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: 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: 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: Sophia Pei ‘22

Within the first week of classes, there was an incidence of 104 new cases of COVID-19 amongst students living on or near the USC campus. Awareness of proper hygienic practices like washing your hands for 20 seconds (or more) and social distancing has increased during this pandemic, but it wasn’t sufficient to prevent the parties and gatherings resulting in overall a hundred students now being quarantined at the USC Hotel. If you’re staying in or near USC and living with others, it is strongly recommended that you get tested for COVID every week. Here’s a quick guide on how to get tested.

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.

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

As the semester brings itself to an end and some of us still find ourselves distanced from our friends and family, now more than ever, it’s important to get a little creative in the ways we keep in touch. Zoom can be used for a lot more than just classes, and although it may be tempting to just throw it away the first chance you get, it has a lot of other applications. Specifically, ones that could be used to keep in touch with friends! Curious as to what else you could be doing across your camera screen besides dozing off in lectures? Read below!

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

Okay, so, self-quarantine/social distancing can be difficult for a lot of reasons — boredom, fear, loneliness — but can especially difficult if you are cooped up with the wrong sort people. You know, the kind that play loud music in the middle of the night, don’t clean up after themselves, and try to get under your skin at every turn. Trust me, I get it. The first step should always be to talk about it, to see if there’s any sort of resolution that could be reached. Suggest solutions, use “I” statements, and be direct. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t — but if it’s the latter, that doesn’t mean it’s completely hopeless. Even if the person you’re rooming with is a stubborn as a brick, you can still retain some semblance of control over yourself and your sanity, despite who may be around you.

By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22

We’re living in some pretty weird times — not only as a school, but also as human beings in the midst of a global phenomenon. A lot of things are different and that’s kind of scary, but I think now more than ever, holding on to facts (or the closest things we know to be fact) is key to getting through this.