Taking Flight

I have the sudden urge to fly somewhere. It doesn't matter where. Who's with me?

The cross country invitational today was fun. In tribute to a past runner, the guys wore tube socks and pre-wrap headbands. I looked sexy in my 80s running style. It was a good race.

As usual on invitational days, I am now pooped. So even though I have a buttload of stuff to do, I am taking the night off. After we got home, Alaina and I laid around my house for three hours.

I want to talk about the future. I named this blog "Trekking to Adulthood." I am definitely trekking. But I can trek to wherever I want. And right now, I like where I am headed. I know who I am and what I want to be.

For instance, I know that I am going to follow my dreams. I want to be a filmmaker. And everyone else can suck it. That's right, I said it.

My old religion teacher (one of the best teachers I ever had) once said that there is a big problem with today's education system. It is geared toward the goal of getting kids good jobs that make a lot of money. He said that somewhere along the way, teachers forgot to tell their students to go after their dreams. And he told us to dream every day.

Unfortunately, he was right. Filmmaking is not a "safe" job. Art is not a "safe" job. Fashion is not a "safe" job. Writing is not a "safe" job.

Who cares?

I am currently working on an essay for a scholarship program. The program wants to know about obstacles that I have overcome - along the lines of family death, hardship, poverty, etc. Well, I haven't had to endure any of those. But I have had other obstacles.

Living in a small town, I have tried to make movies. No film classes. No budget. No support from city managers.

Most people in my town stare at me like I'm looney when I tell them my intended major. You want to know the truth? I love that blank stare. I just smile.

Most people in my senior class are planning to be physician's assistants, engineers, doctors, whatever. Great for them. If they love it.

I am going to do what I love. Luckily, I have supportive parents. Thank you mom and dad. And my friends and role models are there for me too.

I am not afraid. I am taking a chance. I not interested in money. I am interested in passion. I am actually going to attempt to go somewhere outside of my city's limits. People want to know why in the world I would want to go to school so far away. Distance is not an issue to me. I can get a job and hop on a plane.

I'm not sure where I am going with all of this. But I think that some things in live are worth it. I don't want to be one of those people that choose a "safe" life and then regret it for the rest of forever. Everyone out there (that means you Alaina and Christina), don't give up.

I submitted my Florida State Film School personal statement last night. It was about my motivation to become a filmmaker. It ended with "The adventure starts here."

Arcade Fire has their new album Suburbs out. This is "Ready to Start." I like it.

Remember Me?

Remember me? Chad?

I've been out living.

Last week quickly transformed into crunch time as I rushed around like a mad man trying to get my short film actually filmed. Luckily, I have a great crew of supporters and friends. Together, we gathered equipment, went costume shopping, and created shot lists. I drafted my brother Ryan to act in the film. He hesitantly agreed. (I eventually made him dye his hair and even kiss a girl... gasp!). Finally, the one thing that hanged in the balance was a location.

Originally, I had always planned to film on Main Street by Central Park in downtown Johnstown. I wrote a nice letter of request and delivered it to the city manager like I was instructed to do. However, the city manager chick never called me back. For two days, my mom and I pounded her with phone calls and messages.

On Friday - shooting day - Ryan and I marched to city hall and waited outside her office until she returned from lunch... only she never did. She must have taken a four hour lunch break. And she still didn't call me back.

I was pretty ticked. I love Johnstown most of the time, and I can't understand why my city wouldn't help me out. Dear City Manager, why do you have to be such a rude biznatch?

Never willing to give up, I called my high school - Bishop McCort Catholic High School. We were allowed to film in the courtyard for three nights. The first night was hectic, but Saturday and Sunday went beautifully.

I couldn't have asked for better actors. Staring at the viewfinder, I was awestruck because I knew I was a part of something special.

I want to thank everyone... for everything. I had a great crew who went without sleep for three nights. Yesterday, we filmed the last little intro scene. Now all that's left to do is edit. In the next month, I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'll also try to share some pics and videos.

In other news, school started. Ahhhhhhhhh!

After filming Sunday night, Ryan and I jumped awake at six in the morning. He had to go to school for Freshman Orientation, and I had to help out because I'm on student council.

The rest of the week was weird. It feels like summer break was only a short weekend. Every time I walked down the halls, I could hear the Jaws theme song playing in the back of my head.
Dun dun dun.

Still, it's senior year! Whatever that means. I'm going to have fun.

No doubt, things are going to get crazy as I attempt to juggle cross country (first meet on Wednesday), college applications (I started my application for FSU), homework, and this short film.

I'll write about the new adventures coming my way, but I still have some stuff to say about the summer.

Until then, good luck to everyone going back to school. Take art classes! Bye.

Goodbye Rain

This morning, I woke up early to go for a run. It poured (and even lightning was involved). However, I did not mind. In fact, I absorbed as much rain as I could. Tomorrow, I leave for L.A. I will not see rain again for at least three weeks.

I'm heading to L.A. because I got a scholarship to attend a two-week digital film camp at UCLA. While there, I will also spend an extra week with my cousins to explore and visit colleges- USC, LMU, and Chapman.

This will undoubtedly be the biggest adventure of my summer, and as I ran around the travel section of Wal-Mart earlier today, the excitement set in. Hopefully, I'll find some time to blog while I'm with my cousins. If not, I'll write about all of my adventures when I return to Johnstown.

Tonight, I'm hanging out with Alaina and our peeps. For now, I should go pack. I haven't started yet.

Toy Story 3!

For a late Father's Day gift, I decided to treat the family to a movie-going experience. The outing came with a price tag of $53 which is ridiculous, but it was probably only the second time that my whole family went to the movies together.

Anyway, Toy Story 3 was awesome! The movie opened up with an exciting reintroduction to the characters. I couldn't help but smile because I can still remember going to see Toy Story 2. Seeing Woody and other characters I grew up with on the screen was like a rebirth of my childhood.

The new Toy Story was interesting because I am now in the same boat as Andy as he heads off to college. I guess it's not all bad though. I started to gather together things for my California trip tonight, and I'm pretty excited. The message of Toy Story 3 was being able to move onto the the next chapter in your life. It also had a strong sense of family (which may bring a tear to your eye). I don't know what lies ahead, but I have my friends and family who will always be there for me, which is exciting in itself. Summer adventures, here I come.