“It should be called the Hourly Bruin.”

My roommate once made this joke after seeing me glued to my computer editing Graduation Issue meows until 2 a.m. one night, with nothing but the sound of Slack notifications to keep me company.

I had just become the assistant Social Media director of the Daily Bruin at the end of my sophomore year, and it was my first ever leadership role in college. I’ve never considered myself to be a perfectionist – in fact, I’ve always strongly subscribed to the idea that relaxation and destressing should always come before work. But as an editor, I was determined to give it my all.

Now, two years later, I’m writing this during week 8 of my final quarter at UCLA as the Social Media director.

The Daily Bruin was the first organization I ever joined at UCLA, when I was a wide-eyed freshman who thought the interview question: “Tell me about yourself” meant what music I liked and hobbies I enjoyed. While I’ve joined other organizations and held various internships throughout my college career, The Bruin is the one thing I’ve stuck with all four years.

I’ve often been asked why I’ve stayed. After all, I usually spend as much time doing work for The Bruin as I do studying. I’ve woken up early and stayed up late on both weekdays and weekends. Slack has gone uncontested in my top five most-used apps. I’ve dealt with being canceled on Instagram, received angry, multi-paragraph-long DMs, had my fair share of corrections and everything in between. And ironically, despite the name of my section, I’ve had very few social interactions with the other editors and the people on my team.

But through it all, I have never once considered leaving the paper.

When I look back on my four years as a Bruin, this paper, no matter how stressful or time-consuming, has defined my time here at UCLA. It has allowed me to be at the center of informing the Bruin community and helped me discover what I want to do post-graduation. I always knew I wanted to pursue social media as a full-time job, but it wasn’t until I joined the Daily Bruin that I discovered that being at the forefront of social media in the journalism field is what I truly love.

Out of all the experiences listed on my resume, The Bruin has been my shining jewel, the place I’ve learned the most valuable lessons about leadership, work ethic, creativity and so much more.

The Daily Bruin has a reputation on campus for being cold and elitist, but that could not be further from the truth in my experience.

Being able to bring other writers’ stories to life and give them well-deserved exposure on social media has been incredibly rewarding. Every day, I’m in awe of how talented, dedicated and passionate the editors of this paper are. To be a part of an organization where each and every person puts their all into every piece of work they do, no matter how big or small, is an honor in and of itself.

My time at the “Hourly Bruin” may be coming to an end, but I will be forever grateful to this organization for the way it’s shaped who I am and where I want to go. While I can’t say I’ve loved every second of it or that the office has become my second home – because honestly, I’ve really only gone to see the office dogs – it has been the most consistent and rewarding thing in the last four years of my life.

Lastly, thank you a billion times over to Isa, my assistant Social Media director this year but more importantly, my friend and Social partner-in-crime. You and our unhinged Slack conversations have kept me sane through every missed deadline, breaking story and Instagram fiasco. I couldn’t have done it without you.

And with that cheesy line, I say goodbye to the Daily Bruin. It’s been – mostly – fun.

Lin was a Social Media contributor in 2019-2021, assistant Social Media director 2021-2022 and Social Media director 2022-2023.