MY BUSIEST YEAR: When Did That Happen?

I often find that there are those moments in life when you feel like you blinked and you suddenly, months or years just happened to go by without you noticing. There’s also similar moments where something so unexpected comes up and before you know it, you find that you’re asking yourself, “When did that happen?” If that makes any sense, that’s what’s been essentially how I have been feeling since my last update.

I did not get the chance to do my usual weekly post last Saturday mostly because of all the crazy things that have been keeping me busy as of late. I feel like the semester has flown by. Some days I feel like training only just started and then I remember, “Oh, it’s almost November.” It’s pretty wild when I think of all that’s happened in this semester, yet I feel like it only started a short while ago.

My biggest development I suppose has been the fact that again this semester, things for me and film are going exceptionally well. Not only just with Mirrorwall at this point, but with me personally. One of my “When did that happen?” moments came last week when within the course of three days, I managed to become the Marketing Manager and Head Publicist on two senior thesis projects in the Film Department. Senior projects for the Temple FMA Department are a big deal, take the will power and dedication of many of the students in the program, and are something I’ve never been involved in before. One of the film producers approached me through my website, while the other happened to randomly meet me in the atrium of the film building. I feel as though I am still reeling from the opportunities that have been put before me this week.

I’m also a Coordinator of Events of sorts for a new club at Temple called the Communications Club. I feel recently like I’m spreading myself too far, but I don’t want to be missing out on opportunities like these. So what have I had to do?

Get my act even more together.

I’ve started using a really great resource which I would now recommend to just about anyone, which is Google Calendars. It allows for one of the nicest looking and most organized means of keeping myself in check that I’ve ever used. It even has a handy tasks section on the side that reminds me of the things that must be done. (this column currently at the top of the list!) And then the best thing is once I’m done, I just check it off and that’s one less thing done. Call me a visual learner, but when I am able to physically see the things I need to do getting checked off, it’s a big motivator.

I really just wish I could slow the semester down a bit. Enjoy it a little more with a little less work. But at the same time, I’m really happy with all the work I’m doing. It just bums me out sometimes because I know soon I’m going to blink again and it’s going to be December. There are so many moments where as much as I want to relax, I wish this semester could just go on forever.

MY BUSIEST YEAR: Too Legit To Quit

I have never in my life been so proud of my film related accomplishments.

This doesn’t mean I’ve started an Oscar winning script, nor have I directed something better than Steven Speilberg, but just in general these days, my act is so together where Mirrorwall is concerned that I find myself simply ecstatic.

I think of where my “company” was this time last year. Having meetings that involved 90% goofing off, 10% getting things done, not having future goals to work towards, it was generally all over the place and quite in disarray. But I look at where I’m at now . . . I’ve got a reliable team, all of whom have different filmmaking related skills to bring to the table, and with a creativity that doesn’t seem to turn off. Each meeting is scheduled, and not just in terms of dates and times, but in the sense that we have an agenda that we stick to each meeting, even if at some point we veer off for ten minutes to watch a youtube clip. I have creative, dependable, excited people, and all of it is only filling me with more energy to make this little company that couldn’t a company that most certainly can.

Chelsea Lynch, Darragh Friedman, Darren Olah and Sean Flaherty of Mirrorwall Films at our Mirrorwall Minutes production meeting

So now, equipped with business cards, promotional post cards, a beautiful new website, 340+ facebook followers, and a team that’s on fire, I say again that I am proud of myself where film is concerned. I had so many moments of doubt in the last year where I considered that maybe this wasn’t all for me. I felt I may not actually have the guts it takes to do this job. But these past few weeks have showed me I absolutely can.

It just goes to show what a changed person that I am. I used to be full of the passion for the things I loved, thinking that was all I needed. If I loved it hard enough, it would come in time. But these experiences have taught me the real truth: passion isn’t much without the drive to go with it. Without organization and determination and any other phrases ending in -ation you can think of, the passion isn’t enough. Working my ass off for the things I want this year is showing me that.

I realize, now more than ever in my life, that I am where I’m supposed to be. I don’t think I could ever stop doing what I’m doing to make my dreams into a reality, even if I wanted to.

MY BUSIEST YEAR: Looking At My Former Self

This theme of my past week seemed to be growing up, and life in general catching up with me.

When I last wrote, I was at my highest stress level I have been at in months, if not the highest all year. So much pressure, so many things to be doing, so many responsibilities. But where last week was a hectic haze of confusing, this week I found myself determined to not let that happen twice in a row. So this week, I really got it together, and got things done.

Probably the most exciting part of my week was by far, getting my business cards in the mail and launching the new Mirrorwall website. This was huge for me. Now with cards to show my legitimacy and my own domain name for Mirrorwall Films, I feel unstoppable as a filmmaker. I have a solid crew for once, I have determination like never before, and for a nice change of pace, a pleasant overflow of ideas. On the filmmaking front, I’ve never been happier.

In a lot of ways though, I find myself saying I’ve never been happier. Which brings me to why I waited to post my usual Saturday update on a Sunday. I wanted to write about what it was like working at the Temple Fall Open House today.

Sounds lame, right? Standing around in the ridiculous heat (remind me where this heat came from?!) for four hours giving out pamphlets and answering questions about what style housing to live in or which way to go to the Student Center. In that sense, today was not all that incredible.

But then I think about who I used to be; scared high school junior going on an open house tour, afraid leaving high school, afraid of not getting into any college let alone Temple, my absolute dream school. Then I think of who I was today; confident Temple University FMA junior who works as an RA, giving advice and pointers to the same students that I used to be exactly like four years ago. The fact that two students asking me questions were going into FMA made it feel even more like I was looking in a mirror and the reflection was my former self. Add that to a conversation I had with a good friend the other night and it makes me feel even more grown than ever.

We were chatting about life, and where we are now, and how fast the future is coming at us, and I made the statement saying that I hope to have kids by the time I’m 30. His response was, “You know that’s in less than nine years right?” And I froze. The thought that in less than nine years (which seeing how fast the last four went, will probably mean nine years will feel like a week or two) I might be a mother, kind of scared the shit out of me.

I’m growing at a rate that alarms me. But I think what I find most alarming, is that I’m thinking about it all so much I am worried I am missing out on the present, on living right now. And as stated before, my life has never been better. Despite the terror that is me becoming an adult, I don’t want to miss out on these years where every day is a new learning and growing experience. I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to be passionate and young and full of life. So this week, I’ve realized life is about planning ahead to get things done, but also remembering that if you don’t let go every once and again and stop to smell the proverbial roses, life is going to pass you by.

MY BUSIEST YEAR: A Lot to Learn

This past week was utterly nuts. No two ways around it.

As an RA, I had to meet with all of my residents one on one to fill out Roommate Agreements, I had residents coming to me with their personal issues, had my first hospital run and had to fulfill all other more regular duties.

For class, I had a list the length of a full piece of paper detailing all of the work I had to get done, only half of which I actually had the time to complete. I had a lot of planning to do and still have yet to do for Mirrorwall, since we have our first October staff meeting on Monday. I’ve been rehearsing my directing scene, which though it went well, was time consuming for me to look through and really create the vision I want to see come alive in the scene.

I reiterate . . . It’s. Been. Nuts.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel overwhelmed by everything in this past week. I have surely felt like there was much to be done in recent weeks since starting to be an RA/Full time student/Employee/Film company manager all at once, but this past week really did a number on me. I learned a lot about myself from it particularly in terms of how I plan things to get them done. But then, in my attempt to relax while doing not much in particular, I stumbled upon a quote that summed things up perfectly . . .

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” -Tom Bodett

This whole year is really going to be one big test for me. Will I crumble under pressure, or will I rise to the challenge and show it who’s boss? Can I truly balance everything as well as I’d like to think I can, or do I sometimes need to throw in the figurative towel and ease back a bit. The tests I’ll endure in this coming year will be far harder than any written exam in my Shakespeare class. But what I take away from that, is that there are still many lessons for me to learn.

One of the things that happened to me this week a lot, was dealing one on one with my residents. I realized from that, that though I may be a few years older than them, and they’re freshmen with a lot to learn, there were things this week I was learning from them. Learning to have patience in the face of ignorance and that a supportive friend can make a world of difference.

Despite all my years of education and academics, I feel like these are the kinds of lessons that really shape who I am and I feel very lucky to have residents who remind me of that.

My residents wrote this next to my door and it made me feel so lucky to have such an incredibly sweet group of girls.

MY BUSIEST YEAR: Keeping It Classy

Whenever someone mentions it’s going to be (or is) their 21st birthday, there seems to be this instant chorus of “Oh yeeeeeah” from everyone. Because of course, we all know 21 means drinking, partying and messing around till you can’t remember it, right?

Wrong. Or at least for me personally.

Turning 21 was funny for me. I had an important class to be worried about the next morning, I had a residence hall to return to where I’m the person in charge of a floor of 48 girls, all of whom I am obligated to tell not to drink. Despite wanting to go out and party like any normal person does on their 21st, I found myself thinking heavily on how my actions would effect me the morning after. As much as I wanted to let loose and be careless, I realized that I’m a person with a lot of responsibility and that responsibility is not to be taken lightly.

But here is the part that makes it funny. Despite knowing I had to play it safe, I still managed to go out and have a good time. How you ask? By doing what I’ve been saying all week, “Keeping it classy.” Just a few drinks. Enough to make me walk a little lopsided and laugh a little louder, but not enough to wake up somewhere I’ve never been before.

Blog columnist Michele at the local bar on her 21st birthday with good friend and fellow RA, Arthur

There is no where in any written book that says one can’t have fun while taking their responsibilities and obligations into account. It’s just about finding that balance. Celebrating my 21st with just a few close friends and a couple of drinks. Having my residents bake me a cake while we spent the night in watching Glee. But then getting my homework done and getting into class on time the next morning. Remembering that though fun is key in life, so is taking care of the important things.

I really feel that thanks to my new skills with learning how to balance and the little RA voice in my head reminding me to be a responsible young woman, I was able to have a 21st birthday (that unlike most people I know) I will always remember.

MY BUSIEST YEAR: What’s In A Day?

I’ve always found it interesting to look at how people define their days. Mondays are automatically awful, Fridays are party nights, Tuesdays are the day of the week no one seems to notice, and Saturdays are days where you want to do nothing but relax. These are the socially accepted days of the week. And what I find more interesting, is how strange people find it when you don’t follow the comonly accepted weekly routine.

I say this because both last week, and yesterday, I found myself spending my Friday working, doing homework late into the night. The same for Saturdays. So many people ask how my weekend was, and when I tell them I spent it doing work, they seem utterly shocked. “Why would you be doing all that work on the weekend!?” Well really the answer is simple. When else am I going to have time to do it?

My Monday through Thursday is so packed I scarcely know what to do with myself. Monday and Wednesday  it’s class, work, meetings, Tuesday & Thursday I have four classes almost back to back. So where in there am I supposed to complete my homework? When am I to sit down and make up a meeting plan for my film company? My weekends, which are my only ‘free time’, end up getting consumed by work.

Do I miss being able to kick back and do nothing on a Saturday night? Sure. Though does this mean I never have ANY time to myself? Not necessarily. I may not spend my days lounging about, but I do usually take some time out of my weekend nights (and sometimes weekdays, though that is probably a bad idea) to kick back for two hours and watch a movie with my residents. Movies are always my escape, so it seems only fitting that what little spare time I have is spent watching them.

But those moments of losing myself in a good movie aside, my weekends have become full of work because I have to start getting better at managing my time. All of the things I want to keep myself involved in require my attention, so if I can’t fit it in during the week, I’m really okay with taking my weekend time to do it. If it wasn’t something I loved, I wouldn’t watse the effort when with so much going on, effort is such a precious commoditiy.

So yes, I’ll take the funny looks for studying on a Friday. My film homework might not be a some epic college party, but it is one stepping stone I’m laying down for the road work to a more organized and overal better future for myself, and I think that’s definitely something I can live with.

New Promotional Posters!

Julie Furdella rocking the casual look for the first M.L.T.S. photo shoot. Photography by Michele Elaine Hannon

Julie Furdella wearing the sweet and sophisticated look at out first photo shoot. Photography by Michele Elaine Hannon

Two new promotional posters featuring model, Julie Furdella. Click the images to view them full size.

For Your Twitter-tainment

One of the newest features to our Most Entertaining section of the magazine is going to be our twitter account that will be giving you daily updates on all things entertainment, focusing on the latest movie news, celebrity and filmmaker information and general opinions on what’s going on in the industry. Updates are to be posted by me, Michele Elaine Hannon, your Entertainment/Photo Editor. For me, this is a really exciting venture and a chance to share quick and easy updates with our readers about what’s going on in the world of film, something that I am passionately a part of. I hope to share my love of the movies through not just the tweets I make, but also through all my articles and photos for M.L.T.S. But till those articles start coming, please be sure to click the photo below to be directly linked with our twitter page for instant updates.