These are the three stories that changed my life:
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter book series has not changed my life. It has
shaped my life. I first read the Harry Potter books when I was about 10 years
old, simply because my older brother was reading them. I never knew how
influential they would be in my life. I labeled myself as a Ravenclaw early on,
and that identifier is a very important part of who I consider myself to be. When
I became active in online fan communities in middle school, the Harry Potter
fandom was the first I went to. Even though me and all my online friends had
different tastes, Harry Potter was our common denominator. The fan community
has been a constant in my life since then, and I know if I feel like crap, all
I have to do is log back on to Mugglenet or browse the Harry Potter tag on
Tumblr to make me feel better. My copy of Deathly Hallows (which I will
hopefully one day get signed) was one of the few books of my extensive
collection to come with me to college, and it has always been there to guide me
home to Hogwarts if need be.
I cannot write about the impact of Harry Potter on me
without writing about Hermione Granger. Early on, she became my favorite
character, simply by being the main female character. But I grew to identify so
much with her and idolize her: being a Ravenclaw, I was very bookish and smart.
Hermione was my role model; she never apologized for her intelligence, even
when it was made fun of, and she remained brave in the toughest situations,
making her a true Gryffindor. She had
strength that I never had, and I loved her so much because of it. The best part
was, she didn't even need Ron (or Krum or McLaggen) to be herself. She never
relied on anyone else, she was always who she wanted to be without reservation.
And that is who I strive to be, every single day.
Fringe
I can pinpoint the television show Fringe as the reason that I am a film major today. Yes, I hear you
saying, "Oh Fringe isn't a film,
it's a television show wahhh". Deal with it. I am probably the worst film
major ever because I barely watch movies. The reason I am a film major is
because I want to write, and Temple's film screenwriting track is fabulous.
Boom. Anyways, I fell in love with Fringe
when it began airing my freshman year of high school. My older brother was
currently watching Lost (I promise this is where the trend ends) and watched
the pilot of Fringe, since they shared a creator (JJ Abrams, aka a god). I just
so happened to be sitting in the room when he was watching it, and inadvertently
fell in love with it. The next time I sat down to watch it, my dad decided he
liked the show and wanted to watch it with me. So, for the next five years
every Tuesday/Thursday/Friday (depending on the season) me and my father would
have our "Fringe time". When the fifth and final season was airing, I
had just moved to college and could no longer watch it with my dad. But
everything came full circle when the series finale aired on the last Friday of
my winter break. I was able to close out an incredibly emotional experience
exactly how it started: with my father by my side.
I say that Fringe is the reason I want to work in film/TV
for a few reasons. First, Fringe was the first show that I was really invested
in. The characters and the storyline pulled me into their world more than any
show had ever done, and it took me completely by surprise. Like I said, I fell
in love with this show and each episode left me begging for more. It gave me a
passion for storytelling that is key for working in the industry. Second, I was in awe of the writing on Fringe. Some scenes were so captivating
I watched them over and over on YouTube the next day. This led me to be
interested in television writers, and to my third reason. Third, I discovered
J.J. Abrams. In some Wikipedia surfing, I came across his article and all the
things he had written and all the things he was about to write. Reading about the lives of Abrams and other
Fringe writers made me crave that life: not the Hollywood celebrity, but the
hours spent in a writing room hammering out plot details. I became convinced
that this was the life for me, and I knew the way to get there was to be a film
major. And here I am, one step closer to that life.
The Lizzie Bennet
Diaries
This web series adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice is incredible.
Seriously, if you haven't seen in by now, go and come back in 100 episodes. The
series depicts Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet as a current day grad
student with a mountain of student debts embarking on a year of making
twice-weekly video blogs, with lots of fantastically done modern-day updates.
I watched The Lizzie
Bennet Diaries from the very beginning, when creator Hank Green announced
it on his own YouTube channel (youtube.com/vlogbrothers). I had tried to read
P&P, but never got past the first few chapters because the language was
hard to get used to. After a few months of watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and loving it!) I decided to give
P&P another try. This time, I pictured all of the actors from the series
when reading, and I tore through the book in about 2 weeks. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries itself had a
profound impact on my artistic life, as I was just starting my freshman year of
college as a film major when the first episode went live (which I am just about
to finish!). Through the course of the last nine months, I have thought a lot
about where I want to go artistically and online content is a new avenue which
I am interested in exploring. The Lizzie
Bennet Diaries changed my view of a medium of which I was already a fan,
but was never interested in creatively. I had always pictured myself working in
television, being in the writers room of some network sci-fi drama coming up
with plot twists to confuse the audience. But now, I can see myself doing the
same thing, but with web series. There are so many more creative opportunities
in web video, and I am excited to explore the possibilities. But that doesn't
mean that I am giving up on television. Who says you can't have more than one
dream?
