Wow. This is my last semester of college. Starting in June, I will have no more schooling, at least in the foreseeable future, and I will be living in Los Angeles. I’m not entirely sure where I will be working, what I will be doing, and in what sort of place I will be living, but that is part of the adventure and mystery that comprises the life of a second semester senior.
I know that I want to work in the film industry. Directing, writing, producing, or probably some combination of all three. I didn’t realize I wanted to go into film until this past summer, when the epiphany sort of jumped out at me like an estranged friend from behind a couch at a surprise birthday party. “Oh hey there, I’ve been meaning to call you.” I realize that’s probably not the best analogy, but it describes how the epiphany made me feel: like I should have been in touch with my film interest all along. Like I should have taken those film and acting classes like I always meant to in high school, but somehow decided that AP Chemistry was a better use of my time (It wasn’t.)
Well, as a second semester senior, I’m finally doing the things in which I harbor passion.
I’m taking a film class where we don’t just hash theory (that was last semester’s film class), but we actually go out and make films. We write our scripts, we workshop them with each other in class, we go out and track down actors, we set the production schedule, we set the camera/lighting/etc, we do multiple takes, we edit, edit, edit, and then finally have a presentable product to abandon. (For every piece of art is never finished but abandoned).
I have taken several films classes at Georgetown and two at the Beijing Center, but this is only the second one I’ve taken that makes the class go out and return with individually-produced products. And this is the first class that has required me to produce a script. Oh the troubles of a student at a non-film quasi-Ivy league university.
I am also taking a fiction writing class that requires a short story for every class. I am taking an acting class to broaden my knowledge of acting and gain an appreciation for that art. I am taking a European history course and a Victorian Literature class focused on globalization. The last two are requirements, but I am gaining a useful perspective on how our modern society was formed.
People are surprised when I say film. People are in awe when I say I spent nine months in China and that I am some sort of fluent in Chinese (fluency is unattainable in Chinese). However, I hold the belief that all of my life experiences will enrich my art and supply me with a perspective on our society that is unique among many other artists my age.
Besides classes, I am the chair of an interchapter conference for my co-ed fraternity that takes place on March 23. I am busy planning for that, inviting speakers, and confirming the event details for that day. I am excited to meet many other Alpha Phi Omega brothers on the surrounding campuses and to host some informative workshops.
I am also on the seventh week of Julia Cameron’s 12 week creative recovery process titled, “The Artist’s Way.” This process requires writing three pages of thoughts every morning, along with a few hours to myself every week, which she calls the Artist’s Date. I am using this process to get into the habit of writing out my concerns, to connecting with my creative consciousness, and encouraging myself to make art in spite of life’s demands, others’ criticism, or an addiction to perfectionism. This process has been fantastic so far and helpful to gaining greater peace and happiness.
The last event I have yet to mention, and that I am incredibly excited for, is my spring break externship trip through Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance (GEMA) to Los Angeles. I am learning more details on that this week, but the gist of the program is that I have the opportunity to meet with several executives within the entertainment and media industries of Los Angeles and learn more about those fields. Expect updates on that soon!
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