Growing up less than an hour outside of Downtown LA, I had the opportunity to experience a lot of what LA had to offer before I even came to USC. Now that I live in the heart of LA, I’m even closer to everything I enjoyed before. I also get to discover even more things to do!
Before college, one of the activities I enjoyed in LA was going to sporting events. One of my favorite teams growing up was USC Trojan football, and now I get to walk to the Coliseum and kick the flagpoles before every home game! Having season tickets to your favorite sports team is amazing, especially when you get to be a part of storming the field after an upset to Stanford:
Taken on the field at the Coliseum after beating Stanford last year!
I also loved coming up to Downtown LA to watch Kings’ games at Staples Center. Now that I live two Metro stops away from Staples, I was able to go to seven games last season, including this one that I went to with a USC organization, Trojan Entertainment Connection. We got to go down onto the ice before the game started!
Me on the ice at Staples Center!
Aside from sports, my other favorite part about LA has become the beaches! The only beach I had been to before USC was Malibu, which is beautiful but a little far. My first weekend at USC, I went to Santa Monica on a trip organized by the Trojan Scholars Society. Between shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade and riding the Ferris wheel at the pier, there’s so much to do in Santa Monica. Pretty soon, the Metro Expo Line will be extended to Santa Monica, so you won’t even need a car to get there!
Taken next to the Santa Monica Pier!
I can’t possibly come close to listing all of my favorite parts of LA, but one last activity that is always fun is hiking Runyon Canyon. It’s a popular spot because of its combination of beautiful nature paths with a panoramic view of the city:
Some of the view from the hiking trails at Runyon Canyon.
These are just a few of my favorite things to do, but I highly encourage you to get out there and explore a little for yourself!
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