You’ve graduated from the University of San Diego, and now you’re out in the real world adulting. With such a small student body, USD alum typically take on a similar style and way of life (meaning beach, beach and more beach). Whether you miss college or not, there are some things that you still do or say that show your past Torero self.
1. You Still Live in San Diego
75 degree sunny weather all the time and nearby beaches make life breezy. With Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Petco Park and the Chargers (for this next year at least), what more could you ask for? Not to mention a cute apartment in Pacific Beach of Little Italy is the perfect size and location for a recent graduate. “I’m going to live in San Diego forever. I literally fell in love with the beach community. And I know a lot of people in my class, and older, who stayed here too, so it makes it fun being around friends still,” said Amber Gretz, USD class of 2013.
2. You’re a snob when it comes to Mexican food
“If a Mexican restaurant doesn’t have carne aside fries on the menu, I will immediately walk out,” said Kevin Brent, 2014 graduate. Let’s be honest—that freshman 15 didn’t come from the school cafeteria. It came from all of the delicious Mexican restaurants right down the hill. With classic options like Jvs, Super Bronco, Matador and Nicos, you’ve developed high standards for the massive four dollar burrito or quesadilla. Now when you travel to other cities or visit friends still in school, you feel as though no place ever lives up the midnight Mexican food run you had almost weekly as an undergrad.
3. You Get Overwhelmed on Giant Campuses
Let’s be real: USD is small. Beautiful, but small. With only about 6,000 undergrads, the campus up on the hill is home to a tiny amount of students who don’t think of their school as small until they go to a giant campus like UCLA and wonder how everyone finds their classes on time. Chances are as a USD alum you’ve probably had a class in every building on campus. Olin, Maher or Camino—you name it—and you know that 10 minutes gives just enough time to power walk from the IPJ to your next class in Serra. If campus were any bigger you might actually have to break into a jog.
4. You Formed a Close Relationship with at Least One Professor
The average class size for USD is about 30 students, so professors really get to know their students. Cool professors who know their students make great networking options or candidates for writing letters of recommendation. “I still keep in touch with a few professors today, and I connected with most of them on Linkedin. Many of the comm professors like Pace and Keeling were so cool they really sparked my interest in communications and helped me find my passion for it,” said Jason Loper, class of 2014.
5. You Miss the View from the Reflection Pool
When life feels a little overwhelming, USD students know awesome places to look out at the calming bay from campus. Places like the Science building or the bay view from the back path that lets you avoid the stairs of doom gets the job done, but USD alums know the reflection pool is number one, especially with the smell of Mongolian barbecue wafting over from La Paloma. As an alum out in the real world, sitting by the reflection pool and letting your troubles fly away with the breeze probably sounds nice from time to time. Even without the stress of a million assignments and endless midterms, everyone could use little break every once in a while.
6. You Work Weekly Beach Trips into Your Schedule
The beach is an important part of every USD student’s life. The only way to de-stress from dreadful exams include running on the sand, practicing yoga in the bay or tanning on the shore. “Adulting is hard. Frequent trips to the beach with my friends are necessary. I started doing morning yoga on the beach after I graduated and it’s super fun,” said Courtney Hunt, class of 2014. Beach life seems to call to you on the weekends, or really every day once you’re in the real world. And why not treat yo’ self? You’ve already graduated with a killer degree from the best university on the west coast. You know, an acai bowl from Rubicon Deli complements your beach nap perfectly.
7. You Don’t Get Why People Complain about Cafeteria Food
In your four years at USD, the SLP had fresh sushi, custom pasta bars, Mexican food, hamburgers and even a pho station. So why do people from other schools always complain about sloppy joes and mystery meat meatloaves? Don’t all students order personalized calzones when channeling their inner Italian? It’s understandable that over time you might have gotten a little tired of the SLP and ventured to Urbane, Roses and Matador, but SLP truly is one of a kind. It even has its own pastry chef and ranked 18th nationally for best campus food by The Princeton Review. And the guy that greets you at the entrance during lunch times is always just so sweet, amiright?
8. You’re Tired of People Asking You if You Went to SDSU
There are three schools in San Diego: USD, San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, and you graduated proudly as a Torero from the University of San Diego. You received a top-flight education, you learned the best routes to the beach and, most importantly, you learned to hate San Diego State. But for some reason, whenever you say you went to the University of San Diego, someone always responds with, “Oh San Diego State, nice.” No. Not State. USD. The small, Catholic, private school, not the giant, public, state school. “Every single time I told someone USD, they said, ‘oh, the big ol’ party school, right on!’ And I would get mad because, while USD has parties, but no we are not at State’s level!” said Max O’hara, 2012 USD graduate.
9. You Think Flip-Flops and Shorts Are Dress Code
A lot of Toreros are trendy and fashionable, which you’re well aware of, but with this Cali sun, beach clothes and salty hair is the unspoken dress code. Ditching flip flops for professional flats and cut offs for slacks on days when you have class speeches made you feel like a torero out of water. It’s true that a large amount of Greek life arrives to class dressed like they’ve stepped out of the latest issue of Vogue, but a majority of campus is cute and casual. And now that you have to wear adult clothes to work, you miss the fun, laid-back days of college when midnight Missions Cafe trips pretty much required pajamas. *Sigh* If only these places existed in the real world.
10. You’re Totally Attractive
We all know that USD only accepts attractive people. “On days where I would roll up to class in sweats with my hair in a bun, I felt instantly like the ugly duckling. So many of the students, the girls especially, have it all going on. They’ve got perfectly blonde hair, pretty smiles and outfits that I’m sure were not cheap to buy,” said Sarah Linch, class of 2013 said. It must be that sun-kissed and beachy glow that accumulated over your four years. Plus, smart is sexy, so you’re double the amount of sexiness. But humble, always humble, right?
