I tend to know what I want from the get-go.
I already knew that an urban jungle was not my ideal choice of residence. I am not a city girl at heart. I wanted to go to a fantastical location that was remote, where it rained often and I could set up camp and be in complete solitude anytime I wanted. I had always lived on the eastern side of the City of Angels, and I wanted to leave that landscape behind.
I had high expectations for college. It had to be perfect from the start, because otherwise it felt like a failure that I could not justify. But eventually I understood that UCLA was not a place where everything magically fell into place, and that life continues in a similar fashion with manic highs and lows.
Somehow I got lucky eventually and found something here that made the initial doubt of my choices fade.
I never really used a camera before the Daily Bruin. A friend of mine had encouraged me to apply, and I did because of her. I was eventually accepted. Flash forward to now and to the fact that these columns cannot exceed a mini-novel, and I can now say that I know exactly what I want to do. I fell in love with photojournalism once I gave it my all. I was able to create beautiful memories by simply recording my observations through photographs. The act is more than enough for me to honestly say that I never regretted the decision I made four years ago. I am bound by no fear when I am behind the lens.
Being at this university for the past four years has been a safe haven for me, allowing me to move on from situations I had no previous control over. It may not have been everything that I had wanted it to be, but it was actually everything that I needed it to be. UCLA is imperfect, but it can give you much more than what you had before.
Ramirez was an assistant Photo editor from 2014-2015 and a photographer from 2012-2014.