End of the Semester Blues

Today was the last day of the busiest and best semester of my college life. I worked harder and better, on more things than I have ever done in my entire life. I started the semester with two jobs and fifteen hours worth of classes. I ended it with one job and still fifteen hours, but it was probably the best fifteen hours of classes I've ever taken.

This semester I wrote three really good short stories, three fairly good three minute short films, one really good (if I do say so myself) fifteen minute short, 37 pages of a feature film screenplay, twelve boring, but well written essays about my musical taste. I made two documentaries that I'm really proud of, and one that I'm sort of proud of even though it is terrible, one short film that is the best thing I've ever shot/directed/edited, I acted decently in a really good short film, I learned how to use After Effects (sort of), I submitted a screenplay to a writing competition, a short story to a literary magazine and I read that same short story at a public literary reading (albeit to a crowd of about 12 people, but still, a big step for me). Most importantly, this semester I made some friends.

The end of this semester means the end of what was, without a doubt, the most productive four months of my life. It also means the end of my film classes, and the end of my classes with Jones, who is the best teacher I've ever had on a lot of levels. It's the end of working with Jim, Katie, David and Brandon (who graduated), with Nate and Joe (unless they're taking Adv Video, which I think they are not) and it's probably the last time I'll see my friend Hao (who graduated and is moving back home to China). Hao's been in every film class I've ever taken and she was always a joy to be in class with. She was fun to work with, she was a really good filmmaker and she was a genuinely really sweet person. She was in my first real movie. She had to lay on ground for an hour or so, pretending to be asleep in the middle of November. She never complained. She was very patient and always kept her sense of humor. I'm sad to see her go.

Of course the biggest reason I'm sad to see the end of this semester is because it means in five months, I'll (hopefully) be done with college. In five months I'll be saying goodbye to even more friends. I'll be looking for (or going to) a real job, where I don't have Matt Shead or Jeanie around to talk to or fix my problems. I won't have the convienent excuse of class to see my friends all the time. I'll have to become a grown-up (or partially a grown-up, at least). The next five months are probably going to be just as busy as the previous four and a lot scarier, and I'm not sure I'm up for it.

At least there's Christmas coming up to take my mind of those kind of things. Anyway, I need some sleep.