Internship Reflections: Taking A Detour From Your Career Path


I always thought writing was what I would pursue after graduating college. Or maybe I would go into publishing — if I couldn’t be a published writer, I would publish writers. I worked on my high school newspaper for two years as an editor and a writer and later on as Editor-in-Chief for some time. In my […]

Why You Should Study Abroad


America is an amazing country. It’s full of leading opportunity, amazing diversity, beaches and snowy mountains, class and chaos, road trips and weekend flights. Coming here, to America, to USC, this is something I’ve learnt simply from the wonder of people I’ve met. My friends from the East Coast act, speak and think in ways […]

Studying Abroad as a Person of Color


About a week ago, I was sitting in McDonald’s (A.K.A. MacDo) writing an essay. One thing I clearly remember was the various music being played in the loudspeaker. I heard music sung in Hindi, English, Arabic and Spanish all within a span of an hour. McDonald’s — which is really good here, by the way — […]

Tour de California: Biking Down PCH


“Do you want to bike across California with me this summer?” I don’t think my friend Jake expected me to say “yes” when he asked me this question midway through my final year of high school. I didn’t expect myself to say “yes” either…I didn’t own a bike, I didn’t know the first thing about […]

A trek to knowledge: the High Atlas


Imagine lying on a rooftop, in pitch black, gazing at the stars. Your zenith is the Milky Way galaxy, a visual cloud of clustered stars with a faint color of silver and deep purple. This mesmerizing sight was my view for two nights in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, the largest mountain range in […]

Why to not question questions


During my first week at USC, several things made me reaffirm my admiration for this university. Firstly, I was was in awe by students’ ability to avoid collisions while rushing to class, regardless of their choice of transportation: skateboard, bike, or even hoverboard. I can’t even text and chew gum at the same time without […]

A Walk Along the Venice Canals


Being an international student in America can be as unnerving as it is exciting. Amidst all the initial chaos and anxiety of settling in, most of us are bitten by the “Explore L.A.” bug. One leisurely afternoon, a group of friends and I hopped onto a bus and ended up in the Venice Canal Historic District. Downtown L.A., Santa […]

Putting the “study” in “study abroad”


Most people who study abroad don’t do it for the academics. They do it to expand their horizons in other ways — to travel, to live independently, and to immerse themselves in another culture. But there’s another compelling reason to study abroad, and that’s to be a student of another place — of another institution, of another […]

Finding My Tribe: The November Project


Los Angeles is a beautiful and terrifying city of lights and highways and poverty and glamour. People swarm here from all over the world to fulfill their dreams and realize their potential. Everybody is trying to make something of themselves. It can be so easy to get caught up in the chaos and to feel […]

Hopping Off the Plane at LAX: First Impressions


In the weeks leading up to my flight across the Atlantic to study abroad in America, I realized that my decision had raised many eyebrows. I had a well-paying job, and like my friends often liked to point out, my personal life was all settled. The reasons were many, but the strongest of them dawned […]