Student Blog
Living in LA

#NoRegrets ⟩
December 28, 2020, by Calvin

Admissions Getting Involved International Life Hacks Living in LA

Since OT school wasn’t an option for me right out of undergrad, I thought, “Well, I guess it’s time for plan B: to take a gap year.” Except, as time went by, it started to feel less like a back-up plan and more like the decision I should’ve gone with all along!

My gap year happened pretty unintentionally, but I’m honestly so glad that I took that time off. After 4 years of undergrad, I felt burnt out! A change of pace was something I needed and taking a year off to rest and try new things ended up serving me really well. It was because of my gap year that I was able to pursue research in another country, visit family and friends back in Hong Kong, travel around the world, build my professional experiences, study for the GRE, and just overall, take a break from school! Even though I wasn’t on vacation 24/7, my schedule definitely allowed for a lot more flexibility. I also want to emphasize that taking time off before heading to graduate school is completely normal. I might even suggest it because it gave me the time to reflect, mature, and refocus my goals.

I know what it’s like to feel the pressure of securing something for yourself after undergrad. I also know what it’s like when that doesn’t work out. Not knowing what’s going to happen next is a scary thing, but it’s also an opportunity to challenge ourselves and grow in ways that we might not have imagined before. So, do what you need to do before starting grad school, and know that you don’t need to jump into it right away. Take the time to think about what’s best for you and your future.

My Gap Year Memories in Photos

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Ring In the Season ⟩
December 18, 2020, by Bethany

Living in LA

It’s December! The holiday season means it’s time for some of my favorite occupations. Personally, my family and I celebrate Christmas. I wanted to share some of the ways we start setting up for the holiday! Enjoy this poem about how I celebrate Christmas with my family:

The time has come to decorate,
Bring out the boxes. Yes, all eight.
The garland, wreaths, and Christmas tree, 🎄
And in the background: Mariah Carey
Sings her song with jingle bells. 🎶

So deck the halls, enjoy the smell
Of evergreen and peppermint.
Have hot chocolate with the remnants ☕
Of candy canes, whipped cream on top.
Because 70 is cold. Don’t tell me it’s not. ❄️

Take off the lids, open the box. 🎁
Untangle the snafu of Christmas stuff.
Lay out the garlands, row by row,
And check the lights! Make sure they glow. 🌟
The wreaths and garland are put up in style
Giving everyone who walks by a smile.

The Christmas cards are ready, too,
For all our family and friends to peruse. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
We tell them what happened in our year
And send them a little Christmas cheer.
Sealing all the envelopes ✉️
To exchange some love and hope.

When the cards are done, we snuggle up.
With flannel pajamas and another cup
Of hot chocolate. It’s movie time. 🎅
We argue between “Elf” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The movie starts and brings that wonderful feeling.
That Christmas is here. So ring in the season. 🔔

Hope this gets you in the mood. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ❤️

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What I Miss on Campus ⟩
December 2, 2020, by Bethany

Living in LA

Now that I’m back home, I find myself often reminiscing about my home away from home. I spent three years on the University Park Campus (UPC) and a fourth year commuting between UPC and the Health Science Campus (HSC), and now I miss both of them. Some places, though, bring back more memories than others. Here are a few of the places I miss going to:

Tommy’s Place
Hidden in the basement of the Tutor Campus Center on UPC, this chill little hideaway is where the pool tables are. I played a few games with friends, and although I’m not that great of a player, I still had a lot of fun. Tommy’s Place is also where the flute section members who had stayed home would gather on away game days to watch the game together.

Adult Rehab Lab
Adult Physical Rehabilitation was one of my first classes in the Master’s Program. Inside the Rehab Lab, I had some of the most physically challenging OT experiences. We worked with standardized patients to help us learn how to best position ourselves to get our clients up and walking after a hip replacement. We also made hand splints. This past semester, I got to enjoy seeing Instagram stories of my friends who are in Adult Physical Rehab go to the lab in masks and face shields to learn how to do transfers to wheelchairs or how to put on a gait belt.

Cromwell Field
From freshman to senior year, I spent so much of my fall semester on Cromwell Field practicing shows. After a long day of classes, I’d run to practice, pull out my piccolo, and play and de-stress. I may have given myself some minor hearing damage (Note to self: use earplugs with a piccolo!), but it was worth it. There’s nothing like saluting the real, live Traveler with “Conquest.” Or running through one last set and realizing Alan Silvestri is there. At your 7am practice. Conducting the finale of the Marvel show. The 2019 Flute Seniors also made a pyramid during band camp. Unforgettable memories.

Bookstore at HSC
It’s a small little store, tucked away in the corner by the food court on the Health Science Campus. But the best part about it: they have OT gear! Get hats, license plate frames, mugs, the whole shebang representing the Division and OT. Sure, the UPC Bookstore may have a Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, but it’s at the HSC Bookstore that you can buy the best gear (Though, I have to admit, this statement is slightly biased).

The Great Lawn
Located in the USC Village, the Great Lawn is conveniently right behind Trader Joe’s. On those nice spring days that aren’t too hot or too cold, where you can see the blue sky above the trees, you’ll find many people sitting out on the lawn to play spike ball or just talk. I have enjoyed a great many picnics out on the Great Lawn, including one where a friendly dog came by and made us throw a frisbee. Multiple times. My own dog preferers belly rubs and napping to catching frisbees, so it was a nice change of pace.

Keck Cafeteria
During lunch, my friend and I would always head over to the cafeteria. They make some amazing, decently-priced quesadillas and wraps. So we would often head over on days where I had not packed a lunch. Another friend of mine took classes nearby and would occasionally meet us there for lunch to talk about life and classes. The cafeteria was a great place to take a break and enjoy some good eats, as well!

Mt. McCarthy
There is a well-known quad right outside of Leavey Library called McCarthy Quad, the center of many school events and our weekly farmer’s market. And right next to this quad, is a hill: the highest point of elevation on the University Park Campus. Many students study, hammock, or both in the shade of the trees. It’s a great spot to get together for lunch with friends, and it’s right next to the weekly farmer’s market.

Coming back to all of these memories of campus is bittersweet. I miss being on campus. I miss being in each of these places. I miss spending time with people I care about. But for now, it’s enough to reminisce and meet up on Zoom. And hopefully, once things open back up, then, reader, you’ll have some ideas on how to make new memories.

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Meaningful Occupations in the Reinberg-Rivera-Ritter Household ⟩
November 12, 2020, by Liz

Life Hacks Living in LA

As OT students it’s so easy to get caught up with work, class assignments, and other responsibilities. It’s so easy that we forget how important it is to take care of ourselves and take some time to engage in meaningful occupations! This year I have had the pleasure of living with two of my best friends, Lorelei and Renee. Over the course of being in this program, we’ve really gotten to know each other. I don’t know what I would do without them! I thought it would be cool to share some pictures of some of the meaningful occupations we’ve been engaging in to relieve some stress and spend some time together as a family.

Renee just recently got a sewing machine, and so of course Lorelei put her to work! Here she is attempting to professionally hem Lorelei’s skirt. So yes, we now have our very own seamstress in the house! The only downside is that her work may take more than 10 business days to complete.

As a kid, I used to love playing outside with my friends. Whenever I think about my childhood I think about running around the apartment complex and racing around in scooters with my friends. My elementary school used to have a thing called AR (not sure if that is still a thing), in which we would have to accumulate a certain number of points by reading books. I really did not like reading books as a kid because I loved being outside playing with my neighbors. As I got older reading became more enjoyable of course. So, now I have decided to read the entire Harry Potter series, which I never read as a kid!

Here’s Renee taking a little study break. We started working on a 1,000 piece puzzle as a household, but I have to admit most of the work was done by Lorelei and Renee. There are way too many shades of blue, green, and white in there. I did cheer them on from the couch, though!

One of the most beautiful parts of living in East Los Angeles — delicious food everywhere! I woke up early before class to buy us some tamales so we could enjoy a little breakfast. Yum!

And lastly, here we are enjoying a little paint night! Lorelei was painting something for her mom, I was painting a gift for my little sister’s birthday, and Renee was painting something for her room. We were playing holiday music because both Renee and Lorelei will be going back to the east coast for the holidays. And Maxy is supervising of course.

These pictures bring me so much joy! I am so lucky to have the best roomies in the world. As an OT student in our program you can expect to receive a great education and learn from some of the best OTs out there. But, you can also expect to develop beautiful friendships with some amazing people!

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A Little Piece of Normalcy ⟩
August 10, 2020, by Liz

Living in LA

The end of the summer semester is finally here, which means ahhhh it’s time for finals! It has been a rollercoaster ride switching to remote learning and adjusting to the changes that had to be made to our school curriculum. As wonderful as it is to learn from home and wear pajamas all day, there’s so much that I miss from being back on campus. My friends have been at the top of my “what I miss the most about being on campus” list.

As I previously shared with you all, after switching to remote learning I temporarily moved back home with my family in Santa Ana. Prior to all the changes made, my friends and I were lucky enough to find a unit that had enough space for the four of us to live together — our dream come true! Although we were really excited about finally getting the chance to be roomies, two of my friends went back home out of state and didn’t know if it would be the best idea to move back given that there was a chance a lot of what we would be doing would be done online.

After much thinking, they decided to move back to LA and we were able to continue on as planned! The main reason we decided to move forward with our plan was because we were all struggling to stay focused and get academic work done back home. When living close to campus there’s so many places to study like coffee shops, the library, or even outside on the patio. But with stay at home orders and trying to contribute towards getting everyone safe, those spaces where we were all able to focus and get work done were no longer accessible. So, moving back to LA with people who are working towards the same goal makes it a little easier to stay focused and get work done. I should mention that in order to keep everyone safe, we all decided to schedule COVID-19 tests to make sure we were okay before getting too comfortable with each other. Fortunately, we are all healthy and happy to be living under the same roof!

The move was stressful to say the least, and we had to switch gears and get into study mode. Although we’ve spent about 80% of our time studying and working on getting final projects turned in, we’ve made a little time to have some fun. Here’s a little bit of what I’ve done this past week:

Although it’s been stressful getting settled in and starting finals week I am so excited that I get to end the summer studying with my favorite study buddies. I also wanted to share that even though it’s important to make time for studying and getting school work done, getting some time in for yourself and taking a break is just as important. Stay tuned to see how we transform our apartment into the perfect study space!

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