The struggle is real


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Welcome back to the realities of college life. Syllabus week is over and the not-so-missed weekly readings are upon the student body once again. The daily routine of coffee runs and running on little to no sleep is back in action. Though some of us students were hoping for just one extra week of rest, […]

Got a mug and a microwave? You’ve got a dessert!


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  Sitting in your dorm room one late night, you realize that you are suddenly craving a sweet midnight snack. But the problem is, the dining halls are now closed, you’re low on cash and the food in your mini fridge is all too unappealing. So what are you to do? Well if you have […]

With fall behind us, let’s spring forward


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My favorite time to be at USC — and in Los Angeles — is the spring. With the whole of spring semester 2015 upon us, it’s interesting to see how our fellow Trojans experience the season commonly associated with rebirth, flowers, baby animals and cleaning. At USC, it’s more common to associate spring with crop-tops, […]

Truffles in Assisi, Italy


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About two hours south of Florence by car is the picturesque hilltop city of Assisi in the region of Umbria. Though well known for the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi with the works of famous Italian artist, Giotto, I was especially eager to visit Assisi because of what it’s famous for producing: truffles. Not to get […]

La Prima Cena a Firenze


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  After 30+ hours of sleepless travel, we finally arrived in the land of endless plates of pasta and pizza — Italy. With orientation starting right as we stepped into the hotel, I felt like a kindergartener on the first day of school. The next day was the big day: meeting the Italian family I […]

Tea and biscuits


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Hello from across the pond! As of Monday, I have officially begun my semester study abroad in London. While everything right now is still very new, beautiful and British, I’m slowly adjusting to the cultural differences. Luckily, one of the first truly British cultural experiences I got to indulge in was one of the best […]

What study abroad means to me


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  So I’m a fifth-year undergrad, and I did it solely in order to participate in USC’s yearlong study abroad program in Santiago, Chile. I had put these plans aside during my junior year because I thought James Franco was going to springboard my career into Hollywood or whatever, and then again in my senior […]

Would I rather?


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“If you had the chance to be white, would you take it?” It was a question posed late at night — at that ungodly hour when people are free to think wild thoughts. My first thought was yes. Yes, of course. I considered the sight of my roommate, her own smooth skin several shades darker […]

The reality of culture shock


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When I attended my first study abroad orientation session in December, I was told that my semester in Madrid would be like a rollercoaster. In my mind, this meant a rollercoaster of mostly exciting times, occasionally accompanied by confusion that’s triggered by the language barrier. A glance at the graph presented to us at orientation, […]

Firenze: First impressions and selfie sticks


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  “SELFIE? SELFIE?” were the very first words I heard upon arrival in Florence, Italy — possibly one of the most magical and historic cities in all of Europe. “No grazie,” I replied to the insistent men shoving the ubiquitous, yet ingenious, 12” mechanisms in my face as I struggled to drag my suitcases along […]