A wise man once said, “don’t let your dreams be dreams.”
I started the process of not letting my dreams be dreams just this past weekend when I shot my first ever short film, which will be entered into Film Fest.
It was a fully packed few days of filming, with my crew working from about 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., fueled by coffee and Jack and Jill donuts. I came home every night, my feet throbbing from hours of standing and my muscles aching from lugging equipment from location to location. It was the most exhausted I have felt all semester, even more so than when I contracted an early form of the Sing Song flu, but producing this film was worth the days of sore feet and arms, because it was the most rewarding and fun time I’ve had while in college.
I had always wanted to write and direct a film for Film Fest, but as a person with previously no camera experience or writing experience or *cough, cough* friends, I pushed off participating until this year, my senior year. I finally had a script. I finally had some camera experience. I finally had plenty of friends to help me with the project. I could not just let my last opportunity to participate pass me by.
On the drive home from our last day of filming, I couldn’t help but think how much fun producing the film was. All the takes we had to cut because those of us off camera couldn’t keep straight faces, all the inside jokes the crew has now and, of course, the story I wrote months ago being brought to life by the talents of my friends. If I had attempted projects like this sooner, I can’t help but think of the memories and friends I could have made and the other stories I could have already told.
Don’t wait until it’s your last chance to go out for a dream of yours, whether it be entering into Film Fest, applying for your dream internship or asking out that cutie from your science class; because, and take it from a professional procrastinator, time will run out.
We’ll see if my dream of actually winning Film Fest pans out on March 31, but in the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming and so should you.
