Tag Archives: viewpoint

college, Food, L.A. Life, New Experience

Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA!

By Chelsea Pelchat

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is by taking a deep dive on Yelp and trying out as many food places as my bank account allows for. From frequenting late-night taco stands to celebrating the end of midterms with Korean BBQ, exploring the LA food scene has been a major highlight of my college experience. Since the start of my time at USC, I’ve been avidly documenting my favorite dining experiences in a list on my phone’s Notes app. I wanted to share a few highlights from this list:  

Photo by The Creativv on Unsplash

Brunch/ Lunch:

  • Yeastie Boys Bagels: If you’re like me and you love grabbing a good old fashioned bagel for brunch, this place is for you. The bagel trucks are located on Sunset Blvd, Ventura Pl, and Melrose Pl between the hours of 8 A.M. and 2 P.M. I promise this one’s worth getting out of bed for. From what I’ve seen, the two most popular orders are the “Game Over” (consists of a cheddar bagel with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, and jalapeno spread), and my personal favorite, the “Lox Deluxe” (consists of a sesame bagel with smoked salmon, tomato, red onion, capers, and a scallion spread). Be sure to check out their Twitter for updates on hours and location!
  • Joan’s on Third: Although a bit far from campus, this family-owned space has a short rib sandwich that is to DIE for! I had been hearing about Joan’s for months before I stopped by, and let me just say that it truly lived up to my expectations. During the pandemic, Joan’s had a great to-go order system set up with plenty of outdoor seating as well. Besides the short rib sandwich, other popular items from their menu include the Chinese chicken salad and BLT.
Photo by Arturo Rey on Unsplash
Continue reading Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA! →
Food, L.A. Life, music, Sight Seeing

Local Los Angeles Hotspots Outside of Downtown

By Melissa Kitagawa

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

As a person who has lived in Los Angeles her entire life, I have gotten the chance to explore the city for years. For those who have only recently arrived in LA to attend USC, they might not be as knowledgable about the best spots to visit. Here are some places that stand out to me that I still continue to visit every year.

The Grove

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Everyone in Los Angeles has been to The Grove at least once. Most of the stores are more high-end, but many people just go because of the bright lights and warm atmosphere. However, if you go, the best time to go is at night when the views are the prettiest. My personal favorite part is the farmer’s market. They have cheap, tasty food and the best crepes.

Top of the World

This is a very local secret. It is hidden in the hills of Pacific Palisades. Not many people know of this place and I just found out about it recently. It does take a bit of a drive to get here, but it’s worth it. It is essentially a lookout point you can hike up to, and it gives you the best Los Angeles view possible. From here you can see the entire LA coastline and at night, the view is even more stunning.

Griffith Observatory

Photo by Pedro Marroquin on Unsplash

The Griffith Observatory is a very popular site to visit. They have a variety of shows where they project the night sky on a screen on the ceiling indoors and you can learn about the night sky and our planet. However, many people enjoy coming here to see the views of Los Angeles from high up and also to enjoy their hiking trails.

Sawtelle Blvd.

Sawtelle is a street in LA, and if you walk from Sawtelle and Pico to Sawtelle and La Grange, there are tons of popular Asian stores. Many locals visit this area for some of the city’s best ramen, lots of boba choices, and yummy sweets. It is open very late, so if you want some midnight ramen, this is the perfect place to go. One particularly popular place here is Bsweet. They have warm doughnuts filled with ice cream and all different kinds of warm fudge.

Culver City Stairs

Photo by Adam Rhodes on Unsplash

The official name of this spot is the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, but locals call it the Culver City Stairs. This is another popular scenic view; however, most people come here to exercise. Visitors range from children to adults to whole teams who come here to exercise. The individual stairs are tall and the climb is long, but once you’re at the top, you can take a rewarding picture to document your achievement.

Whichever places you choose to visit, I am confident you will be able to capture some great photos and some great memories. Take advantage of your time in Los Angeles by immersing yourself in the local experience, and I promise you won’t regret it!

Featured Image by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

Melissa is a recent graduate who studied Business Administration. She graduated high school as valedictorian and spent her summer before college volunteering at the 2017 Summer Taipei Universade. She is half Japanese and half Taiwanese but has lived in Los Angeles her whole life. Every year she visits friends and family in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin fluently. Her interests include playing basketball, traveling, and socializing.

Adult Responsibilities, Advice, Identity, lifestyle, Outlook, seasonal, student life

Rediscover Your Future Prospects

By Iric Hong

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

With the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic still relatively unknown, it has become harder and harder to predict what the future will hold. With that in mind, it is equally difficult to plan ahead, whether your plans are for schooling, job prospects, or even something as personal as one’s own health concerns. Especially with the current status quo of American politics, it is very difficult to formulate a game plan to tackle future obstacles. While the future has in the past been a lit street with diverging paths, this same future is now a foggy street with low visibility and there is no one to rely on but yourself and your ingenuity. How can you take advantage of the resources around you to light your path?

Some things that I have found that are of great value during this time did not seem like an option for me during less stressful times. But now that most outside activities are prohibited, the only thing people can do is utilize the online resources we have at our disposal. The first thing that I found very helpful in relighting my future path was Linkedin Learning. Previously known as Lynda, this has been a resource that was available to anyone who seeks it; the only issue was the amount of time we had on our hands. Now things are different, and we do have the time to manually relight the path to our desired future. 

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Linkedin Learning is available through your USC account and comes with a myriad of courses that ranges from business skills to creative design, and even more technical computer skills. So whether you had your eyes set on one specific goal or you had no tangible goal yet, there are many concepts that can be explored on Linkedin Learning. As a matter of fact, the resources on the platform could very easily help you narrow down your desired path. I, for example, had the opportunity to explore various types of computer programs that I would have not had the opportunity to explore from just my core courses alone. Therefore, not only can you find new resources to explore personal interests, but this tool can also help give you some direction and skills to follow your desired career path.

Continue reading Rediscover Your Future Prospects →