The train car is half full when I walk in.

An empty seat is not too hard to find. I plop myself down and crack open the biography I’ve been reading.

It’s late on a Friday in May.

The sunlight is already waning. The train leans to the side as it speeds down the railway track, enough to distract me from my reading. When I occasionally look out the window opposite my seat, the sky looks tinted gold.

It’s been a long day – the start of what will be a very long weekend. I’m hours away from my apartment in Los Angeles because the student newspaper has sent me here.

But that’s not why I’m on the train.

What makes this scene different for me is not what’s present at the moment but what’s absent. I’m not wearing a press badge or credential on a lanyard or a camera strap – even though I was a few hours ago. I’m not scrambling on my computer to edit a column or submit an art request.

I don’t even have to check the notifications on my phone, although I still do a couple of times.

But is this really bliss? Is this freedom? Is this what I’ve been working toward for all these years – for the moment when the Daily Bruin leaves my life?

I may sound like a broken record, but it hasn’t entirely sunk in as I type this. I still can’t believe the end is already here.

Wait. I’m sorry. Was that a little rude? I probably should have introduced myself first.

Nicolas. Nick. Nic. Greamo. Call me what you’d like.

In my short time at this paper, I’ve done a couple of things.

I wrote about my opinions for a year. Then, I spent three more as an editor and a member of the Editorial Board, working to craft new viewpoints and hone the arguments of others as best as I could.

And then, partway through my second year, I asked to borrow a camera for the first time – and I haven’t looked back since.

Opinion writing and photography may seem like an odd combination. But, at this point, I think I’ve developed some justification for it.

My principal jobs here have been to channel emotions and to capture them.

Two ways of recording the history happening every day on our campus and in our community. Two ways of trying to hold power accountable by presenting unvarnished and unalloyed truth. Two ways of experiencing this world of ours that I only had the chance to pursue here.

Most newspapers probably wouldn’t have given me the beautiful opportunities I’ve had at The Bruin.

So, to five generations of Opinion editors, I’d like to express my sincerest gratitude. From the ones who trained me to the ones who’ll take my place – thank you for all you’ve given to me and this humble section of our newspaper.

To the many columnists I’ve worked with over these years, thank you for your incredible effort, brilliance and commitment to building a platform for your voices. It has been an unparalleled joy to read your work and be convinced by it.

To four generations of Photo editors, I have been deeply honored to see your remakable work and receive all your advice. And, thank you as well, for each and every time you set up a camera for me. I can only hope I haven’t been too much of a burden for you all.

And to all of you at the Daily Bruin – those of you who’ve brightened so many of my days at this paper – thank you for being with me over these unforgettable years.

An ocean separates the person who entered this newsroom and the one who leaves it.

An ocean punctuated by moments frozen in time.

I don’t have the space to share them all here. My apologies to you, dear reader, but I want to keep something for myself.

I know, though, that I will carry them all for the rest of my life.

I’m at the end of the line now. After transferring from one train to another, my long journey has reached its terminus.

I’ve gone as far as I can go.

Night envelops the station when I get off. It’s too dark to read now, so I stand by the road. Waiting.

The brightly-colored bus glides to a halt. Out pops my brother, who I’ve been fortunate enough to visit because of my assignment for The Bruin.

We got pizza after. It was pretty good.

To my family – who have supported me through my whole journey at UCLA and probably have the best sense of what being part of the Daily Bruin has meant to me – thank you so, so much.

I’ll be home soon.

Greamo was Opinion editor 2024-2025, Photo staff 2023-2025, assistant Opinion editor 2022-2024 and an Opinion columnist 2021-2022.