Do not ask me to pick a restaurant to go to for dinner.

Do not ask me what my favorite song is. Do not ask me if I want to go to that party or not. I cannot make a quick decision to save my life.

However, if you ask me what I want to do with my life, I’ll answer “journalism” in an instant.

In my first week at UCLA, I attended the Enormous Activities Fair, where I set my sights on one booth and one booth only. As I weaved in and out of the seemingly endless tables advertising career success or extracurricular hobbies in the blazing sun, I searched desperately for that one booth that would come to define my experience at UCLA.

And just like that, I became a News contributor for campus politics.

From day one I was determined to become an editor. I wanted to be the first one to get to breaking news. I wanted the responsibility of getting to determine what stories get covered and what didn’t. I was fascinated by the life cycle of a story, and I simply had to learn as much as I could.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was the person to raise their hand in every beat meeting and to come to every social, even the ones where I was one of only three non-editors. Sure, to some it may have appeared as over-eager, but I had already decided I was going to get there no matter what.

When the time to apply to be an assistant News editor came along last spring, it took no hesitation for me to apply for the city and crime – now metro – editor position.

Being an editor challenged me in ways I did not expect – and I had to make a lot of quick decisions.

Did I want to use a photo or an illustration for a story? What theme would be best for the special election issue? Did I want to send people to cover a trial day-by-day? These were all questions that I faced during my editorial tenure.

I had to learn to trust my own judgement. I had to learn to be comfortable with making a decision on my own and accepting whatever outcome came of it.

It was scary – what if I wasted everyone’s time? What if I covered something the wrong way? What if there was a better place I could send someone?

But I soon found that when it came to writing the news – especially breaking news – there was no time to ponder the outcomes over and over.

The news waits for no one.

When news breaks, nothing else exists except me and a blank page. There is no time to sit and fret over what words to put down. Instead, calls need to be made, photos need to be taken and many Slack messages need to be sent.

Learning to trust my own judgement and gain leadership confidence was a learning curve to which I am still adjusting. But, today, I feel more confident about every choice I make when it comes to my journalistic experience.

I also faced different kinds of decisions that led me to some of my greatest memories at The Bruin. I decided what my go-to order was at Poom Thai Cuisine. I decided I wanted to cover the WeHo Pride Parade. I decided to go to trivia night at Barney’s Beanery.

The friendships I formed with my fellow Daily Bruin staffers have been the backbone of my college years. When I am not at home or in class, there’s a pretty good chance I am in Kerckhoff 118.

Sitting in those swivel chairs inside that windowless room with my eyes glued to the computer is only made bearable by the people sitting next to me. All those late nights after covering a protest or an election I now look back on fondly because I got to share them with a group of wickedly talented student journalists.

That’s the way I look back on a lot of my time at The Bruin. Through all of the stories I witnessed and the hours of sleep I lost, I see the memories – and the many, many plates of pad see ew – I shared with my friends.

So all that said, the decision to join The Bruin changed my life – and I wouldn’t do anything differently.

Gillette was Metro editor 2024-2025 and a News contributor 2023-2024.