Student Blog
Living in LA

I Heart Los Angeles! ⟩
September 13, 2011, by Floyd

Living in LA

I got the warm weather, a multitude of restaurants, and beautiful beaches. What more can I ask for?

I was born and raised in LA, and in my 25 years, I am still surprised about the many places that I have not experienced. There is always something to do or somewhere to go. Whether I feel like hiking up the Santa Monica Mountains or follow the new art exhibits at the Museum of Contemporary Art or strolling along Rodeo Dr, I can always plan to have too much to do.

On Friday I went to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure with my friends and watched the Aladdin musical. I go almost every week because my friends and I have an annual pass, which lets us in any time with free parking. On Saturday, I went to Universal’s Studio City Walk where I got to see live bands and eat at the new sushi place that just opened. It’s great because it’s free admission with only 10 dollars for parking. On Sunday, I got a massage in Chinatown for 20 bucks. Yes, 20 bucks for a full hour! This place was clean, friendly, and I felt wonderfully relaxed afterwards. I can’t wait this weekend because I have more fun plans.

Peace love and OT!

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Be Active and Be Happy ⟩
April 17, 2011, by Austen

Life Hacks Living in LA

As you may already know, running is part of my daily routine. I roll out of bed every morning and get outside for a little jog, rain or shine. It wakes me up, gives me energy, and clears my mind. Days without a jog in the morning just are not the same. I feel lethargic and lazy, I do not eat as healthy, and I am not as alert and energetic. I had to take some time off from running last week, and I realized the negative effects not exercising has on my lifestyle.

I woke up Tuesday morning and set out on my typical loop around campus. Around one mile in, both of my legs started cramping. My shins felt like they could not relax and my calves were tight. It was so uncomfortable that I could barely run 2 miles, when my daily mileage usually reaches 4. After jogging/walking the rest of the way home, I noticed my left knee was stiff and swelling. I have had meniscus repair surgery done on that knee, but it usually does not act up when I run. Something was up, but I could not figure out what the issue was.

I got up Wednesday morning and tried again. No luck. Leg cramps and tightness. At that point I gave up and decided to take a couple days off. During those 2 days, I noticed a huge change in what my lifestyle is like without exercise. It is much unhealthier in all aspects. I eat more, I lay around more, I watch more TV, and it just feels terrible! There is a physical feeling inside that I do not like, it is hard to explain. But, I realized how exercise affects me both physically and mentally. It gives me more energy and makes me a happier person in general. It makes me feel alive and well. There are so many things about exercise that make me feel good that it will need to continue to be a daily activity throughout my life. Interesting how much you learn about the importance of something when it is taken away, right?

I had a sneaking suspicion that my leg issues were related to old running shoes. So during those couple days off, I bought some new ones. I tried them out yesterday on a light jog, and it made a huge difference! I was worried I was having muscular or skeletal problems, but I do not think that is case anymore. And yesterday was a great day after that run. I felt rejuvenated, I wanted to be outside, I felt alive. And my body craved nutritious and healthy meals, which always makes me feel better. I love running! Even though it is not always easy and can be boring (especially running around South Central LA), it feels so good once you are done.

Go be active! It feels great! 😊

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Finished a half marathon! ⟩
February 6, 2011, by Austen

Life Hacks Living in LA

This morning my OT friends Jen, Lauren, and I ran the Surf City Huntington Beach Half Marathon! A good number of first and second year OT MA students ran in the race, and it was great to see some familiar faces down there.

I typically run 3-4 miles a day, at about a 9:30-10 minute per mile pace. The farthest I have ever gone is 6 miles. But at the beginning of this year, Jen encouraged me to start building on some more distance. Little did I know, the Surf City Half Marathon was on her radar. She told me and Lauren to register and do it with her, so that is what we did! I have never run in a race before, but always wanted to someday. I guess I did not realize that day was coming so soon.

I started training over winter break. I would do 4 short runs, about 4-5 miles, a week, then one long run (7 or 8 miles) on a weekend morning. Once we got back to school, Jen and I ran an 8.5 miler together. That was the longest I had gone, and farthest I would go before race day.

So after Motivation Interviewing on Saturday, Jen and I drove down to Huntington Beach and stayed at Lauren’s parents’ house for the night. We loaded up on carbs (spaghetti and garlic bread) and had big bowls of oatmeal for breakfast. We certainly were energized! At 8:12am, we were off, starting the 13.1 mile adventure. Jen and Lauren bolted out, weaving through the slower runners. I decided I could not do that and wanted to keep an even pace. So I stayed behind maintaining my comfortable pace. Mile 5 I was feeling good. Lauren’s parents were on the sideline cheering us on there. But by mile 7 I was seriously doubting why I chose to do this. When the mile 10 marker showed up, I was feeling great again, on that runner’s high. Only 3 to go, and they flew by! I ran all 13.1 miles in 2 hours 8 minutes 52 seconds, with a pretty steady pace of 9:50 minute miles. I beat my goal of 2 hours 10 minutes!

I never really understood why people run marathons. But now I do. It was a great feeling running alongside thousands of other people who enjoy doing the same thing you do. The other runners kept me going, they kept me energized, they kept me strong. Even though I was separated from my running buddies, I had lots of other runners to keep me company. There is also quite a bit of an adrenaline rush, especially when all the friends and families are yelling on the side line down the entire route. What a rush! It was just a great experience overall. I think I will do one again someday.

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Exploring LA ⟩
November 6, 2010, by Carissa

Living in LA

Being originally from the Bay Area, I have loved exploring and being a tourist in Los Angeles. The next best thing to traveling is finding new local areas to visit. There is so much to do and see.  Here are some of the places I have enjoyed visiting to relax and re-energize myself for school

Venice Beach
With the scent of incense blending with the ocean, this eclectic area provides many forms of entertainment.

Santa Monica Pier
Fabulous area for biking, walking, people watching, and shopping!

Getty Museum
Place to enjoy art, architecture, and events

Griffith Park
Perfect place for a hike!

Big Bear
Just about a 2 hour drive to this great place for skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing!

Staples Center/LA Live
Home to amazing concerts and of course, the Lakers! Also, walk around to eat at the delicious restaurants or catch a movie at the nearby theater. 😊

Love LA!

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Moving to LA ⟩
October 10, 2010, by Amanda

Housing and Transportation Living in LA

After graduating from undergrad, I needed to pack-up and move to California. Living in the OT House made sense to me! So I hope that through my student blog you will get an in-depth look at what it is like to be an occupational therapy student here at USC. To start my tour of student life, I’ll start with my experiences during my first summer.

Coming from Maryland, I was leaving my family and friends to see what West Coast life is all about. For those of you worrying about making a move like I did, graduate school is the perfect time to try living somewhere new and it provides great opportunities to meet and befriend others. LA is a big town and the thought of moving there was a little intimidating. What is amazing about coming to USC for school is the living learning experience that is a housing option called the OT House. Besides my great aunt that lives in the area, I was nervous about moving to a place where I knew no one. For this reason, I chose to spend my first year in LA living in the OT House. From our first building meeting, I already met other classmates and even had a ride to school the next day. 😊 Those same friends have since become my California family.

Another great aspect of the OT house is the convenience factor. The two-bedroom apartments come equipped with a full bedroom set (you have your own bedroom), kitchen appliances, sofas, table and chairs. All you really need is your bedding, clothes, school gear, and kitchenware. After recently graduating I only had a few weeks to pull myself together and get out to LA for the June start and there was no way I could move furniture across the country. Living in the OT house meant I had a few things less to worry about. Due to its proximity to the University Park campus, the OT house makes going to classes on the Health Science campus easy. There is a bus that runs between campuses, making driving unnecessary. Also, you are close to all the activities of the University Park campus. Events, performances, Trojan sports, intramurals, you name it and it’s right there for you. As a full time student you have access to the Rec facilities, so your gym is right there too.

Being that the apartment building that hosts the OT House is majority OT students, you have access to study groups always! If you ever need a question answered or clarification on an assignment, your neighbor can most likely help you out. The OT House was always the common meeting point between in house and out of house students and the place for groups to meet when working on group assignments. There is an RA that is an OT student and a USC OT faculty member that lives in the building as well. Basically, choosing to live there gives you instant support in your academic life.

My first experiences in LA were wonderful, many of which I can attribute to being a resident in the OT House. It was there I built my foundation for life in LA and as an occupational therapy student. Below is a picture of the sunset from my apartment in the OT house!

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