When I got a thick packet in the mail in the spring of my senior year of High School, I knew what was coming. Everyone knew that a thin letter was bad news and a chunky manila envelope was good news. I excitedly ripped open the packet and devoured the letters of congratulation and information about dorm rooms; I stuck the tiny free stickers all over my room and called my older sister. I was going to be a Trojan.
I used to think was silly that the University puts so much emphasis on being part of the Trojan Family. But the truth is that I have gotten something much better than an education from the University of Southern California (but also, I’ve received a wonderful education).
My older sister was attending USC when I got in. We are literally a Trojan Family. Even though both of my parents went to the University of Oregon, their acceptance of USC has been swift. We all have obnoxious USC stickers on our cars (which we drive around Oregon,) my parents salute people wearing SC paraphernalia with an invigorating “Fight On!,” and as long as USC is not playing U of O, they cheer on our football players.
It was an easy move for them once they saw how well USC treated my sister and me. In truth, USC has also brought my sister and I closer. We had common professors, we would laugh about how energetic Professor Lamy was in IR 210, she handed down textbooks, and we lived a five minute's walk form each other. The Trojan Family became a reality.
But as my sister graduated, I came to see that the Trojan Family had not just included my real family. When I went abroad, the USC alumni club of London welcomed us with open arms, and kids that I had never spoken to ran up to me in Piccadilly Circus when I was wearing a USC sweatshirt. It was like I was in some worldwide, exclusive club.
In Portugal, one of my friends and I ran into an American couple that excitedly explained they had met at USC when they overheard us talking about Los Angeles. The husband recounted hilarious stories of the antics he pulled when he was a senior, and asked us questions, comparing his adventures to our own. And we have had some amazing adventures. USC brought me out of my shell; the University gave me opportunities to meet people and prompted me to be a better person, to attempt to improve myself.
I want my future children to be taken care of by a huge organization that looks out for them like USC did for me. I want my future children to don cardinal and gold football jerseys and scream “Fight On for Ol’ SC!” at game days, along with 90,000 other fans. I want my future children to attend poetry nights, or Quidditch games, or visions and voices concerts. I want people looking out for my future children in other countries, and I want them to share stories with alumni across the world. I want my future children to have best friends who are supportive and kind. One of the best places they can find those things is at USC. Fight On.
