After a long day of school and homework, it’s time to unwind and go to sleep. You’d think that after a day of looking at our laptops, we’d want to unwind and read a book or journal – but no. In fact, about 90% of 18-29 year olds sleep with their phones near them, while 95% of people use their phone just before going to bed. I used to be one of those people.

By: Sanaa Alam ‘25

Are you interested in joining clubs to meet like-minded pre-medical friends while helping the community? Look no further! Here’s a list of clubs I have joined that allow you to serve the community through science and can help you meet friends who you might see in your pre-health classes:

By: Sydney Fiorentino ‘24

I can’t stress enough that self care can be anything—as long as you're working towards improving your mental or physical health in big or small ways, you can quantify it as self care.

By: Sanaa Alam ’25

Despite loving numbers, when I stepped into my CHEM 115a class freshman year, I realized that college chemistry is not the same as it was in high school.

By: Sydney Fiorentino ‘24

With school, exams, extracurriculars, and social life, there is always so much going on. One minute you have to do a homework assignment, and another you have to run to a club meeting. But do you ever have a moment where you do absolutely nothing? The moment where you don’t think about all the things you have to do and simply just live in the moment?

By: Sydney Fiorentino ‘24

School is back in person and many of us want to go out and party. We’ve been in quarantine for a year where we had no in-person social gatherings and all we wanted to do was spend time with friends. Now that everything is opened again, everyone wants to just have fun! But, there’s a catch to going out…not catching COVID or the delta variant.

By: Una Stanisavljevic ‘22

For many college students, receiving the preferred number of hours of sleep can be difficult. From grueling through all-nighters to attending parties, filling in the gap by recharging your body is a crucial component of self-care. While it might seem like an appealing idea in the beginning, choosing to swap sleep for coffee will not last in the long run.

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

Okay, time to buckle up for another online semester. Maybe you’re excited to start back up again or maybe you’re a bit hesitant. Either way, it’s completely fine! You’ve gotten through it once, so there’s no reason you can’t get through it again! Whether it usually takes you a few days to get acclimated or you’re looking to hop back into it full swing right away, perhaps some of these tips will be helpful for you!

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

With a lot of us still stuck at home, fitness has been a popular topic this year — everyone trying to make the best out of their situation. I’ve made a post about fitness/working out before, but I recently became aware of another option for students: WORK. USC Rec Sports partnered with WORK to bring you even more workouts. WORK offers not only live (everyday but Sunday), but a collection of pre-recorded videos for constant access. Not limited by a schedule, students can have full control over when you’d like to work out, even past the semester. While there are a collection of free classes available, WORK and USC Rec Sports is offering a 70% discount for USC students to total in at $25 a month.

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve always wanted to try out USC’s gym/exercise facilities — but for one reason or another, I just never got around to it. I didn’t think it would happen under these unique circumstances, so props to USC for finding a way to make it happen. I was pretty excited to find out they had transferred a bunch of workout classes to an online format. Besides the fact that the classes are completely free and the sign-up takes like two seconds, what makes these classes particularly great is that everything being virtual takes away a lot of the anxieties that come with working out in public. With so many different classes to choose from and an even larger group of instructors, there has to be at least one class you end up liking. So either head over to https://myrecsports.usc.edu/ right now or read up on my own experience in each class to get an idea about which might be right for you!

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

Well, 2020 has been quite the year, or I guess I should say “is” since even now, we’re still going through it. Staying on top of schoolwork in a condensed semester would be a struggle regardless, but on top of our current climate, at least for me, “tough” doesn’t really cover it. Finding a balance between work and self-care is extremely difficult, but it’s also extremely important. Essential, really. Which brings me to this post: a checklist and a list of resources. Listed below are reminders and tools to so you can take care of yourself and help you get through this crazy time. If you feel you haven’t been taking care of yourself as well as you should have, this is your sign to turn it all around.

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

Whether or not you’re completely sold on the effectiveness of fabric masks, in many places they are now required whenever going out in public. Right now, masks aren’t the easiest thing to get a hold of, but there’s always another option: Make your own! There are all sorts of tutorials, ranging from ten minutes to sixty, and with all different sorts of styles. All things considered, I thought it would be a good idea to try out some of the most popular designs for myself. The easiest weren’t always the best and the hardest weren’t always the most efficient, but there certainly is one for everyone, regardless of skill.