Tag Archives: new experience

Adult Responsibilities, New Experience, Outlook, Travel, USC

Post Graduation Plans

By Anna Ngo

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

“Are you excited to graduate?” This is always the first question I get asked when I tell people I’m a senior. I never know how to answer this question because I am filled with so many different emotions, and it is hard to pinpoint one simple way to describe all the things I am feeling. On the one hand, of course I’m super excited to graduate! I will no longer have to take exams and I’ll have the freedom to do other things with my time. On the other hand,  I’m sad to leave as well. Becoming an adult comes with more responsibilities, like paying bills and working constantly. But as I reflect back on my past four years at the best university in the world, the most resounding thought I have is this: I can confidently say that coming to USC has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I don’t regret a thing.

Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash

I remember the one piece of advice that all of the older students I’ve spoken to during my time at USC gave me: to enjoy college to the fullest and take advantage of everything before it’s too late. I feel that I have really taken that to heart and made sure to try and explore new things. One of those new things was studying abroad. Studying abroad was one of the biggest highlights of my undergraduate years. It allowed me to discover a part of myself that I didn’t know much about. I’ve always wanted to travel but I never knew I was capable of it, because it seemed too expensive and there were so many variables to consider. Fast forward four years and I am already planning a backpacking trip in Europe for the summer after I graduate. Traveling for two months will not be cheap, but there are so many ways to experience a new country while saving money. Instead of staying at nice hotels, there are many cheap hostels in all the big cities that allow you to sleep with other backpackers in a smaller accommodation. Couch surfing is another way to save, as this option is usually free. Locals host the people who come to their hometown from around the world by allowing them to sleep on their couch. I believe this is a great way to learn the culture while making lifelong friends.

Continue reading Post Graduation Plans →
college, Cultural Exchange, culture, Language, New Experience, Outlook, Travel

Studying Abroad in Paris

By Autumn Palen

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

Prior to 2020, during one of my spring semesters at USC as an undergraduate student, I studied abroad in Paris and it was a fully immersive experience. All of my classes were in French, the family I lived with was French, and wouldn’t you know it, quite a lot of people I passed on the streets were keen on speaking French. Those handful of months were wonderful. My teachers were all angels, the city was gorgeous, and although I had a relationship dynamic with my host family akin to Harry Potter’s relationship with the Dursleys, I’d say that overall I enjoyed my experience.

First of all, the city is gorgeous. Ridiculously so. I remember my first night there—awake since 5 am, taking a post-dinner trip to the Louvre, walking from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, and stopping mid-journey for wine and cheese. The mix of sleep deprivation, jet-lag, numbness from the cold, and walking nearly all day culminated into the sensation that I was drifting through a dream. I couldn’t have actually been there; it was all too much. I thought there was no way this tiny, ovular, romantic city was going to be my home for the next fifteen weeks.

Wine and cheese from a local cafe in Paris, taken from @autumn.palen on Instagram

But it was my home. Every weekday, I took the metro to class. Although admitting my adoration for the Paris Metro garnered weird looks from actual Parisians (mainly because of the general odor permeating the trains/platforms, as well as the occasional muzak cover of Ne Me Quitte Pas), I held strong that I loved the public transportation system. It was so efficient, arriving every 3 minutes, maybe 6 in the worst-case scenario (I understand that Los Angeles is a much larger, more car-based city, but I couldn’t help but notice how much more efficient the Paris Metro was than the LA one).

Photo of the Paris Metro taken by @autumn.palen on Instagram
Continue reading Studying Abroad in Paris →
Asian American, Cultural Exchange, culture, Family, Identity, New Experience

What It Means to be Asian American

By Sarah Ta

[3 minute read]

My identity has always been something that I could never quite pin down. When I was younger, I believed that I knew myself inside and out, and thought I could predict what my future self would be like. As I’ve gotten older and just a little bit wiser, I can say for certain that my past self was wrong. I am constantly changing and even if I continue to use the same terms to describe myself, those terms hold an entirely different meaning to me now than they did five years ago. One of those terms is “Asian American”.

While I have always known that I was Asian and identified as such, I didn’t feel the need to specify that I was also American. After all, I knew I was born in the United States and since most of my elementary classmates were as well, it was just something we all accepted. It wasn’t until I moved the summer before 7th grade when the need to specify that I was American came about. I went from a predominantly Asian school to a predominantly Hispanic/Latino school and suddenly, me being American was no longer a given. It took several months of being questioned about whether I was born here and what my ethnicity was before things finally settled down and everyone moved on with their lives. However, their questioning left me more unsure of my own identity than I would have liked to admit. Just identifying as Asian no longer felt adequate enough, but with my limited vocabulary and knowledge, I pushed my small identity crisis aside and continued on with my carefree middle school days.

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

It wasn’t until high school that I discovered the term Asian American. By then, my little identity crisis had been almost forgotten. I don’t remember how I came across the term, but once I did, it was like a light bulb had lit up inside my head. That was the term that I had been unconsciously searching for since middle school, and finding it was like finding the missing piece to my identity puzzle. While I continue to identify as Asian American, the meaning of that term has changed since then. Being Asian American used to mean that while my ancestry was Asian, I was born here and so that made me American. There was a clear line between those two categories, but I just happened to be in both. Now, I realize that there is no line. Being Asian American is a melting pot of many different experiences and it is not something that can be easily separated into nice, neat categories. Even though it can be a confusing mess at times, it is one that I have never been more proud to be a part of, and every day I am learning more about my culture and how my identity shapes who I am.

Featured Image by Christina Boemio on Unsplash

Sarah is an undergraduate student from the San Gabriel Valley studying GeoDesign. In her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring L.A., trying new foods, and of course, meeting new people. She can speak conversational Cantonese, and is currently learning Mandarin. Even though her Chinese is limited, that doesn’t stop her from striking up a conversation with other international students.