I knew I wanted to be a part of the Daily Bruin the minute I set foot in the office.
Never before had I entered a space quite like 118 Kerckhoff. The people milling around were connected by a genuine appreciation for journalism.
The walls were covered with typewritten quotations of hilarious things uttered by staff members over the years.
I instantly knew that this place was special, and that every moment spent inside would be a memory I’d cherish.
Now that my time at UCLA is coming to an end, it’s weird to think that pretty soon my experiences at the DB will be just that, memories.
It seems like only yesterday I was looking at the Daily Bruin’s Web site and telling myself not to get my hopes up about getting accepted to UCLA. I had dreamt of writing for the Daily Bruin for years, and it seemed too good to be true when I found out I was accepted to the staff.
I can vividly recall driving to campus hours before my class of the day started, just so I could see my byline when my first article was printed.
But most of all, my time at the Daily Bruin was spent learning about the outside world.
I remember walking through the halls of a charter school in downtown Los Angeles last April, awestruck at the fact that although these students came from extremely disadvantaged circumstances, they had smiles on their faces and an enthusiasm for learning.
I felt so lucky to have the opportunity to go behind the scenes, and write an article from an insider’s perspective.
I am very lucky to have written for both the News and Viewpoint sections of the paper.
It was a challenge for me to learn how to write a column that was not objective, since it had been drilled into my head so many times not to insert opinion into my pieces.
I’ve also had many fun times with people I would have probably never encountered had it not been for the good ol’ DB.
I’ve flipped through countless tabloids on the musty couches that take up space in the office, and gossiped about everything from the latest reality TV upset to significant national events.
The people I’ve encountered during my experience have had a permanent impact on my life, and I am so grateful to have met every one of them.
It’s weird that all the pizza parties, cocktail nights and gab sessions have finally come to end, but I am confident that The Bruin will continue to enhance students’ lives for as long as it exists.
It definitely enhanced mine.
Shackelford was a 2006-2007 Viewpoint columnist.