Starting new adventures at the end of UCLA, to many, is ironic.

You are on the verge of graduating – moving into the big, wide world. You will be leaving behind classes, commitments and communities that shaped your everyday life. Both the spontaneity and structure of UCLA are, if not lost, then greatly diminished once you walk across that stage.

Why not spend all your time in the places you know? The places that are familiar and come easily?

Because UCLA is not built for complacency, even for the aging and exhausted seniors graduating this year – or maybe that’s just me.

My time at UCLA has been marked by many different endeavors and experiences that have changed me from an overly confident and slightly awkward freshman to a well-rounded person. UCLA has a way of completing a person – of making them whole.

But my time at the Daily Bruin is the dessert for all the other courses I have indulged in on this campus. And thankfully, I have a huge sweet tooth.

The thing about joining a new club or organization right at the end of your college career is that your experience is a microcosm of the wider culture and community you are joining. There are amazingly talented writers and artists and photographers whom I would’ve met in the Daily Bruin if I had joined earlier.

But I didn’t. And not only is that okay, it is actually quite beautiful. Our time at UCLA is already fleeting. You cannot do everything, meet everyone or go to every event. But you can do the things that are meaningful to you and make the most of the present moment with the people around you.

Being in the Daily Bruin taught me that precisely because I had such little time here.

What I have been able to do is meet the fantastic, awe-inspiring, memorable and hardworking people of this newspaper. I cannot put into words all the personalities and characters that make this place feel like a true community.

I also cannot describe the impact the Daily Bruin has had on my ability as a writer, researcher and journalist. I have found my passion and clarion call to journalism in the office of Kerckhoff Hall 118.

Being present with this newspaper has shown me how the ideas, people and office all make up one whole: the Daily Bruin. A place with rigorous focus on factuality and delivering the important stories, on time, for our community. But it is also that same place of intense passion and creativity that makes it so hard to say goodbye.

Like I said, our time at UCLA is fleeting. There is only so much you can do while here.

To mark that, I would encourage all UCLA students to not be afraid of the moment. Whether you just stepped foot on our campus or you are taking your last steps here, explore every facet and avenue. Find a hidden spot in a building on campus or go down a mysterious hallway on your way to class.

You never know what you’ll find. I have had so many friendships formed, memories created and doors opened by trying new things.

And to all the incoming seniors, the class of 2027, go join something new. Your time at UCLA won’t last forever. Now is the time to join the new club, make a new friend in class or form a relationship with your favorite professor.

Be in the present. Enjoy every moment you have at UCLA while you can. It doesn’t last forever. Enjoy the physical Daily Bruin newspaper on your walk back from class, or take time to reach out to friends you want to see again.

Because the only way you experience UCLA is not in the future. Despite how much we plead with Father Time to send us back to freshman year to live it all over again, we cannot.

We cannot experience college in the rearview. The only way you can truly live your time at UCLA is in the present.

Make the most of it.