Category Archives: Hobby

How to Choose Elective Classes at USC

By Chelsea Pelchat

As a college student, there are few things more treasured than finding a class that brings you pure joy. For me this semester, that class is my one unit beach volleyball course at USC. This class takes place on Santa Monica beach every Friday morning for two hours of competitive fun (or non-competitive if you prefer), and even counts for credit towards graduation! These are just some of the reasons why it has been such a highlight of my college experience.

As I approached my eighth and final semester, I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. Four years have flown by, and suddenly, I’m a second semester senior with only ten units left to take – two of which were free Dornsife elective units. Throughout my time at USC, people had always advised me to add an extra one unit course to my schedule, but I never took this advice seriously until now. I wish I had taken a class like this sooner, especially during more stressful times when the class could have a pleasant alternative in my schedule. After all, there’s nothing better than taking a few hours each week to unwind and learn a new sport while also meeting new people outside of your major. 

Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash

On the first day of class, we were given the opportunity to arrange carpool groups for our morning trips to Santa Monica beach. Since then, we’ve been meeting there to play beach volleyball every Friday. As a senior, it is refreshing and fun to be a part of a course where everyone is trying out a new sport for the first time, especially while balancing intensive upper-division major courses. The first hour of each class consists of warm-up exercises and drills, which helps us develop our skills for the matches to come. Then, we usually play king’s court, where teams of two compete against each other, and the losing team is replaced by the next team in line. It’s a fun way to practice and improve our skills, as well as take on a new hobby! 

After class, it’s common for us to stay on the beach and soak up some sun or even grab an acai bowl on the boardwalk with friends. This class adds a lifestyle component to my last semester’s course curriculum, and makes me appreciate the opportunity to build a well-rounded class schedule at USC.

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So far I’ve met a good amount of international students in this class – both undergraduate and graduate students. I highly encourage anyone who is considering a one unit physical education course to add it to their schedule without hesitation. Choose a sport that you’ve always wanted to learn or get better at and I promise you won’t regret it! 

Reflecting on my experience at USC, there are a few additional courses I would recommend taking. If you are pursuing a non-technical major but are interested in acquiring technical skills, ITP 115 Introduction to Python and ITP 249 Intro to Data Analytics are excellent choices. As someone majoring in international relations and global business with an interest in technology, these courses provided me with a solid foundation in the world of software and analytics. These skills are applicable in any field, and in today’s increasingly digitized workspace, having a grasp of basic programming and data analysis is a valuable asset for completing day-to-day tasks. Alongside technical courses, it’s also worth exploring courses outside of your major that can help you develop life skills. In my case, Introduction to Mindfulness was incredibly helpful in learning to manage stress and everyday challenges through mindfulness practices. This one-unit physical education course can be easily added to your regular 16-unit schedule.

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I strongly encourage you to take a diverse range of courses during your time at USC, both within and outside of your major. You never know which courses might have a profound impact on your personal and professional growth, and what new skills you may learn!

Featured Image by Jannes Glas on Unsplash

Chelsea is a senior at USC studying International Relations and Global Business. She recently returned from a semester abroad in the Netherlands. Chelsea was raised in a bilingual household in the Bay Area, having spent her first three years in Dalian, China. On campus, she’s held leadership positions such as being president of the USC Exchange Student Supporters, a research assistant in consumer behavior, and a TA for a core business class. In her free time, Chelsea loves going on hikes, attending live music events, and trying out new recipes.

A Hidden Gem of American Sitcoms

By Yingyi Lin

I am a big fan of sitcoms. I have watched many popular American sitcoms that have gained mass international popularity: Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Modern Family, just to name a few. Many times, these shows take place in American metropolitan cities such as New York City and Los Angeles, places which are interesting to international students like me. The hidden gem ranking the top of my favorite sitcom list, however, has to be Veep.

The HBO show Veep takes place in the capital city of America, Washington D.C. For many reasons, Veep is not as popular as other American shows in China, or in other countries where many international students come from. This mismatch of the popularity of the show with its quality is what makes me call it a hidden gem of American sitcoms. Veep has won many accolades for its quality: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the actress of America’s first woman president Selina Meyer featured in Veep, has won six Primetime Emmy Awards in a row. Her award acceptance speech was among the best, and she was even honored the 2018 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor for it.

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Before watching Veep, I did not realize that I indeed care so much about politics. As someone interested in learning about human nature, my favorite quote from Selina Meyer is “Politics is about people”. To me, caring about politics does not mean I care which party people stand for; instead, I am intrigued by why and how people make their choices. The interaction between Veep’s politicians, their followers, and their people is a vivid reality of humanity—one that is not only determined by one’s own personal desires but also deeply shaped by the context of one’s life. Veep is more than a political satire of the country’s many presidencies. To me, Veep is about American politics and the everyday life of people living in America. 

The most interesting thing about Veep is that Meyer, like all other politicians in the show, never discloses which party she stands for. Having witnessed the extreme political divide of America myself, the ambiguous political standpoint among Veepers to me exposes the common (and unfortunate) goal of both parties to win more voters. Politicians strive for what they want, but it is unclear whether these desires align with the desires of the people.

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As someone who studies family dynamics as part of my major, TV shows centering around family dynamics are my favorite, such as Downton Abbey, The Middle (the most underrated American family sitcom), and Modern Family. The family dynamics in Veep, however, are very dysfunctional. The characters of Veep relentlessly sacrifice their families for personal political achievement.

I have learned a lot from Veep, and a lot of what I have learned are things that I would not have consciously sought out. For instance, what happens if there is a tie in a presidential election? Veep hypothetically features this scenario, although a tie did happen (in the 1800 presidential election). Through Veep, I also came to know more about America’s lobbying culture and the polling industry—with the latter sharing similarities to my own research.  Veep also has a rich glossary of newly created words, most of which are used by characters in the show to insult other characters. Many of the jokes compound words to create these insults. ‘Voldemeyer’ is such an example, a nickname of Meyer by the media. It is interesting for me to see these nicknames are formed by multiple words in English, and I have learned many different cultural references from this.

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Give Tchaikovsky a Try

By Nikhita Datar

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

I’ve been surrounded by music for as long as I can remember. Whether it was in dance classes, family gatherings, or elementary school choral concerts, something about the infinite number of possibilities of different instruments and sounds that create music has always captivated me. By combining different fundamental frequencies and pitches from the music scale, you can create wildly different pieces of music, and I think that is amazing. 

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I began playing the violin at a really young age. I initially resented the idea of consistently practicing and standing still with good posture. Above all else, I was frustrated that I was unable to sound like Itzhak Perlman (a famous violinist) no matter how hard I tried. As I got older, I began playing in different orchestras and chamber groups, and the opportunity for me to engage with music in different formats and genres really helped me develop my love and passion for it. I was able to play some of the most iconic pieces of classical music from composers that I admire the most, and I was also able to build some of the most meaningful relationships of my life. During the school year, I would play in my school’s orchestra, play in chamber groups, take private lessons, and prepare for all kinds of concerts year-round. In the summers, I would attend different music programs such as Blue Lake Fine Arts or Interlochen Music Academy. What was originally an overwhelming task became a great passion of mine.

I think that I’ve always known since I picked up the violin for the first time that I wasn’t fully going to pursue a career in music. As much as I love classical music and the art of playing the violin, I knew that the pathway of being a violinist wasn’t the right fit for me. Even so, the notion of throwing away years of private lesson tuition and hard work wasn’t appealing to me. I knew I wanted to keep playing music for the rest of my life, even if this special hobby wasn’t necessarily monetarily profitable. I emphasize the notion of monetary benefits because playing an instrument does indeed have a number of other benefits. It can increase your cognitive abilities and decrease loss of memory. As you play music, there are a million things happening in your brain at once. You’re simultaneously checking your pitch and making sure to land on the right notes in the moment while also reading the key signature and time signature to play in the right key. You always have to read a few notes ahead to prepare yourself for upcoming wonky rhythms and accidentals (a note of a pitch that is not a member of the scale or mode dictated by the key signature, indicated by notation such as the sharp (♯), flat (♭), and natural (♮) symbols). 

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I don’t know if I would necessarily say that playing an instrument has made me smarter, but it certainly has improved my ability to think critically, and think fast. It’s also given me access to a greater community of people who share similar interests and have taught me a lot about the world we live in. Simply listening to classical music, rather than playing, can have so many benefits for your brain as well. I would highly recommend listening to or learning to play classical music to improve your cognitive function. And who knows, you might start to really like it! 

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