Tag Archives: college transition

Adult Responsibilities, L.A. Life, New Experience, Outlook, Sight Seeing, USC

Southern Hospitality

By Kalan Leaks

[3 minute read]

As I write this, I am realizing that this semester will be my final one as an undergraduate attending the University of Southern California. It’s been quite a journey from being a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed freshman to being a nonplussed engineer with bags under his eyes. Living in Los Angeles has taught me so much about the world as well as myself. Its many charms have won me over despite some of its flaws. However, as the time until graduation slips ever closer, my mind wanders towards my first home in the Southern part of the United States.

I was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, at 11:37 pm on October 28th.  Blytheville is on the northeastern side of Arkansas, so if you wanted to take a quick vacation, Tennessee and Missouri are only minutes away. Arkansas itself has a few interesting, noteworthy quirks. The state gem is a diamond due to the fact that Arkansas is the only state that produces diamonds, and it produces more rice than any other state. Also, for some reason, our state beverage is milk.

Photo by Christian Mack on Unsplash

Blytheville only has a population of around 15,000 people-that’s smaller than USC’s current undergraduate population and almost 3 times smaller than USC’s total student population! If that astonishes you, then you would be surprised to know that the neighboring town of Dell, Arkansas, has a population of only 250 people. Blytheville is a town that takes pride in agriculture and small town charm. You only have to drive a few minutes outside of town before riding along cotton or wheat fields at your side just waiting to be harvested. A benefit of living in a small town is that you get to know everyone in your community. It reminds me of an old television show that would air late at night called Cheers. The theme song would say, “…where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” To me, that’s Blytheville.

However, the downside to living in a small town is, ironically, that everyone in the community knows you and your family. If you happen to get into trouble at school, your family will probably hear the story from five different people by the time you get home. So, you have plenty of incentive to be on your best behavior.

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Adult Responsibilities, Advice, college, Food, New Experience

Cooking in College

By Brianneth Rocha

            There is a lot to prepare for as an incoming college student, or even as a current student. For those getting ready to live on campus, the list of things to do is endless. Whether it is preparing for your courses, purchasing appliances, assembling a grocery list, I would argue that the most important way to prepare is learning how to cook. I am currently a sophomore living in an apartment, which has taught me to be a little more independent. In particular, I have started learning how to cook, something which is much more complicated than it seems. I can tell you now that the first few attempts will not go perfectly, so don’t give up! I have provided some of the easiest recipes for any beginner. All of these recipes have ingredients that can be substituted to fit various diets. Now especially might be a good time to get a head start on practicing these simple recipes while we are all at home in quarantine. You can even ask your family to evaluate how good your cooking skills are by taste-testing!

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Adult Responsibilities, health, Outlook, USC

Taking Care of Yourself in College

By Ariana Chen

Sleep is one of the most important things for a college student. However, during midterm season, too often we end up studying and working until 5 am finishing up a project or cramming for a test only to barely make it to our 9 am lectures the next day. This can be even more difficult when we are creating our own schedules when working from home. Sometimes it seems worth it to sacrifice a night of good sleep to get some extra time in to study, but good sleep is extremely important for your health – for boosting your cognition and memory, improving your mood, and decreasing your chances of getting sick.

That being said, 70% of college students are sleep-deprived, and sometimes it really is hard to fit in a full eight hours of sleep. One way for me to make up for lack of sleep is by napping. A lot of my friends don’t nap because they fear they won’t be able to sleep at night or end up napping too long and wasting time. I’ve found that different kinds of naps are really beneficial to helping me stay awake and productive.

My favorite kind of nap is the power nap, a 10-20-minute nap that is perfect for a quick boost in alertness and energy. During a power nap, you body is in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), so it’s easier to get up and get back to work right after. A 60-minute nap is considered a short-term nap, and studies have shown that they are great for helping you remember facts, places you’ve been, and names and faces. A 90-minute nap is a REM nap. REM naps are best for improving creativity, emotional and procedural memory, and you’ll wake up feeling great because you will have gone through a full sleep cycle. The best time of day to nap is between 1pm-3pm, because not only is this the time of day when you experience post-lunch sleepiness and lower levels of alertness, napping at this time also is less likely to interfere with your normal sleep.

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