Crying out of the system of studying

[Txum_kali'weya]

Originally Posted by Stanley_9875

All through my high school year, I kept telling myself, it will all be different soon and it was. Just hang in there, keep your grades up and do your best... trust me I've been there. You may not agree with it, but if you want to achieve your goals its best to keep your grades up, like you've been doing. I'm lucky my eyes have been opened to Avatar after high school, otherwise things would be very very very different for me now. In the trade school I'm going to all I have to do is go to school for about 6 1/2 hours a day, and I love it there because its what I want to do, it's something I love. And Colonel/Cyan, you said you wanted to become a film director, thats amazing. I loved film; I've made lots of movies, even won a few awards at school film festivals including Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Overall Film (sorry I had to brag for a second). I wanted to become a movie director at my career, but alas, things were very expensive if I wanted to up my movies; cameras that cost a few thousand, new computers with expensive editing software and special effects programs, the microphones, cables, cast and crew... so I went to the automotive industry to have a very good income and on the side be an independent film maker, and maybe later on in my life become a professional movie director. Not saying this to affect your career decision, but I was somewhat on the same boat as you. If you film a movie let me know, I'll help you out

But like I said, hang in there, keep your head up, and soon you'll be doing what you love

could you possibly send us those films..?

[Stanley_9875]

Originally Posted by Txum_kali'weya

could you possibly send us those films..?

Let's see, I've got a few short ones I've made on youtube, lots of unfinished ones, the one for the film festival is longer (about 40 minutes) and isn't spectacular haha I find it actually kind of embarrassing. It was a comedy horror movie

[Apollo]

Originally Posted by Cyan

Endless it all is, i can't bare the thought of cramming my head anymore, all i want to do is adventure and release myself into the world, not be held back by the frequent tests that demand us to be sponges abosorbing everything, becoming uniform and the same, well lets throw the sponge back, all this work is mounting and all this studying is hurting, all i want is peace and serenity, studying kills the mind into a logical thinking machine, i want to make decisions for myself sometimes, i want to be original and different. There is only soo much you can process when you have endless subjects on the go at the same time, doodling my thoughts and images in my book is considered an offence, even though i can multi task, individuality is a sin in school time.

Heh, ya. School is only temporary and your mind isn't in there forever. Know that fact, and make sure anything you think of that's truly creative (or something that's really close to your heart), make sure you write it down in an idea diary or a journal. I do this frequently, in my journal. Which is a dream journal and an idea list. Let me tell you how invaluable this journal is to me; it has supplied me with many ideas for drawing, stories, and even the posters/menus that I work on for a living. You can open your mind while you study like a machine, but know this. You maybe a biological machine that other humans would love to exploit, but you are also unique and full of untouched potential that the world has yet to see. If you study, make sure you know your material and when the exams come along (or just tests), just drop the knowledge and move on to the next unit. There really is no need to know many things that school has to teach you, and take pleasure in note because that means you can empty your mind after every test although I think it would be productive to keep all the worksheets and notes so you can thoroughly study for the semester exams (if your school does that). Make study cycles everyday and you'll notice the agony that is school go away. Right now my friend, your over-catastrophizing the situation and you need to keep your head cool for a moment here. Do not lose hope and know that there is so much life to live outside of high school, and try to get a good taste of it before you graduate (that way you'll have a head start when you get to college, if that is your choice). And with being a director, I can refer you to my brother in facts if you'd like. He's in a bind with cash and is trying to adapt in becoming a director.

Originally Posted by Stanley_9875

All through my high school year, I kept telling myself, it will all be different soon and it was. Just hang in there, keep your grades up and do your best... trust me I've been there. You may not agree with it, but if you want to achieve your goals its best to keep your grades up, like you've been doing. I'm lucky my eyes have been opened to Avatar after high school, otherwise things would be very very very different for me now. In the trade school I'm going to all I have to do is go to school for about 6 1/2 hours a day, and I love it there because its what I want to do, it's something I love. And Colonel/Cyan, you said you wanted to become a film director, thats amazing. I loved film; I've made lots of movies, even won a few awards at school film festivals including Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Overall Film (sorry I had to brag for a second). I wanted to become a movie director at my career, but alas, things were very expensive if I wanted to up my movies; cameras that cost a few thousand, new computers with expensive editing software and special effects programs, the microphones, cables, cast and crew... so I went to the automotive industry to have a very good income and on the side be an independent film maker, and maybe later on in my life become a professional movie director. Not saying this to affect your career decision, but I was somewhat on the same boat as you. If you film a movie let me know, I'll help you out

But like I said, hang in there, keep your head up, and soon you'll be doing what you love

Exactly my kind of thinking bud, and this is the wisest decision to take. If you get a good, sustainable job, you can use to fund your outlets and your hobbies so that problem with a bill-fold won't occur as often as it used to. In your spare time, try to practice your hobbies in inexpensive ways. If your directing, get good with drawing stick figures and figure out just how a story board works. Read books to get an idea of how a story is developed and try it yourself in a few paragraphs (make effective beginnings, climaxs, recessions, and conclusions). And do this in your free time; keep doing it and you might surprise yourself. My brother isn't a dedicated and commited person, so he procrastinates too much and never gets things done. I would talk more but I got 5 minutes to get to the bus before I'm late. Colonel, I will get back to you on this topic, and with my drawing motivation soon enough. Catch you later!

[Txantsulsam Fyawintxu]

The Power of Now

Read the following statements:

I'm not experienced.

I'm not good enough.

I don't have the skills.

Now, add the word "now:"

I'm not experienced, now.

I'm not good enough, now.

I don't have the skills, now.

~~~~~~~~~

Every personal shortcoming is relative.

To embrace our future potential, we must unlearn barriers.

One of the greatest is the idea that "now" is a permanent condition.

It isn't.

[Stanley_9875]

I agree with Apollo... well said.

Indeed where you're at now is a perfect time to get some practice in.... like said, practice with story boards... take a little short movie you've seen and re-do that in a story board, or if you have a small silly (or even serious) idea do that... also read up on it. there are numerous books full of tips and ways to help improve your movies... I have a couple at home I'll advise you to read. Also plan your scenes out before shooting. What I find always works is do a practice day, like get everyone on set, have everything planned out, have the cast go over their lines, make sure all the sound is good with your mics, and make sure everythings all set and the next day (or if you feel ready then) everythings all set up and the filming will go through quick and turn out very well. Make short films to practice on your editing and directing... me and my friends make short war videos so I can practice with directing, editing, and special effects (i.e. muzzle flares, filters, ect.), plus they're fun to do and look super cool when they're finished. Also see if your city/town is doing any film festivles, and if not see when the next one is

One more thing... carry around a small notepad! if you suddenly have any ideas bam whip that notepad out and scribble all that on your mind on those pages

[Iknimaya]

I have the solution for you: unschool yourself.

Now, bear with me here... I'm not saying drop out. Definitely continue with your studies. But find something you're passionate about and use every resource you have available to learn everything you possibly can about it. Use it as a motivator to get through with your "real" school work so you can get to the work that matters to you. James Cameron didn't go to film school. He was a Physics major, then an English major. He realized that some things can't be taught, and he needed to get some life experience. After college, he worked as a mechanic, a bus driver, a janitor. While he was working as a driver, he would go to USC on Saturdays and visit their film department's library. There, he would xerox thousands of pages and take them home and put them in binders. He decided the system couldn't teach him how to create, so he taught himself everything. He got a graduate level education for the cost of xeroxes. You have so many more resources available to you today than he did in the 70's. You have libraries, podcasts, ebooks, free university lectures online, TED Talks, iTunesU, and the utter vastness of the internet.

Want to learn about filmmaking? Teach yourself about filmmaking. Get the school work out of the way, use your free time to unschool yourself.

[Txantsulsam Fyawintxu]

Sorry for the double post but I just thought of this... I think it'll help.

~~~~~

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both." - Zen Wisdom

[Gunny]

Im actually wanting to change my college major, I feel im in the field im at only because of the stable job I know will come out of it and the good income I can make. For that I am sacrificing more than likely getting stuck behind a desk 5 days a week doing nothing but paper work and crunching numbers. People who know me should know I cant be in one place for a long amount of time haha!

My problem is like you Colonel, I hate to do all these classes that dont have any relevance and would love to just travel the world and see everything. Yet I have no idea what I would possibly change my major to. Music? No its a hobby yes, but I am much to amateur to make any kind of living money it will be a side gig for me. Ive thought about changing to Aviation Logistics. Which would be a path into either military aviation or straight to cargo/commercial flying. Im just not sure the kind of life I want to lead yet and the problem is that I need to figure it out soon or Im going to lose money. Me, Im just praying alot and hoping that the answer will suddenly come to me and I will realize what it is im meant to do with my life.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Gunny

Im just not sure the kind of life I want to lead yet and the problem is that I need to figure it out soon or Im going to lose money. Me, Im just praying alot and hoping that the answer will suddenly come to me and I will realize what it is im meant to do with my life.

This is exactly my problem. At the moment I'm doing computer science at university, just because it's the only thing I'm really good at, so was the logical choice for a course then a job, but I realised a few months ago, it's not what I want to do. I want to have a job where money doesn't matter so much, where the most important things are doing something I enjoy, and having time to go out and do things I like. What use is money if you can't use it, or spend your whole life using it to pay for a house and car?
I guess if I could do anything, without considering difficulty or skill, I'd like to be in a band, but really lack the skill or creativity for that (and I know people in various bands, some relatively well known, and I KNOW I couldn't do it myself...)