End of the Semester, End of the Year

            Sorry I was a little late updating this past month.  The weeks of school during December were either leading up to finals or finals themselves.  Finals didn’t bring too much happiness to any of our lives. We all felt the anxiety on our shoulders, but still wanted to make the best of our last days together before heading home for the holidays.  All of my finals were within the first week, which had its perks and unbelievable stress.  I only had the weekend and the study days to study for all four finals.  In the end, if everything went my way, I shouldn’t have done too much damage for the first semester of my college career.  After finals, I stayed in my dorm because I figured I might as well take advantage of the freedom of relaxation.  My friends and I went to Thoroughbred Street to see the houses decked out for Christmas.  And then that Tuesday, we went to Disneyland and saw Main Street snow!...well, foam haha.

            Earlier in December, Jon gave me his Christmas present…He took me to the Grammy Nominations Concert!  To my complete and utter surprise, we watched from row J as the Foo Fighters, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Celine Dion, and my absolute favorite, Christina Aguilera!  It was probably the best concert I had ever been too because after the cameras stopped rolling, John Mayer performed an hour concert after the television program.  He was more than amazing live.  But the night didn’t end there when we were supposed to attend the after party…but there was confusion over the tickets and we went to ESPN Zone instead.  The evening altogether was one of the best all year.

 

           Later that week, all Trojans looked forward to the USC vs. UCLA football game.  The Thursday before the game is called Conquest.  In McCarthy Quad, we burn the Bruin, have performances by the marching band and Gym Class Heroes.  What I want to know is what other university has fireworks and a Ferris wheel before the big rival game? I think this can only be a USC luxury…For the big game, we went to ESPN Zone, yes, for the second time that week.  And we weren’t the only Trojans who had the same idea.

            Before Thanksgiving, I took life into my own hands and got a job at the USC Bookstore.  I still currently work at the bookstore even though the students are on break.  So if you happen to want to buy USC gear, you should note that the bookstore does not close over break.  And come to visit me, because it gets lonely down there after a while…

            I’m only looking forward to what next semester has in store.  I have an awesome schedule that should be flexible enough to carry over all of the activities from last semester.Hopefully I will get a chance to see everyone over the break! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Trojan domination of my life

The work never seems to end! It’s like a bottomless abyss that will forever bury me in essays and reading.  My crazy academic, extra-curricular, and social schedules have not left me very much time to breath, much less update my blog.  Probably the biggest highlight this month was the events leading up to the elections. For election night, I worked in the newsroom making thumbnails for slideshows and video that were to be posted ATVN’s election central.  We spent two Fridays in a row preparing for the live coverage of the invigorating 2008 elections.  And with that preparation, we had a successful night!  We were able to get live coverage from the Obama and McCain parties stationed around Los Angeles as well as coverage from the newsroom and local polls.  We used Skype to air the stories live, which was a pretty clever idea if I do say so myself.  In my four hours in the newsroom on November 4, I uploaded a grand total of 2 thumbnails. Although I wasn’t super busy, it was electrifying to be in one of the most informed rooms on campus with a television dedicated to each major news station including CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, KTLA, and I know I’m forgetting at least three.  I cannot even begin to explain the excitement and chaos that ignited on campus after Barack Obama was announced as the President Elect.

A few minutes after Obama was announced as the next President of the United States, I called my mom who was in London at the time to inform her of this historical moment in American history.  Little did I know that it wouldn’t be too much longer until she could have found out on her own. Later the next day, she described the European excitement of the American presidential race.  She explained that not only was it the talk on the streets, but many people woke up at 4 in the morning to find out who our next president will be.  Personally, I found this shocking because I had no idea of the impact the U.S. had on the world.  As broadcasted, I knew that people in Kenya celebrated, but little did I know so did the rest of the world.

Other highlights from the month include going home a total of three times to see everyone, Halloween excitement, and football games.  I went home to go to the Homecoming football game, which Walnut lost, to see dinner theater (which was amazing =D) and for Mama Tina’s 81^st birthday.  In my opinion, Halloween wasn’t much different than any other week full of social events.  When each event is themed, dressing up does not become especially exciting or exclusive any more.  So after 3 costumes for four different events, Halloween didn’t seem very distinctive. I miss trick-or-treating around the streets of Walnut, which brings me the complete satisfaction of Halloween.  I mean, I would try trick-or-treating around USC, but I doubt I’d be very successful.  And then there is football season!  This past Saturday was the last home football game that most students will attend, since the official last game is after Thanksgiving when most students will still be home.  The end of football season brings me a bitter-sweet feeling: football games, no matter what time they start, seem to take up the entire day, but it is still a fun day!

I’m glad I finally had some time to update you on my life at USC.  I’ve got some more homework to get done before this weekend’s adventures.  Have a nice one!

Where has the time gone?

The days have come and gone so fast!  We have completed or are about to take our first midterms as college freshmen!  So far, so good, although I don’t know all of my grades and my Spanish midterm is this Friday.  Due to the intense workload of junior year, nothing seems to compare to the amount of work I did in I.B.  My only complaint would be the gross amounts of reading that we have to do.  Many people say the worst class you can take freshmen year is Writing 140.  But I seem to be doing great in that class with one successful essay under my belt (Thanks to Ms. Booth and Ms. Donee)!  As much as I hate to say it, doing I.B. was definitely worth the pain and sacrifice since I feel like the academic transition from high school to USC was not that big of a difference.

What seems to be occupying my time more than anything else are the volunteer activities I am participating in.  I’ll map out my week for you: Monday is Monday Night Dinner and Chapter at ADPi, Tuesday is CU@USC (college talk show on the local channel Trojan Vision), Wednesday is Joint Education Program (basically I supervise preschoolers for two hours and speak Spanish) and Assignment Desk for Annenburg TV News, and Thursday I have class until 6.  Only then does my weekend begin.  And all of this on top of 18 units!!  As you can see, time management is of the essence.  Even though I may complain of lack of sleep, I can tell you one thing, the opportunities at USC are endless! Everyday I receive an email telling me about open internships or jobs that I can apply for.  As a freshman, I’m gaining real life experience and holding positions that people have for a living.  I’m sure the actual positions are more intense than I have been exposed to, since I only spend one day a week on the job, but it is amazing to have the opportunity to make sure broadcast journalism is what I want to do with my life.  At CU@USC, I am one of the associate producers.  As an associate producer, my job is to conduct the pre-interview over the phone, book a guest, cover guest relations, write the run-down, and write thank you letters.  Last Tuesday, my mom was able to sit in on the whole process and was very entertained in what we do weekly.  My other favorite volunteer position is assignment desk at ATVN.  I look up current stories, keep the executive producer informed, and answer phones. My current project is researching the presidential elections.  And all of this does not count the sorority…

     

           My first invite in ADPi was this past Friday.  An invite is when girls in the sorority invite boys, Greek or non-Greek, to a dance.  It probably comes to no surprise to you that my date was Jonathan.  But the main difference between an invite and a school dance is that we don’t know the venue until we get off the bus!  Our invite was at a club/restaurant in Beverly Hills and it was very classy.  Jon and I had a great time, just as much fun if not more than high school.  We have other activities such as exchanges with frats, intramural sports, tailgates, and sisterly bonding activities.  I absolutely love my big sis.  Her name is Kiri and we have a lot in common, which has only facilitated our friendship.

            Currently, there is a virus going around school.  More than 130 people are infected by the gastrointestinal virus.  3 of my suitemates are infected so I can only pray that it doesn’t take me down too!

            Well thanks again for catching up with me. It was great going home last Tuesday and visiting everyone! I’m sorry if I missed some of you but I will be in town for the homecoming football game!

Adventures at USC

Move-in week has ended and I officially finished my second week of classes!  My housing arrangement is quite different than most of the usual dorms; I live in a suite.  There are four bedrooms with two girls in each, a common room, and a bathroom.  Being a resident of Fluor Tower definitely has its perks.  For one thing, the gym is visible from the rooms, so not finding time not to go is no excuse.  Another reason why Fluor Tower one of the best places to live is air conditioning! It’s nice to walk into my room from the hot, sticky outside air and relax on my bed without glistening (or sweating). 

            Move-in day was hectic. No, hectic is an understatement.  It was chaotic!  There some people moving in truckloads of stuff while others carried a couple of suitcases and a bag full of bedding.  And no matter how many times you think you’ve completed your “buy from Target” list, you were still forgetting something.  I met all of my suitemates throughout the day, but my roommate was missing in action.  Even on the second and third day, I was still living alone.  Then finally, I walked in Friday afternoon, and there was a suitcase and a couple of boxes on the other side of the room. “Finally,” I thought, “I have a roommate”.  Later that evening, I met her as she was walking into our room.  I greeted her with a welcoming smile, but I noticed she was slightly hesitant.  As it turned out, she was moving out in a week.  Why you might ask? She was invited to train for the 2012 Olympics for archery!  Although I’m currently without a roommate, it was kind of nice to have someone else there for a change, especially since I’ve lived with only my parents for the past 18 years. 

            For Welcome Week, they planned a series of activities such as a dive-in movie, welcome back dance/foam party, welcome back concert featuring the band Hellogoodbye, welcome back comedy show featuring Joel McHale from The Soup and mirco seminars.  I attended as many activities as I could so I could meet as many people as I could before the real work began.  My classes began on Monday.  I have nothing to complain about because USC has an amazing faculty no matter what course you are taking.  One course, Journalism 190, has guest speakers such as Maria Shriver (whose daughter is in my freshmen class) and other renowned people in journalism.  For the past two classes, we have had the opportunity to know a little bit more about the faculty at Annenburg, which is crucial for me.  However, the first night that class met was the first night of an entirely antagonizing experience: rush.

            Sorority fall recruitment is a process that I would not wish on my worst enemy.  The pressure and anxiety, not to mention the amount of energy it takes, was hardly tolerable.  The process goes a little something like this.  Every girl puts their best effort to look their best and stand out from the rest of the crowd, requiring hours to get ready, hours that could have been spent eating or doing homework.  Then we walked from house to house talking about the same things over and over and over again.  By the end of the first day, my mouth hurt from smiling.  It was a difficult process because you’re entire opinion of that house was based solely on the fifteen minute conversation you had with three girls, making it difficult to narrow down your selection and wondering how they would narrow down theirs.  After visiting all of the houses, you pick your top seven that you would like to return and rank your bottom three. If they wanted you to return, then they invited you, if not, you got your bottom three.  Out of my top seven, two invited me back and I got my three bottom choices.  The same process of elimination continues until you finally chose a house.  I joined Alpha Delta Pi or ADPi for short.  These girls caught my attention because they were genuine and down to earth, a combination not frequently found.  I honestly could not be happier with my selection.

            Well, there you have it. My first three weeks at USC.  It’s been long and fun and I can’t wait for what is to come next.  Until then, FIGHT ON!!

The Past 4 Years

In the past 4 years of high school, I have experienced more than I could have possibly imagined.  I watched many people walk into my life however some walked out.  Many people walked right in front of me and I walked in front of others.  I’ve realized that those were opportunities that no longer exist. 

I watched people:

Ruin themselves, ruin other people

Make goals, attain them, lose them

Get in bad situations, get out of bad situations

Make the grades, make the friends

Ditch friends, make new ones, ditch more friends

Isolate themselves, isolate others

Be happy, be sad

Break up, get back together, stay together

Have faith, lose faith

Fall behind, get ahead

Lose loved ones, gain loved ones

Go to dances, stay home

Win the game, lose the game

Be in the picture, take the picture

Read the books, read Spark notes

Cheat and not cheat

Meet expectations, fail expectations

Love, be loved

Talk, be talked about

Work, play

 

These are situations that all can identify with.  These situations are the results of the choices we make.  So we make choices, and those choices shape the person we become. They say high school is the time of your life.  Probably because there is nothing like it.  But then again, there is nothing like this moment and the next. 

 

We put people ahead of ourselves, and ourselves ahead of others.  But for one day, we will be equal.  We will walk together as one, not individuals.  And only during graduation. 

 

But to everyone I have ever known, thank you for making the journey with me.  It wouldn’t have been the same had you not given me the quarter at the vending machine or become my life-long friend.  I’m honored to have known each and everyone of you. BE HAPPY AND GOOD LUCK!