Success is Painful

Pain is good. They say if you don't feel any pain, you wouldn't know when there's something wrong with you. Ah! So we've established there's something wrong with me!

I've been in pain and in bed since Monday afternoon. Familial Mediterranean Fever - if you don't know it by now, Goggle it. The hereditary disorder which cripples my soul and puts a pause on my life for a few days. Unfortunately, I missed Cinema class which was the greatest disappointment of all. If I had the energy to go, I would have, but I was battling inflammation in my abdomen and still am.

Now that I am bedridden, I believe I should make some announcements. I started working on a local television show through the people I work with. I am writing and producing a thirty minute comedy show for the Armenian channel. It's great experience; I co-direct and take action in the industry I only dreamt about months ago. I am also beginning to work on small projects for myself, mainly as experience for film school.

I'm trying not to let the application process get to me. Is it working? Well, I'm sick and the main cause; stress. I am starting to understand the fact that it is not about what school I go to. To be honest, I'm steering away from USC and have completely ignored UCLA. I think Chapman is the best fit for me but regardless where I go, I have to stand out. I shouldn't let the school make me who I want to be, I've got to make myself great using the school to my advantage. Film school should be a time for me to work on everything I have wanted to. It will be the opportunity to write and direct films I have been dreaming of. It will be the time to network, regardless of it's with USC or Los Angeles City College students.

May is minutes away and the summer is just around the corner. Applications will due soon and before I know it, it'll be spring. I'll be impatiently waiting in front of my mailbox but for what? An envelope with a letter granting me acceptance to their prestigious school? Every now and then I need to take a step back from these schools and say to them, "Hey! I don't need you, you need me."

Orange!

I stood there looking straight at the building almost trying to intimidate them. Once the doors were open, students ran from one end of the building to the other, I no longer felt scared or anxious. Chapman University's Dodge College of Media Arts and Televsion was the first film school I had the chance of visiting. Chapman is one of the six schools on my list and the only to offer such a tour. I rather not go into detail but it was pretty much as I had imagined. It has everything an aspiring student needs to succeed but it is I that will bring the motivation.

Shortly thereafter, I experienced an intense headache which lead to a fever and stomach pain. The pain developed into a stomach virus known as Gastroenteritis which is in the process of healing. Also, while eating dinner last night, I must have done something wrong in the oh-so-complicated process of chewing and swallowing because I feel something lodged in my throat. It is actually quite painful and at times I cannot breathe and my chest and back hurt when I try to. When I sit still, my face begins to slowly shake and it feels as if I am going to pass out.