No one ever warns you of just how hard college is.
When I first shared my acceptance to UCLA, I was met with overwhelming and contagious excitement. “College will be the best years of your life,” I was told. Stepping onto campus as a freshman, that felt anything but true.
While everyone seemed to have a group of friends to live out the idealized college experience, I was alone in bed with only my laptop to keep me company. Perhaps even worse, COVID-19 restrictions were still in place, and my professional endeavors were somewhere lost in an unattainable void.
For lack of better words, I was stuck. The doubts about committing to UCLA were inevitable.
I had no expectations when I first applied as a Daily Bruin Arts intern. Writing at a professional level was a foreign concept – let alone interviewing and reporting. As you can imagine, I was overjoyed when I received my acceptance email. Not only was the prospect of having my own words published insatiably desirable, but The Bruin also paved the way for what I craved most: connection.
As expected, the newspaper gave me that and so much more.
Throughout my time at The Bruin, I was fortunate enough to plunge headfirst into the robust vibrancy of the arts community, both within UCLA and Los Angeles at large. With a curiosity for the functions of the entertainment industry, hearing passionate artists open their hearts about the care and vulnerability they pour into their craft was like a dream come true. The first three years of red carpets, film festivals, press rooms and Zoom meetings were inspiration enough to mold my future career aspirations.
While I loved my time spent sharing the stories of dedicated creatives, I soon decided I wanted to be on the other side of the microphone – the interviewee instead of the one interviewer. Thanks to the Daily Bruin, I was able to get a step closer to that goal and work for the entertainment companies I was covering just a year earlier.
Behind the glitz and glamour, the underbelly of journalism’s rigor was the last thing I expected when I became the theater | film | television editor in my sophomore year. The long hours of cold messaging students on Instagram, negotiating article deadlines and deciding whether the work of an artist profile should be accompanied by camera doodles was definitely not in my initial job description.
I quickly came to understand the core ethos of Kerckhoff 118 – you join for the work but stay for the people.
Late nights stressed in the newsroom reading over the same few sentences soon turned into late nights laughing in apartment living rooms playing Jackbox.
We – a group of people from diverse backgrounds through every facet of our lives – were all bound together by this newspaper. With every hour spent alongside my fellow editors, I finally experienced what I was initially promised.
“College will be the best years of your life.”
Although that statement became more than evident, it happened in ways which were nothing less than unorthodox.
I found myself fighting through a Costco rotisserie chicken-eating contest, exploring the nooks and crannies of UCLA at the dead of night in a drunken game of hide-and-seek and – my personal favorite – winning multiple Hot Wheels and $50 gift cards at the famous Dan O’Trivia nights at Barney’s Beanery.
Every new relationship made every shed tear – both owed to The Bruin – all worth it.
To Dannela Lagrimas, Graciana Paxton and Megan Cai, thank you for being the first people to ever make UCLA feel like home rather than just another educational expectation. You all have never failed to inspire me through your determination, brilliance and compassion – both inside and outside the newsroom.
To Victoria Munck and Sanjana Chadive, thank you for consistently being my voices of clarity amid the chaos of editorship. If only every top editor could have the privilege of having assistant editors with as much humility and aptitude as you both.
To Christine Kao and Joseph Jimenez, thank you for simply being who you are. The everlasting support from two of the most selfless and genuine people I’ve met is something I’ll cherish forever. Not everyone has coworkers who turn into lifelong friends, but I am grateful to be one of the lucky few.
And finally, to the Daily Bruin, thank you for everything you have given me over the past four years: unforgettable bylines, invaluable friendships and – most importantly – the confidence to confirm UCLA was exactly where I was meant to be.
Sajor was Arts senior staff 2024-2025, Arts editor 2023-2024, theater | film | television editor 2022-2023 and an Arts contributor 2021-2022.
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