A little more than a year ago, when I was still living/working/going to school in Beverly, Massachusetts, I decided that whatever it was I was doing with my life it wasn’t what I wanted. The art I was working on didn’t excite me and I spent a majority of my time watching films, as many as I could get my hands on. In fact I was watching such a large quantity of films I had to start keeping track by recording them into a journal (since August 2007 I’ve viewed almost 600 titles, not including those I’d seen previously). When I was younger I had toyed with the idea of becoming a cinematographer, thinking it would have been a really sweet job, but never took myself seriously enough to believe I was capable of achieving such a thing. Needless to say I’m ecstatic that I switched gears because after my first year at Columbia College in Chicago I know now that this is precisely where I need to be. And I don’t care that it took me this long to find out, some people never do, so I consider myself beyond lucky. Were my three years at Montserrat College of Art a waste of time? Hell no. Every step I’ve taken in my life has led me up to this exact moment and I never question the decisions I’ve made. If we spent every minute wondering ‘what if?’ we’d never progress, never move forward. The only time is now, and if we don’t make the most of it life will literally pass us by without a moment’s hesitation.
The road ahead is long, it is arduous, and I will probably become disheartened and want to give up a few times along the way. But that’s how it goes. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.” I’m inviting you to join me in discovering if I possess that courage.
This blog will document my last two years at Columbia, no holds barred, no dirty details withheld. I will not censor myself. There will also be film reviews and other such related loveliness. Welcome to my life as a film student, I hope you enjoy your stay : )
