So What? Is my Approach?
Being a student is a great
and mysterious thing. The thought process of a good student is, “what am I
going to be when I grow up?” Well, being 28 years old, I am still waiting to
grow up and realize my true wants and needs. When declaring a major, I weighed
many things, but it came down to two; I want a degree in something I am
passionate about, but I want a degree in something I can have a comfortable
career in. After a few days of stress I decided to declare myself as a
communication major with an emphasis in digital film. At the end of my fourth
semester at Dixie State College I am still questioning my decision. Tonight my
shutter has been released.
Tonight I had the special
opportunity of attending my first film screening of what I hope to be
countless. The film, The Approach, is
a documentary about rock climbing and the lives that it generates. Students here at Dixie produced it in the
extremely short time frame of a semester.
The film depicted two men
and the lives they create for themselves. One is a doctor who works long hard
days. He works so that he can play. The second man was a full time climber who
only works seasonal jobs to make just enough to survive. While these were
extremes, I felt like I could apply this to myself and my college decision.
The thought of having a
career I don’t love has always been a fear of mine. This movie showed that it
isn’t necessarily a bad thing to do, yet living what you love can make you a
very happy man. Working everyday, only
to play on the weekends, seems to be the way life is lived in America now. I
don’t want to fall victim to this social norm.
I want to live what I love.
I love images. I love how
an image, moving or fixed, can make you feel something. I love film. Comm 2660
has reconfirmed this to me. I was apprehensive about taking film classes
because I really didn’t know if I could live without life’s better things. I
felt like I would always be held back from making a good living. Hogwash! I now
see the light! A good living isn’t about glory and riches. A good life is about
loving every single day. About being excited. Film does this for me; its pure
irony that a student made film is what it took to show me this.
