, the financial burden of paying the cost of attendance was one part, but another part of me felt guilty about not being home for my nephews, who I co-parent. I was worried if I could be successful in my academic pursuits, while also maintaining a household. However, I knew that I had found a profession that I was passionate about, and would somehow make it work. As I reflect on my first semester in the OTD, I can confidently say, it has.

If you are like me and decide to pursue the standard progression of courses in the OTD, the OT-620 core course is the only one you are required to take this first semester.  Because most of your week is dedicated to your residency, and your hours are negotiable with your site, this provided me a certain amount of flexibility. I have been able to continue to maintain my morning school drop off routines, and come home to have dinner, do homework and be present for my nephews consistently.

Taking advantage of the benefits of technology has also made my life a lot easier. Subscribing to their school calendars, and knowing in advance important school events has allowed me to not be thrown off-guard if my fourth grader forgot to tell me “Pastries with Parents” is tomorrow. And even though I may not be able to volunteer for every class event for my Kindergartner, the share sites teachers and parents utilize have kept me in the know. Not to mention the grocery delivery apps that have often saved me when I forgot to stock up on a lunchbox essential.

I am not saying that this process has been easy. It was not easy to study for my boards exams while negotiating with a five year old to take his bath. I have been lucky to have had wonderful support from other adult members of my family, the school (mine and theirs), and to be able to access the comforts of modern technology. However, looking back at my experience in the OTD so far, it has not only been manageable, but totally worth it. If you are like me when I was considering applying to graduate school; worried about how you are going go through graduate school and be a caregiver, I am here to say you can do it! If you have any questions about my experience, or want to know more about the OTD program, I am here for you, and would love to hear from you.

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Studying without Stu(dying) ⟩
November 21, 2019, by Kaho

Life Hacks Living in LA

I don’t know about you, but I’m easily distracted by my environment. As soon as I sit down to study, my brain convinces me that my entire house needs to be deep cleaned this instant, or that I need to meal prep for the next 2 weeks, or it suddenly reminds me of an errand I need to run that I’ve been putting off and is obviously not time sensitive. If I manage to win that internal battle and remain at my desk, then my bed starts to look incredibly cozy and warm and before I know it, I’m wrapped up in there like a burrito and hours have passed . . . Unfortunately, I just cannot study for long periods of time in the comfort of my own room or home. If you just nodded in agreement, this post is for you. 👉

After trying to study in various places around my house, I’ve found a few favorites that always get the productive juices in me flowing. I live near the main campus, UPC, so I usually study somewhere around there.

1. The Village
   This is my favorite spot of all time. There are tables and chairs in the plaza next to a fountain, where numerous undergraduate and graduate students sit down to study or chat with friends. It’s outdoors, so I love being able to feel the calming breeze while soaking up some SoCal sun. There’s a Trader Joe’s, Target, and various shops surrounding the plaza, so I can always run for a snack or meal if I get hungry. If I need an outlet or I want to go indoors because I’m baking in the sun, there are cafés like Dulce and Starbucks that still promote productivity. When I need a quick break, I just look up from my books or laptop and people-watch. It may sound strange, but it’s really interesting to see all these different lives and situations coming together in one place. I just like to gaze around the plaza and see what people (and their dogs) are up to. I could study here for hours.


Tables and chairs in the USC Village plaza

2. Doheny Library
   My second favorite is Doheny Library. In my opinion, it’s the prettiest library at USC. I go here when I really need to concentrate and grind out some work because it’s quieter than the Village and there are less people. It also kind of makes me feel like I’m in a Harry Potter movie, so I guess that helps too. There’s a study hall in the corner of this library where the ceiling is high, books line all of the walls, and there are numerous long tables for students to sit at. It gets an ample amount of natural light and outlets are conveniently located. Just sitting in the room instantly makes me feel more intelligent and motivated.



Study hall at Hogwa—I mean, Doheny Library

3. Any coffee shop
   I won’t go into much detail about this one because there are hundreds of influencers out there that can do a much better job than I can of ranking aesthetically pleasing LA coffee shops. But, I just wanted to point out the existence of numerous aesthetically pleasing LA coffee shops. Once you start exploring, the possibilities are endless. Just Google “best LA coffee shops” and you’re good to go. (Side note: The next place on my coffee exploration list is Blue Bottle because a dear friend got me a gift card. I’m pretty excited to try it this finals week.) Sitting down with a nice cup of coffee in a well-decorated space with relaxing music is always a good indicator of a productive day.

Finals week is coming up and it seems to be a tough time for a lot of people, but the least you can do is study in a space that makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. You’ll definitely find me in one of these three places these coming weeks. Don’t forget to get some sun, listen to some music, eat well, sleep well, and good luck!

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Family Traditions ⟩
November 20, 2019, by Kevin

Life Hacks

With the holiday season approaching, it got me thinking about what make the holidays so special for me. At the top of my list are the traditions I celebrate with my family. For the past four years, my girlfriend Jenna and I visit my family in NorCal to celebrate thanksgiving and these are the traditions that are the most meaningful to me.

Although we arrive a few days before thanksgiving, the festivities start the moment we arrive. On the first day, my mom always makes pies and more importantly “pie sticks” . . . what are pie sticks you may ask? Well it’s essentially just the pie crust baked with cinnamon and sugar on top. We all know the crust is the best part of pie, so let’s just get to the good stuff . . . right? After we’ve filled up on pie sticks, we walk from my parents’ house, one street down to my older sister’s house to play the latest board games. I never know how she does it, but my sister always has the most fun board games that I’ve never played before. It’s even become a tradition to bring the games my sister taught us to Jenna’s family during their holiday celebrations. The next day we head to Wright’s Lake to kayak. In November, Wright’s Lake is usually partially frozen over, and is surrounded by snowcapped mountains making it one of the most breathtaking scenes of nature I have ever seen. After a day of exercising our upper body kayaking, we wake up early Thanksgiving morning and do a charity 5k run. The run helps me feel more justified in the amount of food I will consume later in the day. The rest of the day we help our relatives prepare the Thanksgiving meal and then we all eat together while sharing stories to catch up on the past year. The next morning we get up early again and we head toward South Lake Tahoe to find a tree in preparation for Christmas.

Needless to say, I cannot wait for next week because I am grateful to have these traditions that allow me to spend quality time with the people I love!

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Making Peace with my Commute ⟩
November 6, 2019, by Kevin

Housing and Transportation Life Hacks Living in LA

Growing up in a small town, the longest “commute” you have is around twenty minutes to go across town. Generally, people enjoyed driving and on Sunday I would go on a drive along the lake with my dad to relax and enjoy the open roads. Parking was plentiful and free. People used their car horns only for emergencies or to give friends a quick “hello” as they passed by. For much of my life, driving was a preferred occupation and something I looked forward to as part of my day. Soon after moving to Los Angeles, that all changed and driving quickly became one of my most stressful and unenjoyable occupations. My shortest commute is around twenty minutes, roads are rarely open, parking is sparse and expensive, and car horns are a little less friendly. What once was one of my most enjoyable thirty minute daily occupation was now my least enjoyable two hour daily inconvenience.

Quickly, I realized that I had taken on this pessimistic attitude toward driving and it was impacting me negatively. After coming to this realization, I chose to reframe my attitude toward my commute and find ways to make the time more enjoyable and relaxing. My first discovery on my quest to making my commute enjoyable was podcasts! Listening to podcasts and audiobooks brought back much of my enjoyment for the drive itself. Within a few weeks, I was hooked on several podcasts including Stuff You Should Know, Modern Love, and Ted Talks Daily. I now looked forward to a long drive because it gave me time to listen to a great story or learn something new.

Along with listening to podcasts, I made some other changes to my driving routine to create a more relaxing experience. First, I started using the app Waze to estimate my drive time for the next day and I would automatically add thirty minutes to all of my trips. This additional thirty minutes allowed me to relax when I encountered unexpected traffic, time to find parking, and take the slow lanes where I tend to find more friendly drivers. Next, I started walking or riding my longboard places that were close to my apartment and I found that I would usually get to my destination faster than if I had taken my car. Lastly, I began to pay more attention to the routes I took each day so I could take my eyes away from my phone’s GPS system. Knowing my daily route gave me the opportunity to relax because I was no longer concerned with missing a turn or getting lost. 

Making these changes has brought back my enjoyment of driving and reduced the stress in my life. Recently, I even started going on Sunday drives again down the coast and it feels just like when I would drive along the lake with my dad. Moving to a big city came with a lot of change, but I am happy to say that I have made peace with my commute.

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Staying In Control and Winning the Waiting Game ⟩
November 5, 2019, by Catherine

Life Hacks

I have never been good at waiting.  Waiting in line at a grocery store, no thank you (thank goodness for self-checkout).  Waiting for standard shipping, grueling.  Waiting for my test scores or that acceptance letter, I cannot even.  Unfortunately, life is not all 2-day shipping, and express checkout lanes, and at some point or another we will find ourselves playing the waiting game.  So how do you handle the stress of waiting, and cope with not knowing the immediate next step?  Here are some ways I stay in control, and win in these stressful pockets of time.

• Treat yourself.  Congratulations!  Whatever it is you are waiting for, an application, finishing a test, or just getting that elective request form in, you did it.  You have made a tangible step towards your goal, and that in itself is an accomplishment.  Give yourself a pat on the back, take some time to relax, and go get yourself a treat.  You earned it.
• Write down your fears.  Sometimes it’s the “not knowing” part of waiting that can feed into the anxiety and frustrations of waiting.  If you find yourself overwhelmed with “what if” questions, I find it helpful to write them down.  Take some time to reflect on what are the worst things that can happen if what you are hoping for doesn’t come into fruition.  What is the worst case scenario?  Once you have that down, write down at least one thing you can do to make that situation better, and one person that you could ask for help.  Having a list of what I can do has helped me overcome many restless nights.
• Reach out.  Spending time with friends and family for a venting session, engaging in some leisurely occupations, and even just some extra tactile input of a big hug has always been helpful when I’m not feeling in control.  Knowing you have people on your side, and rooting for you is always a great source of strength and support.
• Get organized.  Sometimes after taking a big test, I come back to messy desk covered in notes, coffee cups and scattered post-its.  Looking at such a messy space can make me feel even more out of control.  Cleaning your space and getting organized provides me a visual cue to calm my mind and get back that sense of control.  You don’t have to go full Marie Kondo, but even just throwing out those old receipts and candy wrappers that have been living in the bottom of your bag can do the trick.

Waiting is no fun and not know what’s going to happen can be scary.  These are just some of things that have helped me in the past and I hope are helpful for you.  If you feel that you need more information or want to talk to someone about your questions about the OTD program, I am here for you as a resource, so feel free to check out my blog, send in some suggestions or requests for future posts, or just to say hi, send me an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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