As a transfer student, it’s really hard to know where to start, especially at a school that is as large as UCLA. I seem to be having that same problem still.

Where do I start?

My experience at the Daily Bruin has not been a long one. At the beginning of my first winter quarter I stumbled upon the application, and by spring quarter, to my surprise, I was officially an opinion columnist for the paper.

I am not sure what initially prompted me to apply to the Opinion section, because I have never been one to air my opinions on a regular basis.

For a long time, I told myself that I was not confident enough to share my own opinions, but that changed when this newspaper gave me the platform to explore what I believe in. My decision to train as an opinion columnist no longer felt out of left field.

Once I started pitching columns to the Opinion section, I realized that this interest in opinion was not just a means to share my own voice, but to elevate others’.

After my first article was published, I knew my voice was taking on an entirely different volume than what I was used to hearing myself say.

My first piece was about college culture, and how headphones can cut us off from one another in a setting bursting with potential community.

The topic was niche but felt valuable to me as both a transfer student and student in general, who at times felt lonely on this campus.

What I realized was through the process of interviewing, researching and writing for this piece, I was able to feel a community that I had yet to encounter at this university.

Journalism at times can feel very independent, but the process to create these articles, to even get them on the ground running, takes a community.

I have always viewed writing as a very independent process, but being a columnist at the Daily Bruin has shown me an entirely new form of writing that takes a community, and is only stronger when other perspectives are incorporated.

There is undoubtedly something sacred to the words in which we choose to put down on paper, but there is also something sacred to the process of working with others to create an article that brings together various voices.

Something special about the experience of being a journalist is getting the opportunity to communicate with people. This may sound rather ordinary, but the intentional communication that you must pursue as a journalist can be incredibly meaningful.

Initially the idea of interviewing different individuals – whether that be students, faculty or anyone outside of the UCLA bubble – can seem daunting.

But having a reason to talk to so many different individuals with so many different opinions and perspectives on life is fascinating. You learn just as much outside of the classroom having mindful conversations with people, as you might learn inside of the classroom.

Writing articles for the Opinion section has not simply been about me supporting my own opinions, but learning as to why I have these opinions in the first place.

Two consistent questions that I ask myself are “how can I better evaluate and listen to where others are coming from?” and “how can I give them a reason to value my point of view?”

One of my favorite articles that I got to write this past quarter outlined the plight wild horses are facing on America’s public lands. This piece was not just a cry for the wild, but rather a conversation that these animals are asking us to have because they need us to voice what they cannot.

I realized that my writing didn’t have to consistently focus on mainstream issues, but what was important was just valuing the opinion I had in the first place, and allowing that value to be felt through my words.

If you truly care for what you’re writing about, people will hear the meaning in it.

Nonetheless, the Daily Bruin has been my greatest teacher. It taught me how opinions can shape the way we understand the world. It has given me a confidence in my writing and my voice that I have never felt before, and it ingrained in me the importance of not just sharing what I have to say, but listening to what others have to say too.

Being a part of the Daily Bruin at UCLA has been the most unexpected and unquestionably rewarding experience I’ve had during college.

I want to say thank you to the entire Opinion section, and a special thank you to Nicolas Greamo for being my first encounter at DB, and giving me the initial opportunity to write for the Opinion section, Russell Ahmed and Sierra Benayon-Abraham for being thoughtful, kind and caring editors and Tavian Williams for being such an incredible primary editor, thank you all for believing in me.

When I am writing I’ve always found first words to be more difficult, but right now I’m having a really hard time coming up with some last ones.

Brehmer was a Opinion staff 2024-2025 and an Opinion contributor 2023-2024.