All good things come to an end...Does this one have to?

hmmm, So Los Angeles...where dreams come true or?

After spending the week here in LA I have learned so much about myself, my peers, and this great city. The most positive aspect of this trip, I mean everything was positive, but the most long lasting thing, I think would be the networking I did. I met alumni who have been out in LA for several years and ones that have just moved out there. They all had one thing to say, "Get out here as soon as you can!" I did meet a couple people that brought up other cities such as New York and Chicago but the majority would all agree on Los Angeles. This is where I come to a slight dilemma...I realized one thing on this trip amongst a few others, but this was a big realization. I don't think Los Angeles is right for me. That does not mean that I may not end up there, but there is a large part of me that may want to try out my career in New York and then if it doesn't work out I can give LA a try. I did love this trip and I seriously enjoyed every second of it but I think with what I want to do, I don't need to go all the way out to California! I have decided that I would like to try and do an internship out in Los Angeles. I want to give it another try just to make sure I won't make the wrong decision in my future. Hey, if I love my internship than maybe I will stay out there! I have also decided that I want to do an internship the summer before senior year because most of the programs like that time so I have a good chance of getting an internship somewhere. I would really love to get the internship through the Academy of Arts & Sciences so hopefully I can get accepted into that. If not, I'm sure I will find something else. I also decided that I'm going to try and do a short internship with a commercial producer that I know who works in Hoboken, NJ, which is very close to home. I figure I can do that over the Winter Break and/or next summer. I think I am sticking with set design, art direction, or production design. I'm pretty sure I learned that they all kind of mean the same thing! I may try to dabble in editing but I have narrowed down my options for sure and this trip was a huge help to that.

Traveling to Los Angeles motivated me to start working on projects and different shows offered on campus. I am joining Athens Film Club when I return to school and getting more involved in a show with AVW Productions. I wish I had had this motivation earlier but I'm glad it came sooner rather than even later! Also, I decided that it would be a great idea to take advantage of the 19 other creative minds and skills in the group and maybe start to work on projects together. Hopefully, as a group we can get started on a short film or something. Maybe it can even continue throughout the rest of our years at Ohio University. That's my goal!

This trip was definitely one that I will never forget and I couldn't be happier that I chose do it instead of lying around on some beach for my Spring Break. I didn't only network with alumni but I networked among the other students on the trip. They are what is important because that's who I am in Ohio with and can work with now. I didn't just leave this trip with a bunch of e-mails and business cards, I left with 19 new friends. I think I could go a little further and say that these friendships will last a long time and without LA, I would have missed out on meeting these 19 other amazing people!