Like the freshman fifteen, there are a few things you can expect to happen during the start of your college career. At the beginning, I thought that secondhand stories and research about college life had prepared me for it all. I knew I would miss my home and my old friends. I could count having conflicts with my roommates and struggling with balancing work and fun. But during my second semester at USC, one thing I hadn’t planned to encounter snuck up on me— an OCD diagnosis.  

As National Men’s Health Awareness month comes to a close, you may be asking: Miguel, if November is over, why are you writing about this now? Despite the helpfulness of having a month dedicated to men’s health topics, we should be talking about these challenges year-round - especially when it comes to mental health. In American culture and many other cultures worldwide, vulnerability about men’s mental health and open conversations about solutions are seen as taboo. The perception of manhood and masculinity in many cultures, even in the face of health issues, can end up boxing men into black and white categories like emotionally weak (negative) vs. unwaveringly strong (the goal) – which can come at a cost.

By: Ann Nguyen ‘22

Haaaaaaaaaaaave you met Josh Radnor, a.k.a. Ted Mosby from the popular sitcom series How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM)?

If you were able to join the USC Academic Culture Assembly’s special speaker event as part of Mental Health Awareness Month on October 24 at Bovard Auditorium, then you did! If you weren’t able to, here’s a recap of the lovely experience, in which Radnor shared his thoughts on passions, personal development, success, struggles, and self-image. It was absolutely legen-wait for it-