Literal Trojan Family
By Grace Carballo ‘17
The deadline for college decisions is fast approaching and if your younger sibling is still in between schools, you don’t have much time to act.
It’s all well and good to have your Trojan Family around, but think of how magnificent life could be with actual, biological family with you more than just during Family Weekend.
I always wish I had my brothers at USC with me because they are consistently a good time and also, if we’re being honest, significantly cooler than me and would probably up my cred merely by association.
My favorite USC dynamic duo is none other than the Rayan sisters, Sharada (Class of 2016) and Shabina (Class of 2018). Whenever I am with them, I wish I was in the family, though even being on the outskirts has been quite the wild ride.
From their personal experiences, I have come up with 7 great reasons to persuade your younger sibling to come to USC.
1) Football So Hard
Tailgating is always going to be fun but imagine prepping for every single game with your own flesh and blood.
Tell your siblings they can borrow the spirit wear you’ve accumulated over the years and that you can do all the time-honored USC football traditions side by side. Maybe even offer to buy them concessions or take them to Chipotle after the game if they choose the right SChool.
2) Double the Friends, Double the Fun
Sharada’s friends are Shabina’s friends and visa-versa and it’s an honor being a part of both circles in that cool middle part of a venn diagram, if you will.
Remind your younger sibling that the transition to college is a little stressful but if they pick USC they will already have a whole posse of cool, older kids to hang with whenever the mood strikes.
3) Learning from Your Mistakes
Oh, to be a freshman again. To relive that year knowing what you know now. Well, if your sibling comes to USC, you basically will get that chance.
“She warned me about what classes to take!” - Shabina
Classes, clubs, professors, time management, campus events- you name it, you know it. And your sibling will start at USC with the knowledge that took you months to obtain, probably through trial and error.
Your sweet, precious sibling’s future will be brighter because they’ve learned from your past- almost makes all those dark times seem worth it?
4) Grow Old Together
While you make decisions about your major, your career, and essentially your whole future, wouldn’t you want someone’s advice who knows and shares your past?
Plus, the perspective of a sibling is exactly the kind of brutal honesty to keep you #humble. Shabina and Sharada are good at everything they do, but they particularly excel in the field of making fun of each other (and there’s a whole wealth of opportunities when photos like this one exist).
5) HOME (is wherever I’m with you)
“Shabina and I see each other three times a week minimum and lucky for her she gets to come over for home-cooked meals if she is sick of EVK. I make bomb-ass tomato soup.” - Sharada
It’s definitely a two-way street, though, as I’ve seen Sharada loiter around after our WYSE meetings trying to convince Shabina and her freshman friends to swipe her into EVK.
6) Make the “Best Years” BETTER
“It’s nice to have someone who knows you inside and out close by.” - Sharada
“Yeah and Sharada is funny and helped me join clubs and stuff.” -Shabina
7) The WOW Factor
People will freak out when they realize there are two of you. They will fawn over your younger sibling and want to hear your embarrassing childhood tales and just observe the two of you in your natural habitats. Remind your sibling how fun this will be- there’s a lot of potential for pranking people if you look alike- and also think of the great Halloween costumes you could collaborate on.
If these reasons don’t work, I’m not really sure what will. Don’t be afraid to resort to guilt if they seem to be leaning towards choosing some other place of learning.
