The End & The Beginning

This is going to be a heard one to write.

I can’t believe that today I am done, today is the first day after the end of my college career. Sure, I haven’t walked in graduation yet, but finals are over, classes are over, this is the end. It has been one hell of a ride, as we often say around here, an adventure. I can’t believe that four years have gone by, it seems like only a short time ago I was living in a dorm room down on campus, walking in with my stuff and being amazed at being here.

Now I sit in my apartment at my disaster of a desk and think about the fact that in less than two weeks I will be working, on a cruise ship no less, in Europe. I thought that after all of the crazyness that went into looking for jobs that finding one would make life easier. Not so. Doctor appointments, need new clothes, packing, moving out, more possible job interviews, my GF. I find myself wishing I could have a couple days of peace, but at the same time (and there are many people who would attest to this), when i have real down time I feel restless.

Looking back on the past four years though, so many amazing and wonderful memories. So many friends. It is hard to think of working in theatre without Steve being there. We hit it off right away four years ago, and we have been living together for the past two. How crazy is that? We learn a lot from eachother, we work great as a team. Sometimes we want to kill eachother, and sometimes we talk about anything and nothing until 3 in the morning instead of getting the sleep we need. I know that I will still be in touch with him, but it will be stange at first not to see him every day.

Som many other great friends here. There is my little sis (in the department), Andrea, who I will miss. One of the things that I do is help other people, and to be able to be there as a guide and mentor for her during her freshman year meant a lot to me. Whether it was just sitting around watching tv, or watching Steve, Allan, and Tricia do the “Cha-cha Slide.” Or if it was in the scene shop talking about ways to build a project for BTT, it was always fun. In some ways I fell like I have a stronger bond with many of the members of this year’s freshman that I do with some of the other upperclassmen.

Andrea came over last night, for one last hurrah before she went home. We went out geocaching. Lost of fun. Creepy roads, in the dark, getting lost around Ithaca, always an adventure. But that wasn’t the big thing. The big thing was coming back to campus and saying goodbye. Well it was more like a 30-45 minute chat on life and IC and the theatre. Any wisdom that Steve & I have learned over the past four years we tried to Impart in one night.

• If you aren’t having fun you must be doing something wrong
• Make friends outside the department
• Don’t pull all-nighters: You don’t have to. Just stay on top of your work and do a little every night. Your work will be so much better that way.
• Get out of the DR: It is so much easier and you will be much more productive if you can bring your work home.
• Find at least one thing to do for yourself: Get a GPS and go geocaching, take up paintball, visit all the parks and waterfalls in Ithaca and the area. You need to have something to take your mind off theatre and school and work for a while.
• Use the faculty: These people are here for you, they may seem scary and intimdating at first, but they are just normal people. Talk to them, whether it be about your work or just about life. If you need a friend they will be there.
• Know that there are people who will be there for you: Call me, if no one else, but there are many people who spend much time helping others. You don’t have to be one of those people, it isn’t easy to be one. Some of us never turn our phones off, and that is for good reason, so even if you just hit a wall some day at 3 am and need someone to talk to, call. I may not be entirely coherent and I may not remember it the next day, but call.
• Do stupid shit: This is the time that you have to do stupid shit like steal traffic barrels or mess around on the grid.
• Make sure you do what you want to do! This is quite possibly the most important thing. If you want to take a class in underwater basket weaving, do it, you have the time now and you may not later.
• Take lots of photos, and keep a journal: I started this late, but I won’t regret that I did it. Get a small digital camera (if you haven’t got one) and keep it in your bag or your pocket. You may think something is a stupid picture when you take it, but you will treasure it in the future. Write everything because you won’t remember it otherwise. You may never look back on it, but if you do, you will be so happy you have it.

I don’t know if there is anything else to say on that matter. And all of that goes for every student who comes into this program, so share this with them.

You don’t realize how much you have actually learned here until you start looking for jobs. I talked on the phone yesterday to a potential employer and I really impressed him. I thought I was answering a simple question. “What is DMX?” A question that I learned the answer two four years ago. I started rattling off an answer and when I stopped to think of what else I could say, he told me that was plenty, more than most anyone ever answers. So many things are just so every day to us and yet most people at our level of schooling don’t have what we do. It’s crazy.

I loved my time here at IC. I love the people here, the faculty, the staff, and the students. I am sure there is more that I could say, and I am sure I will at some point. After I give the gifts that I got for the faculty I will post up the note that I wrote for them. Until later.