Finding Your Place in the USC Community

By Lindsey Tanita

When I first stepped onto the USC campus, I wasn’t excited, I wasn’t optimistic, I was scared. I worried about how I was going to make friends in this big campus full of people I didn’t know. I worried how I would survive without my childhood friends that had been by my side since I was five years old. I was nervous about living on my own and leaving my comfort zone and the town where I had built my identity.

In hindsight, all these fears were unfounded because I soon found out that USC is a family. I don’t know if it is our incredible support from our alumni, our mutual dislike for UCLA, our undying support our football team, or in a common suffering in our academic studies, but there is an undeniable bond that unites us all together as USC students. No matter what club or organization you belong to, you are apart of something bigger here at USC, it’s just something in the air.

I would never consider myself that good at basketball, but when I joined the women’s club basketball team, I was proud to represent my school at every tournament we played. Being apart of a team, made me feel like I belonged in this school that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Even though it is just one small aspect of my life here at USC, it is something I enjoy and look forward to on a weekly basis. It allowed me to meet people who are involved with very different things on campus that I would have never met if I had never joined and it is a great source of exercise. It is the little things that have enabled me to call USC my home away from home.

I would highly encourage everyone to join a club or organization, just as a way to meet new people and give you something to do. It helps you get involved with things that may or may not be related to your studies and just makes your all-around experience here at USC, one of excitement, joy, friends, and without fear. Find your own smaller family within the larger Trojan Community! Fight on and have a great time here at USC, the best school in the world.

Featured image is from the USC Women’s Basketball Club Facebook page

Lindsey is a sophomore double majoring in Psychology and Law, History, and Culture. She is from Culver City and enjoys playing basketball, going to the beach, and going out to eat. On the weekends, she likes to go watch her sister play basketball for the UCSD women’s basketball team.