Grace--
My best friend. My partner. You make every day worth living. Every second with you is the happiest of my life. You have bewitched me, body and soul.
Happy birthday! Here's to many, many more by your side. I love you! 🥳🎉🎂🐏
This weekend, I had the supreme pleasure of watching seven beautifully crafted short films from seven up-and-coming directors. What I witnessed was a wonderful show of passion and hard work. It was clear that this group of individuals is a group that should be watched for years to come. The creative ability of these directors is nothing short of astonishing. Making a film, crafting and producing it from the ground up while also juggling forces outside of your control and forming an efficient and creative team to help shape this product is a colossal undertaking that should be celebrated.
As the credits for Lillian Keen’s “Boxed In” rolled, I was more than content. My soul was joyous. There was no place in the world I would have rather been at that moment. I felt like I could have walked out of that theater having lived a full life. How can it get better than this? I thought. Then, I checked my program.
Hold on a second. There’s one more.
Sure enough, in the bottom right corner of that folded piece of 8x11 paper, was the logo for one more film. How could I forget? To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. I was in seventh heaven. Rapturous, rhapsodic. I thought I was delirious. There’s no way there can be another! What have I done in my life to be blessed this way?
As the opening credits started, I was on the edge of my seat. I thought I was going to pee myself.
Seven letters appeared on the big screen: B-U-F-F-O-O-N.
What a delightful title.
Then, the O’s were connected by a smile. Interesting choice, I thought. It wasn’t quite my style, but I respected the director’s creative freedom. I wasn’t going to let it get me down.
Then… it started.
Read my full, 836 word "Buffoon" review here: /document/d/1DLsZmNuVoFqEskABpn57cK9rdHG54tftJSar-DZkWgY/edit?usp=drivesdk
My grandmother passed away this morning.
On Wednesday, my wonderful aunt found me a flight in just a couple hours so I could be with her.
On Thursday, she was barely responsive. She would open her eyes and crack a joke every now and then; but most importantly, she told all of us she loved us. That night, I got to say goodbye to her. I joked with her and she laughed what little she could.
True to form, the stubborn old lady didn't die until Saturday morning.
These past couple of days, I've been thinking a lot about death and how different cultures handle death. Whether that's through mourning or celebration, or if they believe in an afterlife or not, almost all cultures agree on one thing: our loved ones will always live on in our memories. Boy, do we have some great memories of her. My grandma might be gone, but she will live on for the rest of my life and the lives of all her family in our memories.
This lady was a true inspiration. For over the first half of my life, she stole me away from my parents just about every weekend as if they had gone to court in a custody battle over me. She raised me largely into the person I am today. She influenced my sense of humor and taught me how to care for people no matter what position they are in their life. She was one of the most caring people on the planet. She didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body (besides for her ex husband). She could live on scraps if it meant giving someone else a better life who needed it more than her.
She was my number one supporter from day one. She was at every baseball game, drove me to my rifle practices multiple times a week, helped teach me how to drive, consoled and offered me advice through relationships, breakups, friendships, and fights with my friends. Never in my life did she tell me I couldn't do something. She believed in everything I did and in my ability to do it. If I end up being even half the person she was, I'll know I've done something right in my life.
Thank you, grandma. Thank you for making me the person I am. Thank you for teaching me how to care, how to laugh, how to love.
it's the return of everyone's favorite instagram installment, "productions, as told by filming signs"!
this one is for "Brothers", a capstone directed by Luke Sacksteder
