Category:  Humanities

By: Graduate School Candidate12   

Subject:   Columbia Film Studies

East of Omaha

I left a secure job and a lifestyle that would have catapulted me into the upper middle class by age 30. I disappointed my family and shocked my friends, but the applause from the packed auditorium¹ vindicated² my decision to pursue my passion. At great expense, I decided³ to follow my dreams, to refuse to be disappointed or discouraged by life. As I reflected on all the difficulties I persevered⁴ through in reaching that point in my life, I felt a hand patting me on my shoulder praising my work.

I was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 28,1972 because my mother slipped on an onion peel while shopping at the local Hinky Dinky Supermarket; the fall induced her labor⁶ and out I popped. In this rather unsophisticated environment, where on Saturday the second largest city is a packed college football stadium, I somehow developed artistic⁷ aspirations⁸, but did not have the opportunity to make cultural pursuits a major part of my life. At the age of twelve, my father accepted a job with Levi Strauss and moved the family to Kansas City. At this crucial stage in my development, I found the arts fascinating, especially while studying literature in junior high. Unlike the other students who flocked to the hundreds of early eighties Spring Break movies, I developed a discriminating⁹ taste and longed for the quality I would find in a Stanley Kubrick film. At night, tackling Crime and Punishment or watching Dr. Strangelove took precedence over arcades¹⁰ and football.

I carried my love for literature with me when I attended the University of Kansas. I also studied economics, which combined my interests in philosophy, history and mathematics. However, while I studied economics for somewhat practical reasons and never thought of the discipline as compelling enough to devote my entire life to, my interests in film and music began to mature. Exposed to the unconventional films of Hal Hartley, Mike Leigh, and John Sayles and to the poetic¹¹ music of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, I prized their works’ brilliant storytelling, and this feature inspired my own work and my eventual¹² pursuit of filmmaking.

Facing high college loans and a desire to be economically secure, I chose not to pursue my dreams immediately out of college. I fooled myself into thinking my passion for filmmaking was just a hobby and that I would be better off pursuing a more “serious” career, one with respect and a high salary. As a result, I took a secure, comfortable job as a financial analyst¹³ just two weeks out of college. My family was proud of me, but I was not proud of myself. I quickly became restless and began to think seriously about film. After much deliberation, I knew what I had to do; I may have known it all along, but I needed time to work up the courage, to make myself determined¹⁴ to succeed. I informed my mother and father of my decision to move to New York and pursue film, and I saw disappointment in their eyes. Despite my mother’s crying and pleading and my father’s clear dissatisfaction, I quit my job, rented a U-Haul, and headed east.

In New York, I took out a loan and signed up for the New York Film Academy's two-month intensive program. Not applying any of the risk management skills I learned as a financial analyst, I was going for broke, either I would make it, or I would go down in flames. The first day I had my hands on a camera and by the end of the program, I had written, directed, edited and produced four films. Both thrilled and humbled¹⁵ by my experience, I got a glimpse of exactly how difficult the craft of filmmaking is. After two months of dedicated¹⁶ hard work, I had not even scratched the surface of what encompasses¹⁷ becoming a filmmaker, but I had reinforced my love for filmmaking. At this point, I knew I needed additional education to accomplish my goals; I needed to truly push my creative and intellectual limits if I ever I were to master the craft of filmmaking. After seeing the quality, diversity, and professionalism of NYU graduate student films at a screening last spring, I knew NYU could provide me with exactly the skills I need.

I find the idea of packing 100 strangers in a dark room to watch a piece of film pass through a projector¹⁸ to be an incredibly peculiar¹⁹ idea. But in this peculiarity²⁰ of the art lies the miracle, for humans are willing to suspend disbelief and be moved by a character on a screen. The audience can somehow feel what that character feels and learn from that character's experience. More than just this, fiction also gives the audience the ability to examine different facets²¹ of the human condition. Trust, resentment²², affection, flirtation²³, love, disappointment are issues that every human must deal with every day of their lives. They are issues that everyone deals with differently. Fiction allows one to experiment with putting people in different situations and seeing how they respond.

Writing and directing my own films is my ultimate ambition. I know, however, that I am much further along in my development in the art of editing. Siting in the editing room watching every single frame, is one of my passions. Every single frame is important, each could change an entire film. Like a mad scientist, with my hair sticking straight up, I work frantically²⁴ with dozens of sections of film lined up around me. Still, I know where every single section is, every single frame. I spent many hours in the editing room piecing together my last film until I had created something I could be proud of.

As the lights turned on and the audience’s applause died down, I turned to see who had put his hand on my shoulder. It was Jeanyves, my actor sitting next to his admiring and grinning father. He said, "that was beautiful." At that moment, I felt like a filmmaker. I want to feel that way again.

Have your Essay Edited   Go to View Essays Page 

 Essay Number: 1051 - Posted on: Mar⁵ 31, 1999   Expires on: May 1, 2005 CollegeGate LLC  * CollegeGate LLC *

By: Graduate School Candidate10   

Subject:   Generic²⁵ Social Work Essay

I am applying to (Name of School) for the Masters of Social Work program. My career goal is to work with underprivileged adolescents, especially those with a history of behavioral and emotional problems. I have significant background in this area; in addition to a full-time²⁶ position with a recruitment firm, I am a relief counselor²⁷ for this target group in a residential²⁸ treatment setting. I want to complement²⁹ this practical experience with specialized³⁰ training in order to best serve these individuals.

My desire for this profession springs from the troubles of my childhood. In my youth, I was a ward³¹ of the Commonwealth³² of Massachusetts--in essence, a foster child. Both of my birth parents abused me physically³³ and emotionally, prompting the courts to permanently³⁴ remove me from their power. I subsequently moved through a succession of foster homes and adolescent shelters. My high school years were therefore highly traumatic; I could not have survived them without the aid of the counselors³⁵ and social workers that were so kind to me. Yet my problems did not end at the emotional level. I constantly battled financial difficulties in order to graduate high school and embark³⁶ on a college career. I was essentially³⁷ paying my way through college on minimum wage--a monumental task. My first two years of college proved quite difficult because of this. But I persevered, and achieved an overall G.P.A. of 3.5 during my final two years at school. I also dedicated much time to campus activities, in which I held a number of leadership positions.

Today, I work with an international recruitment firm that allows me to travel through the United States and Europe. This has given me a sense of accomplishment³⁸ and maturity³⁹, yet I feel a deep void in my life. I need to give back to the community that helped me so much. I know what it is like to be on the “receiving end” of social work--I was the one who stayed with foster families after the social workers had gone home. I am thus in a unique position to understand the conflicts within the hearts of troubled adolescents. I comprehend, for instance, the importance of such issues as trust. And a child in this setting would be naturally more inclined to trust someone who has already experienced “the system” firsthand.

My background, my ambition, and my resourcefulness are ample demonstration⁴⁰ of the valuable addition I would be to your social work program. I share close bonds of understanding with my target community, and feel that I can make a significant difference in their lives with the aid of a Master’s Degree in Social Work from your institution.