A Change of Plan

Last you heard from me I was waiting to make any decisions about next school year until I heard back from Biola University on whether or not I made it into the Cinema and Media Arts program.

I did not make it in. It’s not that I didn’t meet their qualifications or anything (as far as I know), it’s that the program was already full. Despite that, it would have been nice to know if I would have gotten into the program anyway if it wasn’t full. All I can do now is apply for the program for next school year; at least this time I know it won’t be late. I will likely also apply for other schools in the Southern California area. That’s where all of the movie production jobs are, so that’s where I want to be located.

As far as Biola goes though, I was able to postpone my acceptance until next year. This means that I am already pre-accepted for the 2018-19 school year at Biola. The only other thing I would have to do is apply once again for the Cinema and Media Arts program there.

While talking with the transfer admissions counselor at Biola, we figured that because I already have a Bachelor’s degree, I would not have to take any general education classes, which makes me very happy (no more math and science classes!). However, if I wanted to get a second Bachelor’s degree, I would still have to take some Bible classes. Biola University has a required Bible minor for all its students, similar to Cedarville University. Oddly enough, only about half of my Bible classes from Cedarville would transfer over to Biola.

The admissions counselor figured that if I went to Biola taking only classes in the Cinema and Media Arts program, and around five required Bible classes, I could complete a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema Arts in about two years, although I don’t know that I necessarily need or want another Bachelor’s degree. I mostly just want to take classes to gain knowledge and experience. Theoretically I could just take some Cinema classes at Biola for a semester or two, get involved in some student films, then find an internship that leads to a job in the field I want. However, while going there for only a year would save me money, it would also make me less likely to be able to get into the Cinema program there at all. Biola is more interested in potential students who are looking to stay there longer and finish a program, which I don’t necessarily need to do.

There is also the issue of finances. Because I have already completed one Bachelor’s degree, I don’t get nearly as much financial help from FAFSA, meaning my student debt would be significantly higher than it already is. However, since it seems I will be living in the area for another school year (or at least another semester), I can use this time to work on paying off a large percentage of my student loans. But to do that I still need a good job.

After many many days of job hunting both in person and online I finally at least have another part-time job. Starting next week-ish I will be working at the Exeter Courthouse Art Gallery and Museum. I don’t know too much about the job yet, but I believe part of it will include handling transactions for those who wish to rent the facilities for parties, as well as showing people around. The only downside to this job is that it is part-time; I only work on the weekends. It would be ideal if I could also get another job that worked weekdays. It sounds like the Art Gallery job is pretty flexible, so I could possibly even work that job along with a full-time job somewhere else.

I’m still working part-time for my dad at church, and also for A Wish Your Heart Makes, but I would really prefer something that was more full-time. I have filled out countless job applications online and delivered many resumes in person. Though I am nowhere close to running out of options yet, I am getting tired of not hearing back from the people who keep saying “yeah we might call you.” I guess I need to keep bothering them in person about a job.

I would rather not work at a fast-food restaurant or anywhere like that, but if I can’t find anything else, I may have to apply to one. I would like a job where I can put my English degree to work, but I don’t mind a job that also involves customer interaction. I would like a job that is somewhat close to home. I don’t want to have to drive an hour to and from work; even half an hour might be a lot; but if that’s all that is available, I’ll take it. So far I have applied (or attempted to apply) to various banks in the area, Savemart, Guitar Center, and the Visalia Times-Delta, to name a few. Prayers would still be appreciated for finding a good full-time job that is nearby and that also pays nice enough to start making a dent in my student loans.

Once I get a full-time job it will be nice to have a regular schedule again. I can then focus on the full-time job rather than the part-time ones (though I suppose I could still occasionally do a party as Spider-Man, or help out my dad at church once in a while). At least for now I have an additional part-time job that will help keep my student loans at bay.

In other news, Pippin is over, which means I can have relatively normal sleeping and eating habits again. We had a good run of shows, though I missed the first two because I was in Ohio for my brother’s graduation. One of the only downsides was that not every show was full, possibly because not many people had heard of Pippin before. There were two or three nights when the audience was nearly full, and those ones were a lot of fun. The cast really feeds off the energy of a receptive audience, and that energy is then turned around to create an even better performance. But despite not every audience being as full as we would like, I still had a blast. I was especially excited to be able to play guitar on two different songs on stage. I also got to wear real chain mail and use a sword in a couple scenes, as well as throw a dummy into a fire pit, which unfortunately was not made using real fire :(

Though it would have been cool to go to Biola in the fall, one benefit to staying in the area another school year is that I can participate in more local theatre. Encore Theatre, where I have done many shows recently, will not be doing a play this fall, because they will be renovating part of the building. So instead of doing a show there, I was thinking of auditioning for Shrek the Musical in Lindsay (which is actually closer than Encore). I listened to the full soundtrack for the first time a couple days ago, and it sounds like it would be a lot of fun to be in. This is, of course, assuming it would fit into the schedule of my full-time job, which I will have by then.

I probably will not be a part of any play or musical this summer, partly so that I can get settled into a new job, but also so that I can spend more time with my family. After this summer, my youngest sister will be going to Cedarville University (where I went) to study history. And next month my brother will be moving to an apartment in Visalia (which isn’t that far away, so I’ll still see him often).

Meanwhile, I will still be here living with my parents, though hopefully not more than a year. It’s nice to not have to pay rent or anything, but I am anxiously awaiting for the next chapter of my life to begin already. Maybe while I wait I can take an online class on cinematography, or teach myself the basics of screenwriting and storytelling.

As a fun project, I’ve recently been studying the structure of the Indiana Jones films so that I can theorize and plot out a script for the upcoming Indiana Jones 5. A screenwriter for the film has already been chosen - David Koepp, who wrote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - so I’m not trying to steal his job or anything. My project is more to see how close I come to the actual film, which will be released  in July 2020. Although who knows? 2020 is still far away; maybe I’ll be able to get in contact with the producers before then and we can discuss the plot together. Maybe they’ll credit me as co-writer (or at least as a script doctor). I may end up posting some of my work on here at some point, probably in essay form; I’m having a lot of fun working on it.

To my avid readers, whoever you may be, continue to keep me in your prayers. Pray especially for me to find a full-time job that is nearby and also pays semi-decently. Pray also for me to be able to see God’s leading in my life so that I can follow it. Though I make my own plans, it seems God often has a different path in mind for me. I know God has given me my skills and dreams for specific reasons; pray that I would put God first in my life so that I can live the life He has planned for me. And as Psalm 37:4 says, pray that I would delight myself in the Lord so that He will give me the desires of my heart.