"You know, I'm going insane. And I'm laughing at the frozen rain. Well, I'm so alone; honey, when they gonna send me home?" - "Bad Sneakers," Steely Dan
I can praise and post "#GoMode" statuses all day long, proclaiming my commitment to working on a consistent basis and churning out content for everyone to read and enjoy. The reality behind it, however, like with almost everything, is that there are downsides to this lifestyle. When you don't produce or don't accomplish everything on your mental and physical to-do-lists, you feel incomplete, on top of the fact that tirelessly spinning your gears can leave you exhausted and more displaced than if you weren't such a workhorse. The mental hopscotch that comes with this grind is unspoken but greatly impacting.
Out of all the rhymes, metaphorical lines, and crafty similes I've rapped on my mixtapes, perhaps the most honest comes on my song "Film Critics" from my final mixtape 3 Much, where I say, "don't get it twisted, I still love it [reviewing films], just know that it's wild. If it wasn't for the strength of this passion, I'd have quit a while." This cannot be truer as I head into the home-stretch of my college-career, with no end in sight and an even stronger commitment to being a content-creator for my friends, fans, and family, three of several sources of inspiration and "life-bloods," as I call them, that help get me out of bed each and every day.
The final fall-term of my college career has wrapped up, and despite having no classes in my immediate wheelhouse (English and media history/theory), it was a mostly successful term in an academic sense: no grade lower than a B, 3.5 GPA, no paper/project grade lower than an A, and so forth. As always, however, looking beneath the surface of "what I learned" during set lecture hours is necessary, especially considering graduation and an inevitable job-search is finally in my line of vision.
With each passing term/semester in college, it becomes less about what you learn and more about how you apply it. This especially comes into play with liberal arts and language fields, where a career-path is very rarely linear and opportunities are present if you're creative enough to find them. Fundamentally, I'm learning what it means to be working and busy on a regular basis, and what's come of this has been a tremendous evolution in the opportunities I've already been graciously given.
Starting with "Sleepless with Steve," my weekly radio show where I talk movies and the movie industry on WONC 89.1 FM. I started the year with the belief I'd go back to the show's original "format" before it was even an official program on the station, where it was just me talking movies for a good portion of the three hours with music interspersed. That format completely changed when Joe Viso, first-time WONC DJ, took me up on my offer of being my fall-term co-host. Hesitant initially but optimistic about the outcome, I can say more by telling you that he is now my co-host for winter-term than I could by going long-winded with my praise. Joe is a strong addition to the show for more reasons than his attractive radio voice. He's got the charisma, the background knowledge on films, and the strength of conversational debate that I have really made integral to my program. He's always respectful and engaged. For a while, I had my pal Dominic as a co-host. Since then, he has taken a bit of a backseat on the show after graduating to being the show's main producer, as well as the manager of the edited simulcast content we churn out on a regular basis. Even if you don't hear him on-air, he's made "Sleepless with Steve" what it has been for several months now as much as myself, and he's an essential part of each week. I trust and appreciate these men enough that when I was very sick one week, I trusted them with the keys to the three-hour show, and they absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Continuing with WONC progress, thanks to the station's manager Blane, I've been named Facilities Director of the radio station as well, responsible for maintaining supplies and keeping the concourse and area of the station tidy. It's a position I really enjoy having, for it's managerial in the small ways that make a big difference. Given my own fussiness when it comes to organizing my workspace and making sure I have adequate supplies at my disposal, transitioning those skills to a bigger pond has been a mostly easy and gratifying process.
Other noteworthy events that occurred throughout this term include learning how to build a (very basic) website using Adobe Dreamweaver as well as meeting musician and Drake & Josh actor Drake Bell thanks to my equally hard-working WONC colleague Brandon. Because Brandon invited me to meet Drake so he could secure an interview for his WONC program "The Herman Show," I tagged along unassumingly to help with photos and extraneous details. It was an awe-inspiring experience, and I got to see Brandon, someone who could reasonably be viewed as cut from the similar cloth as myself: young, driven, and determined to remain committed to his own craft (in this case, running a specialty show with interviews of musicians across different genres).
Finally, to wrap things up, my role with "Influx Magazine," is set to grow considerably for this month at least. I've been named the Editorial Content Manager for Influx amidst a transition of power, meaning I'll be responsible for the written, interview, and video content that gets put up on the website. This is a gig I'm truly excited about, but I need to see if I can handle it with school simultaneously winding down and speeding up. Not to mention, other ventures such as writing film reviews for my website, XCritic, voting during awards season, and keeping up with other academic ventures that need be completed in order for me to graduate in June deserve a great deal of my attention. It's a trial-run I need to see if I can manage before making any long-term commitments.
There's a lot ahead, and the first six months of the new year will see a lot of action with all of those in play, coupled with my Criterion Collection Olympic Film event. So much is swirling at the moment that even my month off doesn't feel like one, but really a stopgap-period to teach myself a new juggling routine. I have every reason to believe and to inform you that changes will occur in the coming months, not only in regards to the branding of my content (more on that in a blog in coming weeks), but in terms of scheduling.
But with that said, now I'm bleeding into my unwritten winter-term reflection blog, so let's end this while I'm ahead. Thanks again for your undying support and loyalty and I look forward to the coming months and the final two terms of my college-career.
Continuing with WONC progress, thanks to the station's manager Blane, I've been named Facilities Director of the radio station as well, responsible for maintaining supplies and keeping the concourse and area of the station tidy. It's a position I really enjoy having, for it's managerial in the small ways that make a big difference. Given my own fussiness when it comes to organizing my workspace and making sure I have adequate supplies at my disposal, transitioning those skills to a bigger pond has been a mostly easy and gratifying process.
Other noteworthy events that occurred throughout this term include learning how to build a (very basic) website using Adobe Dreamweaver as well as meeting musician and Drake & Josh actor Drake Bell thanks to my equally hard-working WONC colleague Brandon. Because Brandon invited me to meet Drake so he could secure an interview for his WONC program "The Herman Show," I tagged along unassumingly to help with photos and extraneous details. It was an awe-inspiring experience, and I got to see Brandon, someone who could reasonably be viewed as cut from the similar cloth as myself: young, driven, and determined to remain committed to his own craft (in this case, running a specialty show with interviews of musicians across different genres).
Finally, to wrap things up, my role with "Influx Magazine," is set to grow considerably for this month at least. I've been named the Editorial Content Manager for Influx amidst a transition of power, meaning I'll be responsible for the written, interview, and video content that gets put up on the website. This is a gig I'm truly excited about, but I need to see if I can handle it with school simultaneously winding down and speeding up. Not to mention, other ventures such as writing film reviews for my website, XCritic, voting during awards season, and keeping up with other academic ventures that need be completed in order for me to graduate in June deserve a great deal of my attention. It's a trial-run I need to see if I can manage before making any long-term commitments.
There's a lot ahead, and the first six months of the new year will see a lot of action with all of those in play, coupled with my Criterion Collection Olympic Film event. So much is swirling at the moment that even my month off doesn't feel like one, but really a stopgap-period to teach myself a new juggling routine. I have every reason to believe and to inform you that changes will occur in the coming months, not only in regards to the branding of my content (more on that in a blog in coming weeks), but in terms of scheduling.
But with that said, now I'm bleeding into my unwritten winter-term reflection blog, so let's end this while I'm ahead. Thanks again for your undying support and loyalty and I look forward to the coming months and the final two terms of my college-career.
KEY SONGS OF THE TERM (FIVE SONGS THAT WERE A PART OF MY DAILY PLAYLIST THIS TERM IN COLLEGE):
Cardi B - "Bodak Yellow"
Montana of 300 - "Bodak Yellow (Remix)"
Montana of 300 - "Mask Off (Remix)"
Cardi B - "Bodak Yellow"
Montana of 300 - "Bodak Yellow (Remix)"
Montana of 300 - "Mask Off (Remix)"
READ MY OTHER COLLEGE BLOGS:
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