I wholeheartedly admit that I have been the biggest One Direction stan since 2012. My love for the band only intensified throughout the years, but when I entered college, I decided it was time to let go of something that truly raised me and got me through my adolescence. I felt like I was entering a stage in my life where I had to let go of things that would be considered immature or childish, such as loving a boy band.
In the first few days of being in the dorms, I tiptoed around mentioning One Direction when my roommates and floormates asked about what I liked and what hobbies I had. One day, I revealed my dirty little secret to my roommates because I had a One Direction pillowcase that just had to be explained. While I was ready to be looked down upon for my appreciation of One Direction, Ehrman 114 came through, and Brittney and Courtney embraced my fangirl antics with open arms. As I revealed my love for One Direction, a weight was lifted off my shoulders — I know this sounds dramatic, but 18-year-old Joyce was so self-conscious and didn’t know any better.
As these past four years have flown by, I have become more and more confident about mentioning my love for One Direction, and it has honestly become a personality trait that most of my friends, old and new, would mention about me. Not only has my love for One Direction survived throughout these past four years, but it has also become a part of my college experience in a way much bigger than I thought it would. This comfort I felt being a One Direction stan translated into me being more comfortable about other traits that I used to hate about myself or was too embarrassed to reveal. I used to strive to be portrayed as a very professional, and even intimidating, person who had her sh*t together. But my love for One Direction taught me that I’m still young and that I have so much time later in life to truly buckle down. Yes, college is for academics, but honestly, academics only play a small part in what college really is. One Direction helped me realize that college is about experiencing things and not being afraid to be the mess that I truly am.
Because of One Direction and friends along the way, I have experienced the most beautiful chaos at UC Berkeley. From running around with Maxine until the wee hours of the night to losing my mind at The Daily Californian office at 2 a.m. with Sakura and Kaitlan during production, these past four years have filled me with memories that I will always cherish — memories that would not have come to be without the acceptance I felt freshman year.
I will always remember staying up until 5 a.m. in my freshman dorm with my roommates for absolutely no reason. I will always (somewhat) remember going out with my best friends, getting drunk and ending the night at the Taco Bell on Durant. I will always remember sitting in the design cubicle pretending that I was actually a part of the department. I will always remember begging Daily Cal upper management to make a TikTok with me. I will always remember losing my mind on the first floor of Moffitt with Maxine. I will always remember having my hometown friends Kim and Jazzy come experience college with me — whether by walking around campus or bringing them to parties (we love when worlds collide). I will always remember times with my roommates, Nicki, Shauna and Sandra, having our coveted music video nights, when we just drank and danced along to various music videos because we were bored. And lastly, I will always remember senior year as the happiest times I’ve had in college, regardless of COVID-19.
To friends who have known me since freshman year, friends whom I made this semester and those in between, thank you for embracing the chaotic energy that I used to be so ashamed of. Thank you for appreciating my bad British accent and Twitter humor. Thank you for being there for me during my madness, such as when I was convinced that I looked like Pleakley from “Lilo and Stitch” in a black wig. Thank you for loving me for loving One Direction. Thank you for making college what I did not expect but desperately needed in order to grow as a person.
I always imagined how my life would go, especially when it came to how my college experience would pan out. 2016 Joyce would be thoroughly surprised with how 2020 Joyce turned out and what she has experienced — but nonetheless, 2016 Joyce would be proud and happy for what I’ve done at UC Berkeley. 2012 Joyce would be even more surprised that a boy band she came across on Twitter would have such an unknowing impact on her. I know it’s been years since One Direction has actually been a band, but I’ll always appreciate it for helping me overcome the discomfort and fear that come with college.
Joyce Cam was the 2019-20 special issues editor. She joined The Daily Californian in spring 2018 as a blogger and was blog editor in summer 2018, a social media staffer in fall 2018, assistant blog editor in spring 2019 and hiring manager in summer 2019. She is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in public policy.