Some people follow their sweethearts across the country. I followed mine to the Daily Bruin Arts & Entertainment section.
I watched David Greenwald write CD reviews of Ryan Adams and interview Iron & Wine, and I admired his passion for rock journalism and extensive knowledge on the subject.
But it wasn’t until I tried out for an a capella group my sophomore year and got rejected that I seriously considered arts journalism. On a whim, and needing something to do besides stare at my physics textbook all day, I applied to the Daily Bruin Arts & Entertainment section and made it.
If you had told me as a freshman that I would wind up as a theater/arts editor, skipping class a few times to edit stories so they’d be just perfect (don’t tell my parents), or spending more time researching Arthur Miller plays for a story than reading about how to titrate amino acids, the pre-med in me would have balked.
But sometimes life has a different plan for us than we expect, and the more time I spent at The Bruin, the more I realized (grudgingly at first) that journalism was one of the top, if not the top, passions of mine.
Only at The Bruin could I interview Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Hauser, M.D.) or write snarky columns about Paris Hilton.
Only at The Bruin could I see movies for free ““ under the pretense of reviewing them, of course ““ or watch with joy as writers learned how to write punchy, attention-grabbing leads under my tutelage.
And only at The Bruin could I have met such passionate, motivated people: John Guigayoma in Viewpoint, who was always willing to write articles for me and … er, dance with me; my fellow assistant editors Devon Dickau and Mark Humphrey, whose endless insight on movies and music still boggles my mind; the tireless copy editors and designers who may not get bylines but toil away in the office hours after the content sections leave; the wonderful Photo editors; Dharmishta, Saba, Courtney, Bobby, and David Woods.
As I prepare to graduate, my plans have shifted. Out are the days with thermodynamics and G proteins; in are the months ahead with international health work in Ecuador, Peace Corps, and, perhaps, more journalism. And this time, as I head to graduate school, my boyfriend plans to follow me wherever I go.
So I guess the moral of the story is, no matter where life takes you, it pays off to follow your dreams … and your significant other.
Fylstra was the 2006-2007 Arts & Entertainment Theater&Arts editor.