Bye-lines: Bumpy ride turns out to be worth it

I first wandered down the dark recesses of Kerckhoff Hall and
into the Daily Bruin office almost a year and a half ago. Having no
previous journalism experience whatsoever and being a transfer
student at an overwhelmingly large campus, I decided to jump into
something completely foreign to me: the world of copy editing.

I’ve never been a person of many words and my slight fear
of interviewing people made me hesitate joining a writing section.
I thought I could get away with avoiding people by working at the
desk because, after all, the text and the style guides are laid out
in front of you.

But I was so wrong. There’s more to copy than writing
headlines and spell-checking. It’s about not being noticed
until a mistake passes through. It’s about starting a shift
after your entire academic day is complete. Lastly, it’s
about maintaining the integrity of the paper, and ensuring each and
every night that the version we put to bed lives up to its
potential.

Working at copy at The Bruin encourages communication among all
sorts of talented editors, writers, designers and photographers.
I’ve learned the importance of standing up for copy as well
as compromising to maintain a cooperative environment. I’ve
learned how to keep my sanity all those late nights past 2 a.m.
when layouts weren’t finished being edited. I’ve
learned more about UCLA history and its inner workings. I’ve
learned to make some sacrifices so that everything in my life
remains balanced.

I’ve been very fortunate to collaborate with a dedicated
and enjoyable copy staff. Thank you for your hard work and for
boosting the desk’s morale this year. I know that I will
leave with the same type of enthusiasm that will probably make me
want to come back to see what copy is up to in a few years time. My
time here at UCLA is coming to an end, but many memories and faces
will always be with me.

Working at copy wasn’t always a smooth ride, but it was
all definitely worth it. I’m not afraid to say it: I’ll
miss The Bruin. And the duck, too.

Sarmiento was a Daily Bruin copy deputy.