I have answered the all-too-familiar “What do you want to do with your life?” questions that pervade family gatherings in the same way for more than a decade now. “I want to be a journalist.” But before college, I didn’t really know what that meant. I was the editor in chief of my monthly high […]
Category Archives: Opinion
Patricia Ferido: Finding a community through video journalism
When I first decided to apply to the Daily Bruin, I expected that working as a video journalist would be exciting and glamorous. And to an extent, my expectations were met. I got VIP media passes to Outside Lands, flew in an airplane with a student who was also a pilot and sat with ex-gang […]
Amanda Schallert: Learning from the optimists on campus
I scramble for words whenever I try to give personal advice to friends. I want to hear about people’s problems, but I can’t find anything inspiring to say back. It’s hard to be encouraging when my own doubts are already through the roof. My voice is also lacking just because I’m thrown off by how […]
Aram Ghoogasian: Finding strength in differences to create a true Bruin identity
When we first step onto this campus, we come not only with suitcases and bundled nerves, but our identities – where we’ve come from and how we see the world – as well. UCLA, however, sometimes has other ideas. This institution tries to mediate the way we express our identities and tries to homogenize us […]
Kelsey Rocha: Failure fills an essential role in life
The most underrated college experience is failure. For the past four years, I’ve written stories about arts and entertainment that range in topics – from a pie contest to the JazzReggae Festival to horror films to furniture art installations to celebrity sightings. It’s almost always been unexpected, but amazing nonetheless. But behind every article, there’s […]
Alexandra Tashman: Bringing a burden into the light
In my four years at the Daily Bruin, I’ve written 64 columns. This is my 65th, and my last. I’ve long believed that columns are really just glorified arguments. And there are few things more personal than an argument. Arguments betray who you are – how you think, what you believe and what you value. […]
Kevin Bowman: Taking wrong turns in the right directions
I’ve had more than a few near-death experiences. There’s the time I almost fell off the 3-foot-high branch on a tree in my backyard when I was 6. There’s the time I had to get a cast on my arm after my brother threw a block at it. And of course, there’s the time I […]