Category Archives: Advice

Goal Setting During a Virtual Semester

By Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

When I first learned that the fall semester at USC would be largely conducted online, I was disappointed and confused. I couldn’t stop thinking about my future plans and goals, and how this would be a major obstacle in my life and happiness. But as time passed, I began to realize that my personal concerns, although valid, did not consider the fact that everyone is experiencing problems similar to mine, all around the world. Adapting to a new way of taking class and working in the fall will surely be a struggle for many, and I have compiled a couple of tips to help keep perspective and stay focused during this unusual semester.

1. Wake up at a consistent time in the morning
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Managing your own schedule at home can be challenging, especially for those (like me) who aren’t morning people. However, disciplining yourself by making a daily routine can make you a lot more productive throughout the day. If your earliest online class is at 10:00, for example, set your alarm for 9:00, and wake up at that time every day (even the days where you don’t have class until later). If you maintain a consistent morning routine, you can use that time in the morning to prepare yourself for your day or just work on assignments when you don’t have morning classes. Even though it can be hard to force yourself to keep a consistent sleep schedule, without on campus life and social activities, it should be easier to go to bed at a set time every night.

2. Take breaks from looking at a screen
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With classes and activities being primarily virtual this semester, it can get exhausting staring at a screen for so many hours in the day, and the blue light exposure can interfere with your sleep. Block out time in your day where you are doing things that don’t involve looking at a screen, and when you do those things, leave your phone or laptop in another room. Some examples are taking a walk, spending time talking to family or friends you are quarantining with, cooking, or reading. If you have a lot of homework, try to find alternative ways to work, such as taking your work outside or printing out articles or materials you have to read instead of reading them on your computer. 

3. Make time to talk with friends 
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If you are quarantining in the fall semester and have little to no time to socialize in person with your friends, you may start to feel lonely and isolated. This can lead you to spend more time on social media or texting friends, which can make you stressed because it takes away from class and work time. The best way to curb those feelings of loneliness is to schedule a regular time to talk to your friends. You could schedule a weekly Zoom call with a group of friends, or plan to call a friend one-on-one at a certain time every week. 

It is understandable to feel stressed during this time, but keeping a positive outlook and working towards personal goals can greatly mitigate that stress. Adapting to change is never easy, but if you stay on track in your life and in your work you will feel a sense of accomplishment and, by the time quarantine is over, may have succeeded in finishing some important projects or fulfilling certain goals. 

If you are in search of a guide to maintain your wellness and personal well-being, Mindful USC offers classes and guided meditations which are now occurring through Zoom: http://mindfuluscstg.wpengine.com

If you are in need of professional help, USC counseling services are available to all students: https://studenthealth.usc.edu/counseling/

Featured Image by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

Natalie Grace Sipula is a rising sophomore studying Philosophy, Politics, and Law with a Spanish minor and plans to pursue a career in criminal or immigration law.  She is from Cleveland, OH and is a Presidential Scholar studying in Thematic Option. Natalie is an active member of Phi Alpha Delta (Director of Membership), QuestBridge Scholars (University Relations Chair), and Grupo Folklórico de USC. Growing up she was dedicated to theatre, including studying and performing at Cleveland Play House. She is a volunteer camp counselor with Mi Pueblo Culture Camp in Cleveland. Since arriving in Los Angeles she has enjoyed volunteering with Angel City Pit Bulls animal shelter and in her free time enjoys reading, writing, and going to the beach.

Panic in Times of Crisis: What is it and How can we stop it?

Richard Petrosyan

[4 minute read]

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

Note: This article is the fruit of my analysis and my analysis only. By no means do I wish to come off as an authority on these matters, but rather as a blog writer attempting to spark debate on relevant life experiences.

How often in the last few months did you see people panicking, washing their hands frantically, cleaning surfaces of things that don’t even belong to them, yelling that the end of the world is near, or preparing as though we were under nuclear attack? To some of us, these are precautions. To others, these are scripts for a comedic movie. Panic has posed itself as one of the major psychological refuges of Americans (and quite a few people in other countries, as well) in the face of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Here, I will seek to understand what exactly panic is and how we can alleviate this inherently adverse aspect of human psychology.

I define panic as the psychological and physical state of a living being that is based on the fear of an external entity or occurrence as a perceived threat to your interests, or in more extreme cases, to your own life. Accordingly, I define panic as the counter-reaction to lack of stability: we humans prefer planning and expecting the future; we like to know what lies ahead and take steps to succeed in our endeavors accordingly. Having this life stability reassures us. In some cases, we prefer things not to change whatsoever: this is what I call “love for the status quo.” However, as the saying goes, nothing in the universe is eternal except change. This means that, at any point in space and time, there is a nearly 100% certainty that some unforeseen element will disturb the established order of things. When people see that image of stability evaporate, their safety net erodes, and fear secures its nest in their minds. We begin taking precautions, avoid doing anything risky, close doors literally and figuratively, think about dangers and potential solutions frantically, sweat all the time, etc. I would argue this to be a tendency to protect oneself as an individual.

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Where do these tendencies come from? I’d simply say: evolution. Since the dawn of time, when we perceived a threat to our survival (or that of our loved ones), we adapted by entering into a state of excitement and anxiety in order to acknowledge and combat the danger. However, the ways we protect ourselves have evolved over time, simultaneously with the nature of the threats. Prehistoric men didn’t fear that they’d get a bad grade and wouldn’t get into a good grad school just like we don’t fear now that we will be eaten by animals or other humans.

I will now apply this human instinct to the coronavirus pandemic. In the last few months, people have feared touching each other or approaching each other too closely. On national scales, some of them have even staunchly advocated for stay-at-home orders, border closing, furloughs from work, online classes, and so on. Governments have issued guidelines that push people away from each other (more famously referred to as social distancing guidelines) to avoid the threat of contamination by the virus. It appears that, in the fight or flight response associated with panic, most humans are choosing “flight.” To be fair, it’s a bit difficult to physically fight a microorganism. However, according to our more civilized way of fighting, the “fight” part against the microbe was taken up by scientists attempting to find cures as well as vaccines against the virus.

There is much ado -is it about nothing? That’s a matter of opinion. But how did panic even occur in the first place? The first answer that comes to my mind is media coverage. Journalism is a very powerful tool, in that news outlets are often used by people as a connection to the world at large. So, whatever people read, they believe. And the media certainly spreads alarming information. How much of it is fake news? I won’t delve into that question, but I’d keep in mind that this is a question worth asking. On the positive end, the spread of panic alarmed people to protect vulnerable populations. On the negative end, it shut down the world’s most powerful economies and altered our lifestyles significantly, and some may argue unnecessarily.

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The Power of Creating Our Spaces

By Jonah Vroegop

[3 ½ minute read]

Over the last few months, the world has been in a state of unpredictability – that’s no secret. International travel is shut down, stores and restaurants are only accessible online. Museums, public spaces, and universities are closed around the world. But, we’re all still here, aren’t we? Being pushed indoors or to distanced, outdoor spaces has been a challenge for myself and many others. Although we can still have picnics on the lawn and we can still get groceries, we can’t do a whole lot more. Even work and class, which are usually a nice excuse to get out and get your day moving in a productive way, are largely remote. This has caused an ongoing struggle for me of deciding what to do with my day and how to be creative. It is hard to motivate myself to be productive in both school/work and also the personal projects that I have had on my bucket list. So what can we do about it?

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Be strict about where you spend your time. As humans, we are naturally inclined to interact with our environment and to respond to it through our behavior and attitudes. Therefore, by changing our environment and our attitude toward it, we can force ourselves to behave in ways that are conducive to productivity! Research shows that the places we spend our time are a critical part of our memories and the experiences we have at a biological level. So when we spend most of our time relaxing in bed or on our favorite chair, we associate these places with relaxation – just like how we may associate the classroom with focused attention or associate the kitchen with eating and cooking. So to be more productive, I always do work sitting at a table or at a place where I won’t be tempted to do other things. Avoid doing work or browsing the internet in bed at all costs and try to save getting in bed for when you actually want to sleep.

Try a new technique! Keeping a schedule is important so that we can get to bed at a reasonable time and avoid those moments of “Oh jeez, I messed up” when you see the sun rising before going to bed. For both keeping a schedule and for productivity, I recommend using the Miracle Morning technique. This technique states that if we get up early, feed our body and mind, and achieve some small things, then the rest of the day seems to just fall into place. Each morning is an opportunity to start the day with a new attitude and when I follow a routine like “Miracle Morning”, it’s easy to find myself doing work without even having to think about it because I like to keep up the “streak” of getting things done. Don’t want to start that project you’ve been putting off? Haven’t been able to start reading that book you bought? Start by giving yourself easy tasks at home like doing laundry, cleaning your room, or writing in a journal to kickstart your motivation. Making a daily To-Do list always helps me, in addition to incentivizing myself with something to get me out of bed (a cup of coffee or tea). Possibly the best advantage of this technique is being awake and productive while the world is calm. Early in the morning the streets are quiet, the weather is cool, and our mind is fresh.

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