"Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."

I have seen and heard this Warren Buffet quote more times than I can count in the last couple weeks.
I've never really thought about the actual meaning of this quote until recently. Everyone has events and experiences that make them who they are. Everyone goes through difficult times and dark times, some times they wish they could forget. If you haven't gone through that time yet, you probably will at some point. If you're "perfect" and haven't done anything bad or something you regret, you most likely will at some point in the future. It's human nature.
The dark times in life force you to grow and change your perspective and outlook on life. You may not change who you are, but sometimes, a little change is good. You gain more of an understanding on different subject matters and possibly a greater respect for what is different than your social norm.
If you're going through a rough time, just remember that there is a reason for it. There is always a reason. Sometimes, it is not always obvious, but you'll find it eventually. Every rough time makes you a little bit stronger (or a lot bit stronger). 

Now to the second part of the quote, "every sinner has a future". We all screw up at some point. Life is never always going to be easy. The thing is, we learn from our mistakes. We move on. We get past them. You can't judge a person by their past or believe they can never better themselves. It is possible to change for the better. Sometimes, people slip up and go back to their old ways, but the important thing is encourage them to keep trying to better themselves. If no one is there to support them, it's going to be a hell of a lot harder to improve. 

This quote is beginning to mean a lot more to me and is a good one to look back on. We have our flaws, we make our mistakes, but we change and grow from them. 

My challenge to you: Acknowledge your past, prepare for the future, but embrace the present moment. Send out encouragement to those around you struggling, and if you're struggling, reach out to someone to help you. 

Also, don't forget what the holidays are all about. Be thankful for the ones in your life who have stuck by you through the worst times, the hard times, and the happy times. Spend some time with your loved ones, and embrace every day. 


peace.love.happiness.

Film projects.

One of the nice things about being a film major is the fact that you get to do projects. Throughout the years, your portfolio increases and becomes a reel. It's interesting when you look back at projects from multiple years ago and realize how much you've changed and improved. Actually, it's a really good feeling, a feeling of accomplishment. Right in front of your eyes, you see your improvement. When you get to bigger projects (and better ones), you think back to the old ones. You think back to how you didn't even know what went into creating a film or a short video.
I guess the only bad thing about projects is the fact that you have to find your own cast. You spend so long on one project  and put everything else on the back burner, or at least you want to. That's the thing about film: one average project can take anywhere from five hours to about 100 hours of actual work. Now, that isn't on your own. You have to coordinate schedule with other people, sometimes, more than is possible. On top of our projects, we have our other courses and papers to write and tests to study for. So no, we don't sit around all the time. We do actually do work. It's just our projects are what we love doing.
You dedicate all this time to this one project that could be worth anywhere from 5% to 50% of your overall course grade. It becomes your baby. You love it. You treasure it. You spend all this time in preproduction planning out every little detail. Then you film it. You get a lot of good laughs while doing this and see other sides of people you may not have known, sometimes good.. other times not so much. It's possible you'll see multiple sides of a person in one shoot. It becomes a mix of enthusiastic, tired, grumpy, stressed, crazy, overtired, hilarious, relieved, excited. It's so much fun. Then you edit, multiple times. You spend hours on one little section of about 5 seconds getting it just perfect. You try different things to find the right way of putting it together. Your timeline may be stretched to 1/4 of a second intervals or less. Then you finally export it and can't wait to show off your baby.

When you film, you get that shot you absolutely love. You use it as much as you can. You can't stop watching it.
Moments like these are the ones that are amazing. When you finish a project you put so much time and effort into and realize it's good. There are no words for that moment, only excited shrieks and a happy dance.
For me, it's as exciting as directing, but I'll save directing for another post another day.

What's the point of this post?
To describe a day in the life of a film major working on a film project and finally finishing it. My friend and I just finished our music video tonight, and I must say, I am very proud of it. We spent about five hours writing it, seven hours filming it, and about ten or eleven hours, maybe a little more, in post production. So about 24 hours was spent on a four minute project. That comes out to six hours per minute for all you math majors out there. It becomes a time consuming thing and requires hard work and dedication, but the outcome is amazing.

I wouldn't change it for the world. I know I've found what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I will never give up on my dream.

Here's my challenge for you: Find what you love doing, and go do it. Go after your dream. Don't settle for anything less.

peace.love.happiness.

Oh Mother Nature.

Living in New England, the first snow is always expected at some point in October. When I say the first snow, I mean the first few flakes falling. We had none in October. Instead, we had a hurricane that did not do much damage to Quinnipiac itself or my hometown in good old Massachusetts. However, many students who go here had serious damage awaiting them back home. To add insult to injury, this wonderful first snow of the year comes along. It was supposed to be barely anything. Now it's nearing the six inch mark here.

It's weird. Normally hurricanes aren't normal in New England or really up the East Coast. Snow storms with significant accumulation don't normally occur until mid to late November, especially not the first one of the season. Oddly enough, New England has experienced two significant hurricanes in the last two years, one at the end of August 2011 and one last week, end of October. Those are also unusually late in the season. The snow storms are now unusually early in the season. What is going on here?

Could it be the end of the world? Maybe. It could also be global warming or maybe some plates are shifting and earth has the need to change around every few million years or thousands. If it is global warming, this is our time to take action.

I challenge you to pay attention to your carbon footprint. Unplug your chargers when your electronics are charged. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Carpool, just because you can drive doesn't mean you should all drive. Start with those simple steps. Don't forget to recycle either. : )

Back to mother nature. First, she clearly doesn't want Quinnipiac to have class. Second, she is really trying to tell us not to mess with her. Third, on a more serious note, be safe. When there is a storm, take it seriously. You are not invincible. Lastly, if you want to help with the relief efforts for NY,NJ, CT, etc from Hurricane Sandy, head on over to www.redcross.org 

peace.love.happiness.

Well this is growing up.

I remember being a junior in high school and being so mad I couldn't vote. I missed the deadline by two years. The funny thing is, it feels like that election was just a few weeks ago. Four years. Four years have passed, and I am now able to vote. I was very eager and registered two years ago when I could. Voting is so important because our voice really does matter. We determine who runs our country and our state and towns. We also vote for our rights.  People fought so hard for our right to vote and so long too. Why not vote?
I'm happy to say I voted in this election, and Obama won. He has been officially elected for a second term. The next four years should be interesting, and hopefully things go well. I have my hopes high.

Looking back at the last couple years, it's amazing how much I've grown up. I'm no longer a teenager. The "real world" is incredibly close.. it might even be starting. I went from feeling like I had to compete with my siblings in everything to finally realizing to do what makes me happy and focus on what I want to accomplish. It turns out, that works a lot better. My siblings and I are different people with different goals and dreams. I am on my way to finding my place in the world in what I want to do. Life is so much better than I would have imagined four years ago. Yes, some things are incredibly scary, such as financial issues that I will soon be faced with and not having that protection of messing up and being able to easily fix it. The thing is, life is so exciting. Everything that has the potential to happen makes those fears worth it. Knowing that I can do things in the film field and do them well makes me feel better about my decision to pursue my dreams.

I'm well on my way and could not be happier.

Here's my challenge to you: if you're miserable in what you're doing, find something that makes you happy and go after your dreams. Life is far too short to waste being miserable.

peace.love.happiness.