#6 - Try something you know nothing about
About two months after my ex had ended our relationship, you could say that I was going through quite the transitional phase. I tried to busy myself with work, friends, partying, writing, photography, looking into grad school, and anything and everything to keep my mind off of the pain I was still feeling. It didn't matter what I tried, because it seemed as though no matter how busy I was, reality set back in and the tears were not that far behind.
Celebrating my 24th birthday, I decided it was time for a change. I was tired of allowing this toxic relationship take over my life; I needed to try a new project, something for myself. Before, I had just done things for everyone else. Be good with the family. Be there for my ex. Do the best job I could do with my job....
.....but what about me?
I was so consumed with the idea of immersing myself in other people's stories that I forgot how to write my own. What were my interests? My likes? My hobbies? And when I turned 24, I decided that it was time to find that something that I needed.
One day, while perusing one of my favorite websites, The Travel Channel website, I came across a workshop to learn more about travel film-making. I had many friends in college who were Theatre & Media majors, who knew how to create beautiful masterpieces and direct amazing plays. And then there was me.....who knew nothing about sound studios and video-editing. It was perfect! I needed a release and I didn't care about the repercussions or consequences. This was my way of coping and moving forward.
That's not to say I wasn't met with opposition. My boss at the time fought me tooth and nail about taking the time off for it. (I won in the end.) My ex felt he should add in his two cents and tell me that he didn't understand why I was taking a class about something I knew nothing about. (I reminded him that I didn't need his approval anymore, we were done.) My friends were excited and slightly apprehensive, but I knew what I wanted to do: I needed to take that class.
After sending in my contact information (and a rather meaty deposit), I was nothing short of excited for learning more about how the Travel Channel wrote and filmed their many show segments. Michael Rosenblum, an extremely kind (and talented) film-maker, was heading the class with his beautiful wife, Lisa, and various assistants, Tim, Kelly, and Graham.
For the next four days, my life was consumed with 10-hour classes consisting of finding video content, consent forms, sound editing, and writing segment dialogue....as a journalism major, I had never been at such a loss for material! True, I did excel at print media, but a video camera changed the game. I needed to find pieces that were interesting, visually and aurally.
They had us out and about in Manhattan, locating interesting those interesting stories and shooting the video content for our segment projects. One day I was in a warm bakery preparing for Valentine's Day, the next freezing my ass off in Union Square to talk to a wine-maker. Having to search for that "story" scared and exhilarated me in a way that I hadn't felt in years. Frankly, it equated to the same feeling I got in college when I figured out what article I wanted to write for my journalism class. (Later, when I talked to Matt about the class, he was so proud that I was trying out something that brought me back to my passion.)
During that time in class, I also had the chance to make a few new friends. While I can't remember everyone's name, I do remember when I first met Davina. A journalism graduate of UNC- Chapel Hill, we clicked the moment we had the chance to talk. In fact, the day we finished our little "boot camp," me, Davina, Kristie, Jason, Graham, and a handful of others all wandered over to ESPN Zone for some drinks and some unwinding. Davina and I shared more than just drinks and photos that night, we started what I believe to be a pretty awesome friendship. Every now and then, we check in with each other and catch up on life. I'm grateful that I learned about more than just film-making in those four days: I actually got the chance to make friends and create memories for myself.
I may not use those film-making skills often, but I have no regrets. I realized that sometimes people need to do things that may not make sense to anyone but them. I found myself in that class, found the need to continue learning & growing on my own, without others to advise me.
~Jenn
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