Freshman Year at USC!
Over the course of my freshman year, I have learned more than I ever could have anticipated. I feel that I have consistently made discoveries about myself, about the things I am most passionate about, and about how truly diverse, driven, and complex people truly are. Vague and cliché as those statements are, they truly encapsulate the past nine months of new experiences, friends, and challenges. To bring a bit more specificity to these broad statements, I've put together a few top 5 lists to sum up my freshman year at USC.
Top 5 moments:
1) Riding on the freeway in a double decker bus with no seatbelts: Within the first few weeks of school, there was a Cardinal and Gold event for students to take a bus tour of LA. As one might expect of a touristy bus tour, this was a double decker bus, so the seating was open air and up high. So, you can imagine our surprise when this tour bus merged onto the freeway, teetering uncomfortably to one side in the process. From there, we zoomed down the freeway, the wind literally blasting us in the face. As the wind turned my hair into a blinding frenzy, I realized that this was the most bizarre and thrilling moment of my life.
2) Singing and dancing along with the B-52's in concert: The B-52's performed on campus for Family Weekend, so, naturally, the front row consisted of 50 year old women having the absolute time of their lives. I'm basically a grandmother at heart, so I was as well.
3) Spying on the red carpet for the Golden Globes from the top of a parking structure. This one speaks for itself.
4) Doing quirky things in student short films: In one student film I acted in, I was given a donut and told to eat it as quickly and messily as possible. In another, I was supposed to be on Maury. In another, I spent about half my screen time dancing to the Spice Girls and drinking water out of a massive wine bottle. It was amazing.
5) Seeing two people in giant dinosaur costumes walk around campus and yell "attack" at people. It was awesome. It basically restored my faith in humanity.
Top 7 overall experiences:
(Okay, so I'm cheating with this one by doing 7, but whatever.)
1) Building Government/ Residential Student Government: This year, I had the privilege of serving as the Social Justice and Inclusion Chair of Parkside Arts and Humanities Residential College (where I'll also be an RA next year. Yay!) This taught me a great deal about social justice and leadership that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Aside from that, I truthfully just loved the people I got to work with on my Building Government, on the Social Justice and Inclusion board, and within all of Residential Student Government.
2) Alohomora: Playing Genevieve Easton in Alohomora was my first experience doing immersive theatre, and the fact that the narrative took place in the Harry Potter universe made it all the more enthralling.
3)Artemis: This past semester, I was lucky enough to earn a spot on the e-board of Artemis, a performing and fine arts organization dedicated to intersectional feminism. We were involved in the making of a ton of awesome projects and threw some incredibly fun fundraising parties (including one that was early 2000s themed.)
4) PACURH: In November, I had the privilege of representing USC at the Pacific Affiliate of College and University Resident Halls (PACURH) at the University of Oregon ('Sgo ducks). I got to teach a leadership workshop and interact with some truly amazing leaders from across the west coast.
5) BNT Fall One Act Festival: Getting to assistant direct Fruit Box and go through the process of adapting a new work was both informative and fun!
6) Imagining America: Volunteering at Vermont Avenue Elementary School gave me the opportunity to meet a group of some of the sweetest and most energetic kids I've ever worked with.
7) West Side Story: Being on deck crew for this show was a blast!
Top 5 reads:
1) How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel
2) Water By the Spoonful by Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes
3) Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams
4) In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
5) Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
Top 5 celebrity sightings:
1) Seeing A Bright Room Called Day: Revisited with Tony Kushner sitting two rows behind me
2) Seeing David Henry Hwang talk to a group of high school students in the lobby of the Ahmanson Theatre at Soft Power
3) Seeing the original Riff and Bernardo (Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris) from afar after opening night of West Side Story
4) Seeing Mark Hamill (yes. Mark Hamill.) walk out of the Bing Theatre at the closing performance of West Side Story
5) Seeing Lester Holt speak in Annenberg. Favorite quote from the evening: (While speaking about the importance of checking your news sources) "If your mother says she loves you, check yourself"
Honorable mentions: Rhetta (from Parks and Rec), Judge Judy (at a debate in Annenberg), Lisa Kudrow, the principal from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, potentially seeing Viola Davis from behind (since How to Get Away With Murder films on campus)
Top 5 new places discovered:
1) Little Tokyo. Ramen. Karaoke. Mochi ice cream. Adorable shops. Lively atmosphere. 10/10.
2) Griffith Observatory. So call me a basic tourist, but this place is actually magic.
3) The Last Bookstore. Every book lover's dream come true.
4) Urth Cafe. The cutest little brunch place in the most hipster area of town.
5) The bookstacks at Doheny Library. I like books, remember? I walked in and involuntarily produced a small gasp.
Top 5 lessons learned:
1) I am where I am supposed to be. The start of freshman year (and, truthfully, all of Fall 2017 semester) now feels like a lifetime ago. Traveling to college in Los Angeles from Atlanta brought with it its own set of challenges. However, once the initial adjustment period subsided, I quickly realized that I was in the right place for me.
2) Calm down. I grew up a stringent perfectionist, and my neurosis has started to settle since being at USC. The easy-going attitude of the west coast has saved me a lot of unnecessary stress.
3) Be extra proactive. Although this is an attitude I tried to employ in high school as well, I've really improved it since entering a college environment. Growing up rather shy, I never realized how open and eager people were to work with you if you made a genuine effort to show interest in what they were doing. This goes for professors, employers, student groups, and beyond.
4) Sometimes people won't be a match, and it's okay. No matter how nice you are to someone, they may not return your eagerness to get to know them or, in some cases, to help them. Some people simply won't click with you and it's best not to take it to heart.
5) Admit your mistakes openly, This goes especially for matters of social justice and inclusion, but can be easily applied to other areas of one's academic or social life. If you say something that is inadvertently non-inclusive or inaccurate, being defensive when you're called out is not the move.
If you've made it to the end, thank you for listening to me ramble about my experiences. Happy summer, everyone!
Top 5 moments:
1) Riding on the freeway in a double decker bus with no seatbelts: Within the first few weeks of school, there was a Cardinal and Gold event for students to take a bus tour of LA. As one might expect of a touristy bus tour, this was a double decker bus, so the seating was open air and up high. So, you can imagine our surprise when this tour bus merged onto the freeway, teetering uncomfortably to one side in the process. From there, we zoomed down the freeway, the wind literally blasting us in the face. As the wind turned my hair into a blinding frenzy, I realized that this was the most bizarre and thrilling moment of my life.
2) Singing and dancing along with the B-52's in concert: The B-52's performed on campus for Family Weekend, so, naturally, the front row consisted of 50 year old women having the absolute time of their lives. I'm basically a grandmother at heart, so I was as well.
3) Spying on the red carpet for the Golden Globes from the top of a parking structure. This one speaks for itself.
4) Doing quirky things in student short films: In one student film I acted in, I was given a donut and told to eat it as quickly and messily as possible. In another, I was supposed to be on Maury. In another, I spent about half my screen time dancing to the Spice Girls and drinking water out of a massive wine bottle. It was amazing.
5) Seeing two people in giant dinosaur costumes walk around campus and yell "attack" at people. It was awesome. It basically restored my faith in humanity.
Top 7 overall experiences:
(Okay, so I'm cheating with this one by doing 7, but whatever.)
1) Building Government/ Residential Student Government: This year, I had the privilege of serving as the Social Justice and Inclusion Chair of Parkside Arts and Humanities Residential College (where I'll also be an RA next year. Yay!) This taught me a great deal about social justice and leadership that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Aside from that, I truthfully just loved the people I got to work with on my Building Government, on the Social Justice and Inclusion board, and within all of Residential Student Government.
2) Alohomora: Playing Genevieve Easton in Alohomora was my first experience doing immersive theatre, and the fact that the narrative took place in the Harry Potter universe made it all the more enthralling.
3)Artemis: This past semester, I was lucky enough to earn a spot on the e-board of Artemis, a performing and fine arts organization dedicated to intersectional feminism. We were involved in the making of a ton of awesome projects and threw some incredibly fun fundraising parties (including one that was early 2000s themed.)
4) PACURH: In November, I had the privilege of representing USC at the Pacific Affiliate of College and University Resident Halls (PACURH) at the University of Oregon ('Sgo ducks). I got to teach a leadership workshop and interact with some truly amazing leaders from across the west coast.
5) BNT Fall One Act Festival: Getting to assistant direct Fruit Box and go through the process of adapting a new work was both informative and fun!
6) Imagining America: Volunteering at Vermont Avenue Elementary School gave me the opportunity to meet a group of some of the sweetest and most energetic kids I've ever worked with.
7) West Side Story: Being on deck crew for this show was a blast!
Top 5 reads:
1) How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel
2) Water By the Spoonful by Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes
3) Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams
4) In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
5) Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
Top 5 celebrity sightings:
1) Seeing A Bright Room Called Day: Revisited with Tony Kushner sitting two rows behind me
2) Seeing David Henry Hwang talk to a group of high school students in the lobby of the Ahmanson Theatre at Soft Power
3) Seeing the original Riff and Bernardo (Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris) from afar after opening night of West Side Story
4) Seeing Mark Hamill (yes. Mark Hamill.) walk out of the Bing Theatre at the closing performance of West Side Story
5) Seeing Lester Holt speak in Annenberg. Favorite quote from the evening: (While speaking about the importance of checking your news sources) "If your mother says she loves you, check yourself"
Honorable mentions: Rhetta (from Parks and Rec), Judge Judy (at a debate in Annenberg), Lisa Kudrow, the principal from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, potentially seeing Viola Davis from behind (since How to Get Away With Murder films on campus)
Top 5 new places discovered:
1) Little Tokyo. Ramen. Karaoke. Mochi ice cream. Adorable shops. Lively atmosphere. 10/10.
2) Griffith Observatory. So call me a basic tourist, but this place is actually magic.
3) The Last Bookstore. Every book lover's dream come true.
4) Urth Cafe. The cutest little brunch place in the most hipster area of town.
5) The bookstacks at Doheny Library. I like books, remember? I walked in and involuntarily produced a small gasp.
Top 5 lessons learned:
1) I am where I am supposed to be. The start of freshman year (and, truthfully, all of Fall 2017 semester) now feels like a lifetime ago. Traveling to college in Los Angeles from Atlanta brought with it its own set of challenges. However, once the initial adjustment period subsided, I quickly realized that I was in the right place for me.
2) Calm down. I grew up a stringent perfectionist, and my neurosis has started to settle since being at USC. The easy-going attitude of the west coast has saved me a lot of unnecessary stress.
3) Be extra proactive. Although this is an attitude I tried to employ in high school as well, I've really improved it since entering a college environment. Growing up rather shy, I never realized how open and eager people were to work with you if you made a genuine effort to show interest in what they were doing. This goes for professors, employers, student groups, and beyond.
4) Sometimes people won't be a match, and it's okay. No matter how nice you are to someone, they may not return your eagerness to get to know them or, in some cases, to help them. Some people simply won't click with you and it's best not to take it to heart.
5) Admit your mistakes openly, This goes especially for matters of social justice and inclusion, but can be easily applied to other areas of one's academic or social life. If you say something that is inadvertently non-inclusive or inaccurate, being defensive when you're called out is not the move.
If you've made it to the end, thank you for listening to me ramble about my experiences. Happy summer, everyone!
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