By: Lanie Brice ‘24

When I was around 14 years old, I found out that I had a pretty severe gluten sensitivity. As a kid who lived off pasta, bread, and cheese in different variations for most of the years leading up to this moment, I was pretty upset to hear I’d never get to eat many of my favorite foods again.

By: Lanie Brice ‘24

Yesterday, I had the chance to sit down over Zoom with Nikhilesh Kumar, the founder of Southern California Healthcare Outreach. This USC organization was created in 2019 with an mission to educate the people of Los Angeles and beyond about healthcare and health insurance from how they can enroll in lower cost options and take advantage of policies to how they become more active in the policy choices around the issues. The club is currently open to applications for the spring term until Saturday February 12th. Here’s my conversation with Nikhilesh on his experience founding this organization, what club members can expect when they join, and the initiatives that he’s most proud of.

By: Sydney Fiorentino ‘ 24

We are all trying our best to not catch COVID-19, but cases have gone up because of Omicron and the holidays; unfortunately, I caught the virus myself. Let me say, you do not want to get it. But on the off chance that you do, here is a small survival guide that’ll help make your 10-day quarantine and recovery better:

By: Lanie Brice ‘24

The start of the new semester always means a major loss of reading momentum for me. I read 15 or so books over the three weeks of holiday break, but I’ll be lucky to read 15 over the course of the entire semester. I maybe get to five. We all have to do so much reading for classes that it’s easy to let the joy of reading evaporate. I’ve compiled a list of 5 books that range from romance to general fiction to essays to YA and nonfiction to hopefully inspire you to keep reading for fun even as the semester gets busy.

By: Nancy Aguilar ‘22

Now that we have had almost two years of online school as a result of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, it’s safe to say that we’re way past Zoom fatigue. This is chronic pain. Just when we thought we were safe in Fall 2021, Spring 2022 gave us a wake up call.

By: Sydney Henry ‘24

Happy New Year everyone! 2021 may have not been the best year for you, but 2022 is all about increased positivity and making it the best year for you. So, how exactly can you map out 2022 to make it the best year for you? Try creating a mood board to help you accomplish all that you are looking forward to in 2022.

By: Lanie Brice ‘24

Notion has taken the planning world by storm in the last couple years, but it can be an intimidating and confusing tool to get started with. Notion offers the allure of nearly infinite possibility of formatting, planning, and notetaking within an app that’s available on your computer, iPad, and phone. I’ve been using Notion on and off for a couple years now, and it’s taken me a while to create systems that support what I need and are easy to stay consistent with. Here are my best tips for getting started with Notion and how to best utilize it to stay organized during this already chaotic semester.

By: Kelsey Cheng ‘25

New year, new me! Do you want to get active this year? Here are some ways you can exercise at USC.

By: Sydney Fiorentino ‘24

The semester is almost over, and if you are like me, your social battery may need some recharging. I would say I’m an outgoing person and partially extroverted, but there are definitely times where I would love to stay home and watch Netflix by myself. I’ve noticed USC is a pretty social school, and I get to see my friends every single day and night. However, I do get tired of partying or going out every weekend, and sometimes I just want to sleep and be left alone. Now that winter break is coming up, this is the perfect time for me and anyone else to recharge their social battery. Here are some things I am going to do to help myself relax:

By: Sydney Fiorentino’24

USC is filled with students who do everything: work part-time, hold an E-board position on multiple clubs, perform research, all while being a full-time student. Some students are even able to party hard on a weekday, and wake up early the next morning to take a test and get an A. The habits of other USC students may feel like you are not accomplishing or doing enough to match others’ level of success. However, should you let what others are doing impact how you feel about yourself or if you belong in a certain environment?

By: Hannah Skinner ‘23

The end of the semester is upon us, and so are finals. It can be a tough few weeks, but there are ways to lessen the stress and take better care of ourselves too. Here are my wellness and study tips to help you succeed during testing season!

By: Dara Udobong ‘23

Media depictions of college tell us that we’ll be having sleepovers every other day, party-hopping on Thursday nights, and having the best time of our twenties surrounded by our new built-in best friends. For some of you, this might already be your life. For others, none of this might feel familiar at all. If this is you, you’re not alone: a lot of USC students have shared their stories (of their successes and failures) at making meaningful friendships during this very peculiar semester. Unfortunately, its easy to lose sight of the fact that college is a whole new experience of self-discovery and exploration in a new city, state, or even country. Even if you’re an LA native, the college experience isn’t quite like any challenge you’ve ever faced before. It has its high highs, low lows, and one heck of a journey in between. We’re all just trying to give it our best shot, and you know what? It gets easier with time. But don’t take it from me, here’s some advice from a USC professor who’s been there, done that, and has a degree to show for it: