Post-Graduation

As I enter my senior year at Emerson College, friends and family alike have been asking me the age old question, "What are you going to do?" This is always followed by, "Where do you want to go?" "Will you stay in Boston?" "Have you considered moving to LA or NYC?"

My answer is always simple-- "I am going to go wherever life takes me."  That isn't to say I haven't played a huge role in my own success thus far, because I have. I have hustled my arse off to be where I am today. I will continue to hustle. A lot can happen in one year. How am I to know where I will end up? Who I might meet? Or the opportunities that will come my way?

When I transferred to Emerson last year I had no idea the opportunities that await me. I was new all over again. I had zero connections there. I was like Bambi as he took his first steps. Fast forward to a year later and I have spent my summer doing TV production work for the Red Sox, am helping to produce several films for award winning filmmakers, was sought out for my first paid video production gig, and just received an email from an amazing documentary production company wanting to set up a phone interview with me as I hope to intern for them this fall.

I will reiterate, in one year, who knows who I will meet, work with, or where I will end up? The only plan I can have is to continue hustling. A few months prior to graduation I will begin job hunting...if I don't already have a prospective job lined up by then. For the right career opportunity, I am willing to relocate. I am also available to travel for my work. Whatever is waiting for me I will find it. But, until the time has come for this all I can tell you now is, I will be ok.

To the most wonderful woman I have ever known

Hard work really does pay off

I found out today that I have been awarded the Next Step Scholarship from Emerson. This means that half of my tuition is covered.

I still can’t put my head around the fact that everything I put my mind to I was able to make happen. Three years ago I had a GED and a dream to become an Emerson student. I remember visiting Bunker Hill Community College with my boyfriend and discussing with an advisor my options for transfer and funding Emerson. The Next Step Scholarship was mentioned and the competition seemed intimidating…but it was the only way. I set forth on a journey to do whatever it took to become Emerson material. For once in my life things are going good.

I’m going to take this moment to count my blessings. <3

My only concern about transferring to Emerson is...

 ...the lack of diversity.

I have spent the last two and half years at Bunker Hill Community College. A place so diverse we have students from close to 100 countries attending and 75 different languages being spoken on campus. Heck, I’m the minority…and I LOVE it. I have never found another place so open and accepting of every kind of person. I have never once been judged for my beliefs, economical background, personality, or how I dress. I am accepted and liked by many for who I am. We are all accepted and liked for who we are— differences and similarities alike.

Will I be able to say the same when I attend Emerson College? The one complaint I have heard from many students is that Emerson has close to zero diversity. Unless of course you are talking about the variety of rich, privileged, sheltered, white kids. The thought of that kind of atmosphere actually makes me nervous. I don’t want to be put back under the same microscope I was under during middle school and high school. I don’t want to be in an environment of adolescent minds that lack wisdom, insight, and real world experience.

With that said, no matter the environment I will not allow it to affect my progression as a filmmaker. Nor will I assume every student is like that. Innocent until proven guilty, right?

As I usually do, I will keep a positive outlook and focus my thoughts on the relationships I will build while at Emerson. I have never been one to let anything get in my way or discourage me from my path. I am beyond excited to finally start studying TV production and take an active role in the clubs, organizations, and opportunities offered by Emerson. I have waited my entire life to fulfill this desire of mine. The majority of my life was spent trying to figure out how to be involved in what I love to do. Finally, I have found my way.

Now Taking Donations!

I had to create a GoFundMe account in order to raise the $500 needed as an enrollment deposit for Emerson College. Unfortunately, deposits are the only thing financial aid does not cover. When you click the link below you will be able to view pictures and read a short summary of my situation. Every little bit helps!

http://www.gofundme.com/2o82ms

Stuck In the Middle With You

I am feeling "stuck in the middle."

I am nearing the end of my long journey to Emerson which has taken three years of hard work, little to no sleep, and a lot of self-motivation. After working so hard for so long I have a rather laid back last semester. I am taking one class which only meets once a week. This has opened up more hours for me to work and much more time to myself. I even started to write a script!  I haven't written a proper script since eighth grade. Even though that is how I wanted to spend my last semester before starting up the hard work again I keep finding myself eager to get to the point where I can actually start making money working in TV.

I have built a great academic resume and have years of experience working with a large diverse population of people along with a ton of other useful skills... but none of which could get me in the door to TV Production yet. As far as I know, anyway. When I browse through friends Facebook pages, a lot of whom have finished their undergraduate degrees, they are either working in their field or in grad school while also working in their field. I get so envious of this! I know my time is coming but I am just so eager to be there.

It just seems like all these people get to just live there lives doing all these exciting things while I am stuck here, not doing anything special per say, as I go through my transition. I know I will do exciting things in my future but it's the waiting part that feels like it lasts forever. I only submitted my application to Emerson 10 days ago and it already feels like an eternity. I keep going in circles of checking the Emerson Portal (even though I know nothing has changed), going to the BBC work experience page and day dreaming about possible future internships, researching Emerson acceptance rates, reading and re-reading the different Transfer Student info pages at Emerson.edu, drafting my prospective Emerson class schedule if accepted, researching the clubs and organizations I want to join while a student at Emerson, and so many other internet searches on the things I want to get involved in.

I can't stop anxiously waiting for May. May 15th is Emerson's decision notification day... My future depends on that decision. I can't help but be consumed by thoughts, concerns, and anxiety. That, and I seriously cannot wait to go to Costa Rica. Which, just so happens to start on May 18th. May is going to be a big month for me. Unless, of course, Emerson informs me of a decision before May. In which case, I suppose May will still be huge because I'M GOING TO COSTA RICA!!

I just can't wait to be living my dream. I can't wait til I am traveling, making TV magic happen, and making enough money to finally fully support myself, my needs and wants, and Ryan. I can't wait to be meeting big names and making a big name for myself. I can't wait to experience more of life and continue to grow as a person. I can't wait to give back to my community and help good causes. I just can't wait to have a life beyond college.

My Journey to Emerson at a 3 Year Glance

Just about three years ago (it will be exactly three years in March), I set out on my journey to Emerson College. Having only a GED in hand I had to face the reality that I wasn't exactly Emerson material... yet. I knew I had the passion and drive that Emerson looks for, but I didn't have the credentials, experience, and resume to show as proof to the kind of person I am. This meant I had to attend community college in order to have all the necessary requirements fulfilled before applying and giving myself a chance at being accepted.  I wasn't exactly thrilled about this but it was what I had to do.

Bunker Hill Community College for some reason had always stood out to me. If I had to be stuck going to community college in the first place, I might as well go to Bunker Hill. To my surprise, going to Bunker Hill has changed my life. But this entry isn't about my experience at Bunker Hill.

On February 8th, 2013 I submitted my Common Application and Emerson Supplements. All other required documents I had delivered in January. A few days later I received my email from Emerson admission giving me my Emerson ID so I could sign into the Application Portal and check the status of my application, as well as view the list of required documents and the dates they received them. I was so excited that I even took a screen shot of that page. I can't believe my journey to get to Emerson has finally reached its ending. Now I await their decision.

That's when I started over analyzing, as I do... What if I get accepted to Emerson but I'm not actually cut out for what I love to do? Not only that, but to truly gain experience and take advantage of what Emerson has to offer, I must get involved in the college's organizations. How will I be able to balance a full time course-load, one which I am sure is more demanding of me than that of Bunker Hill, and join clubs, make art, work, and pass... all at the same time? Will I find what I am really good at? Will I find my niche?

I have also taken a much different route than a lot of the people I know who are interested in film, TV, acting, production, etc. So many of them are always working on some sort of project. They have a portfolio, even if it is amateur, they are always creating. I, on the other hand, put creating on hold to focus on my academic and leadership skills. I put all of me into building the kind of student that shouldn't have a hard time being accepted by four year universities, particularly Emerson. Once upon a time all I did was create, perform, and film. Then real life happened and it became harder to do. When the time came to go to Bunker Hill, it was now or never. I had to get my act together. Which meant focusing my time and abilities on other responsibilities. I worried that because I haven't been so "film focused" that this might mean I am not cut out for the environment at Emerson.

When I mentioned some of my concerns to Ryan he did a good job at comforting me and reminding me that when I go to Emerson, it is going to be a whole new experience. The kind of stress I may have is going to be so different from the stress I have now. I will be busy and stressed, but it will be much more rewarding because I will be working on the things I love. I won't be stressed over the amount of reading and writing I have to do for some Gen Ed class that I have to take. I will be stressing over things I actually enjoy. Also, it doesn't matter if I took a different path and have created less in the past few years. That doesn't predict my chances at success or failure. I could have a more successful career over some of those who payed more attention to creating and less to professionalism, and time management when they were students.

This all got me thinking about my preconceived notions about attending a community college. I didn't think I could learn or gain anything new that I hadn't already learned from my struggles in the real world. I couldn't have been more wrong. My life has changed in so many wonderful ways since becoming a student at Bunker Hill. I was awoken to my talents, potential, and purpose. Getting involved in things I never imagined for myself has shown me that my voice is valued, important, and has power. Opportunities have presented themselves to me that I never conceived possible for a community college. If I can be surprised by the opportunities and growth that Bunker Hill has to offer, just imagine what could be waiting for me at Emerson. I am naive to what Emerson has to offer. I mean really offer. I know they have connections within the industry,  professors who are professionals in their professions outside of the school, state of the art facilities, successful alumni, wonderful organizations, and the perfect environment for students to cultivate their skills. But until I am a student at Emerson and living the experiences, I won't fully understand exactly what that school will do for me.

Until then, I have videos to watch and students' stories to listen to and feel inspired by. I can only dream of what is to come for me.

Passion Links Emerson Students: A video showcasing the opportunities available to unsuspecting students. :)

Alumni Speak about their success because of Emerson.

More student testimonies about their involvement at Emerson.

A video about the doors that Emerson has opened to a student's success.