I can’t believe we’ve already been in school for over a month, these past 5 weeks have FLOWN by (I just had my first midterm of the year – what). This year has been different from my freshman year in so many ways. One of the biggest changes has been transitioning from living in a dorm to living in an apartment. Now that I’m a sophomore, I’m living in a six-person apartment in the brand new University Village, a massive complex that opened this year and houses over 2,500 undergraduates. Although this is mostly sophomore housing, one of the buildings, McCarthy Residential College, contains the new freshman honors dorm. The Village is also home to a new Hogwarts-esque dining hall, new gym, Trader Joes, Target, and a ton of other exciting retail stores (Cava, The Baked Bear, Sunlife, the list goes on). Each building also has a bunch of cool, high tech conference rooms and study lounges that are all a huge step up from doing work in Leavey Library. I still remember years ago touring USC as a junior in high school and hearing rumors about the Village, so getting to live here now feels like a dream come true – I may or may not have teared up on move in day.

The Village Dining hall or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? ?
Living in an apartment is a completely different experience from living in a dorm. We’ve had to buy a TV and kitchen appliances, make a cleaning schedule, and figure out how to feed ourselves (I’m gonna be honest 90% of my diet is toast and honey nut cheerios). Basically, in this past month I’ve become so much more ~adult~. And although I LOVED living in my freshman dorm (BK7 FOREVER), it’s just so nice to come home to a wonderfully AC’d living room and eat popcorn on the couch with my apartment-mates.

My beautiful roommates!!!!
I still highly recommend living in a classic dorm with no AC, communal bathrooms, and an entire floor of friendly faces, for freshmen year because some of my all time favorite memories are with my floor mates (also, hey, why not? There is literally no other point in your life you’ll have the chance to live in a dorm). But, living in an apartment has been such an exciting and maturing change. Plus, contrary to the warnings I received from upperclassmen, I still talk to my friends from floor 7 everyday and find time to hang out!

Studying with BK floor 7 friends in one of the outdoor Village courtyards.
That’s it for today folks,
Siena[/cs_text][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]About the Author[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”circle” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/DSC_0079-e1505760709497.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”#https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/siena/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”popover” info_place=”bottom” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”Bethany Biomedical Engineering ’19”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-center”]Siena is a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering. Lover of everything bagels and puns. Click above to find out more![/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”@sapplebomb” type=”instagram” link_enabled=”true” link_url=”https://www.instagram.com/sapplebomb/?hl=en” link_title=”@sapplebomb” link_new_tab=”true” style=”font-size:18px;”]@sapplebomb[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][x_gap size=”100px”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]Check it Out[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Screen-Shot-2017-09-17-at-11.44.42-PM.png” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/biomedical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/aerospace-and-mechanical-engineering/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]Mechanical Engineering[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/los-angeles_1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]LA Life[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/USC-campus-Hahn-plaza.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]USC Campus Faves[/x_button][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column bg_color=”hsla(0, 27%, 74%, 0.03)” fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-bottom” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 96%, 23%);”]More From Viterbi Students[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”” category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”2″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”4″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]