Some people live in the same house, on the same street, in the same town for most of their lives before they pack up and leave for college.
Not me.
I was already living on my own in an apartment in San Diego – my 13th home – three days after graduating high school. Growing up in a Marine Corps family, moving became a normal part of my life.
The next four years at UCLA were no different. I lived in two dorm rooms, two apartments, two houses and a few hotel rooms along the way.
But during all that time of moving around, one place always felt like a real home: the Daily Bruin.
In the windowless office filled with yellowing newspapers, I learned home is not a house or even a place.
It’s a feeling.
Home is the support I feel when I walk into a room and see my family – the people who embrace me even on my worst days.
And let me tell you – there were some bad days. Stories fell through, and people threatened to sue. But no matter what, my Daily Bruin family was always there to help me through it.
Home is the pride I feel when I see people I care about succeeding.
As an editor, that was seeing my writers go from hesitant interns to confident reporters who wrote stories they were proud of. It was watching my closest friends create incredible journalism. The Daily Bruin staff is full of people who impress me and inspire me every day.
Home is coming into the office to write stories and knowing, more than anything else, this is what I should be doing.
Just weeks after starting at The Bruin, I no longer felt like the “new kid,” which was a feeling I carried for most of my life. I found my best friends at The Bruin. I found my passion in journalism. I found my sense of self.
I found my home.
Shepherd was an Opinion columnist from 2012-2013, assistant Opinion editor from 2013-2014, and a News editor from 2014-2015.