I didn’t expect my UCLA experience to be very meaningful. I knew I could have fun, try new activities and meet new people at UCLA. But to have a consequential time at a university I just transferred into within two years, all during a global pandemic, fed into my glass-half-empty mentality.

There is no doubt that social media has revolutionized news consumption and the spread of information online.
However, along with these benefits comes the imminent danger of misinformation and its severe consequences, both for those who consume it and society as a whole.

I often ask myself, “What legacy will I leave behind?” The follow-up question can’t help but nudge its way in the back of my conscience: “Am I making the right decisions with the course of my life?”
Growing up as a low-income, first-generation transfer student perpetuated my drive to succeed and beat the odds of becoming just another number in the system.

The Daily Bruin was the place at UCLA where I was able to most grow my curiosity.
Picking up the paper each morning, I was always in awe of how students were so effectively covering the many layers of what was happening on campus and in the surrounding community.

I had no prior journalistic experience to entice the Daily Bruin when I applied.
This fact didn’t do anything to help with my confidence as I worked on my application.

I was rejected by my high school newspaper at the end of my sophomore year. As insignificant as that feels to me now, it was a large reason that I applied to the Daily Bruin.

I spent my four years of undergrad thinking about you.
You had this undying passion for film and storytelling. You would come home from the theaters and secretly reenact the movie your eyes just captured.