In 2008, I...
- Graduated college. 4 years, 2 majors, and thousands of dollars in debt later, I was able to climb up the steps of the Golden Dome with diploma in hand. It's something so surreal to think about. College (if you do it right) only lasts 4 years of your life, but it feels like an entire lifetime has passed. And I suppose the sociologists and the psychologists and whoever else will confirm that you do the most amount of growing and maturing in college, so it all makes sense. In any case, 4 years made me a different, hopefully better person than I was before college. I won't wax nostalgic about my entire college experience right now--After all, it wasn't even a year ago yet!--but I will say that I miss it and my ND friends a lot. Love thee, Notre Dame...
- Moved to LA. This one is in direct correlation to the previous one. I went into ND as an English major, and I came out a film major (though, yes, my degree is in both). The next logical step, thus, was LA. I feel like everyone needs to live in a major city at least once in their lives; not necessarily LA, but any big city--Chicago, NYC, San Francisco, etc. Just to get the feel for how it is. But yes, I'm here now, doing the grad school thing, enjoying the sunshine, and cursing the traffic. Oh yeah, and STILL trying to figure out my future.
- Made a film that will be exhibited in a festival. The actual festival will take place in 2009, but I made it in 2008. I'm referring, of course, to Deaners, the documentary on James Dean's fan community from his hometown in Fairmount, IN, that Brittany and I made for our Advanced Digital Production class Spring semester of 2008. We recently found out that it was selected for the 2009 ND Student Film Festival (January 23-25--GO SEE IT IF YOU'RE STILL IN SOUTH BEND!), which just totally rocks! No, it's not Sundance or anything, but it's probably the only film festival either of us will ever have an entry in, and we're proud of our work. And, no, not every film made in class at ND gets put into the festival; otherwise, I would've had 3 or 4 by now. Deaners was a project that Brittany and I worked so hard on, and we are both SO proud of the final product, and to get this kind of recognition for it is very, very gratifying. :-)
- Had a story published, and won an award for it. I've always loved to write, but I've also always lacked the discipline to sit down and get my ideas on paper. Some of my best stories are still just floating around in my head, waiting for me to write them down before I forget. So taking that creative writing course Spring semester of 2008 was one of the best things I did, as it forced me to do some actual writing. Ironically, "Silence," my story that was published and won the award, came from a prompt I had to do for class rather than one of the stories percolating in my head for ages; to be fair, though, I wasn't done writing those before the deadline for the contest. And again, I know I wasn't published in The New Yorker, and I know I didn't win a Hugo Award or anything--I was published in one of the least known publications on-campus (I've even forgotten what it was called), and the Richard T. Sullivan Award is solely a ND thing as far as I know--but it's still something, and I feel good about it.
- Presented at a conference as an "expert" in my field. Twice! I think I'm actually much prouder of my X-Files paper than my Disney thesis--I honestly look back at the Disney one and think how I could have done SO much better on it than I did. Not to mention the Midwest Undergraduate Film Conference was much more fun, with the panel Q&A that we had to do and all the other schools. It gave me a taste of grad school, I guess. :-P
- Fell in love. Who saw that coming? I certainly didn't. By senior year, I had closed my mind and myself to the possibility of finding someone at ND, and I guess it's in those moments that God chooses to surprise you. Every logical reason says it shouldn't have lasted beyond graduation. Screw logic. It'll be 9 months this Friday. [1-14-4 9 11-14-15-23 25-15-21'18-5 18-5-1-4-9-14-7 20-8-9-19--9 12-15-22-5 25-15-21. :-)]
- Started grad school. And I love it! I love that I get to think solely about film pretty much all the time! I love writing about topics I'm interested in writing about! I love doing research! By that last statement alone I know I belong in grad school. I'm still no closer to figuring out what I'm going to do with all this, but I'm having a hell of a time until then.
- Swam with stingrays. That cruise with Nikki and her family after graduation was a trip of a lifetime! Not only was it time spent with one of my best friends in several tropical paradises, but I got to do things I've never done before and probably never will again; namely, swim with stingrays and drive ATVs around an island. It was amazing! And thinking about it makes me miss my roomie. :-(
- Saw a panda in person. Anyone who knows me knows about my unhealthy obsession with those cute, fuzzy, black and white Zen balls of fur. And I finally got to see three at the San Diego Zoo over the summer! I have about 50 panda pictures to prove it.
- Saw Tom Hanks perform live on-stage...For free. This was awesome! In November, I believe, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were hosting a fundraiser at UCLA, with tickets going $300 a pop. Given the economy, tickets weren't selling well, which is they only reason I believe they gave the CMS students comp tickets at all--to get butts in the seats for this event. What was the event? you ask. It was a celebrity reading of You Can't Take It with You (which I had performed in during high school!) featuring Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Mila Kunis, Jon Hamm, William Shatner, Annette Bening, Martin Short, Alicia Silverstone, and a whole slough of other actors whose names I can't think of off the top of my head. Go ahead, be jealous now. AND we got to go to the after-party for free!
- Watched the sunset on the beach. Sunsets are beautiful everywhere, honestly, but I really am convinced it's best by the ocean.
- Rode on a motorcycle. I know, right? You're allowed to laugh at the image of me on a motorcycle. Granted, I was by no means driving, but still, you're probably wondering how the hell I even got on one! (I had a boost. :-P) I guess this points out again how it was a year of taking risks and doing things I wouldn't have dared to before. Riding on a motorcycle. Swimming with stingrays. Moving across the country. Trusting my heart to someone. And risks suck, but, ultimately, I'm finding it's worth it.
- Went to Disney Land. I went 22 years of my life with only going to Disney World once. But finally, FINALLY I've gone to Disney Land--twice now! Say what you will about the Disney Corporation, as most of it is probably true...Maybe it's manufactured happiness, but they can manufacture it well, and I'm glad they do it. :-)
- Discovered who my real friends are. The ones who read and respond to my emails. The ones who put a regular effort into keeping in touch. The ones who bothered to try to see me when I was home for break. It's good to know that I actually am missed, because I miss you all so much, and you should come to LA and keep me company.
- Had a dishwasher. For the first time in my life! I mean, I guess I still have it, but I don't use it as much anymore...
- Got a job that paid over $10 an hour. Considering my jobs up to this point were either retail or work study at ND (which barely pays minimum wage), this is huge. Seriously, my job as a grad research assistant pays more than my Library job and my Info Desk job combined. Not to mention that I can make my own hours, and it's a subject I'm really into myself. Where can you go wrong? Now, if only I could find a job like this AFTER I graduate...I'd be gold!
~The Original Fong~
**You wish you could pull off being me**
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