Why I Love LA

Ask any USC student why they love LA, and you will probably get some answer related to food, weather, people or culture. And even though these reasons may seem basic, they become important once you are a college student and are free to completely explore your surrounding city. One of the first places that students usually explore is LA Live, which is the closest center of action near the campus. USC has free shuttles to this location, and its a great place to watch a new release (Hunger Games, anyone?) or to go out to a fancy dinner.

Which sounds the best: (a) a chocolate bar (b) a marshmallow (c) a cookie or (d) squishing a warm marshmallow that you just roasted with a slab of chocolate on top of a fresh cookie? Exactly. One of the greatest experiences I had as a freshman was going to The Farm for the first time, which is at LA Live. I first went for my friend’s 18th birthday, and we spent so much time just wandering around and silly pictures since she accidentally made a late reservation.

When we finally got to The Farm, one of the highlights was eating the do-it-yourself smores. The waiter brings a little flame to the table, along with all the necessary ingredients and skewers, and you sit inside the restaurant and make real smores. All of my friends crowded around the flame and progressively burned their marshmallows. I would like to pretend that I didn’t burn mine, but alas, mine caught caught fire within minutes.

I went back to The Farm for dinner before the Viterbi Ball (check out Will’s post about this annual event) with Lyssa and we got to explore LA Live at night. I distinctly remember ordering Chicken Tenders and Mac n’ Cheese with the group, and, of course, we ordered smores as well. LA Live transforms into a different place at night, and with all the bright lights, it is a completely different experience. Though I branched out to other parts of LA afterwards, LA Live remains the closest place to go to a nice dinner and just hang out.