Why Media???

I've wondered for a very long time what draws me to the media industry, and have come to the conclusion that I like the uncertainty of it all. The idea of working at a desk for the same hours every week literally frightens me, and I want to do everything in my power to avoid a fate of this nature.

But it is not just avoiding other industries, it is the media industry itself, which seems to be so dynamic and constantly changing. As new mediums emerge, it is only getting easier to get known, and get one's word out there, and that is what I really want to do. I see media as a way of leaving a trail of the things that I have done, and eventually and hopefully a long-lasting legacy. Whether one is in the media industry or not, I believe that what one chooses to watch or listen to strongly affects that persons general outlook, as well as their emotions on a day to day basis. Few things have been more rewarding to me than in August of 2005, when I made a video for a friend who was moving away. When we all sat down to watch it, several people were so moved that they began to cry. Now, don't think that I like making people cry. That isn't the case at all. It is simply the idea of creating something so powerful and permanent that it can move people for generations.

I was in the creative writing school for a few years, and looking back on the time I spent in the program, the first word that seems to always come to mind is stagnant. My poetry teacher last Spring told us that poetry is a dying art, and I agree. That's not to say that words themselves and text are no longer important, but I believe that nowadays this is not the best way to affect people and to show them how you feel. Visual representation of one's outlook may be the best way to represent what is going on in their mind. I want people to see my own perceptions of the world, whether they agree with them or not. On top of all of this, creating/directing/writing, they all make me extremely happy. When I edit something for a class, it does not feel like work, which tells me that this is something that I could possibly be happy doing in the future.

As I just transferred into the school, I have only completed one quarter of media classes, but feel that I learned more in this quarter about what I want to do and about the path I've chosen than I ever did as a creative writing major. I've learned that leadership and followership are both extremely important, but have also learned that I am not the type of person to follow. I am absolutely a collaborator, but I am not the group member that watches the project form before their eyes, pitching in where people ask me to.

I have also learned to let up a bit on myself. I am an extremely driven person, so it bothers me that I don't know exactly what I am working towards at the moment. I know what I want to do with my life, but would need several lifetimes to do it all. I'm trying to take the advice of my professors and realize that at this point it is more about the passion for the general art than it is about the specifics. Maybe I will be a director, maybe a writer for a sitcom, maybe something else entirely, something I never dreamed of being. But I'm learning that it's alright to try out several creative avenues and outlets before settling on one. I've never dabbled in audio production, but this could be my calling for all I know. If it is not, then it won't hurt to have learned some of the snuances of the audio industry, because I know that anything that I am willing to learn whole-heartedly will have positive results. As long as I am willing to adapt myself to the changes in the industry and the changes that might occur along my own path, I believe that everything will work out.

Overall, I have learned that whether it is film, video, or audio, that the media industry is right for me. I love it all, and always look forward to learning something new.