Bored Blog 13: Following the Signs

7/25/2021

I have realized that I may not be able to write a post every day. Things come up and I don't always have time to write.

Thank you for still sticking around. You are an awesome blog reader.

Today was another round of "What are you doing with your life Emel? What? What is it?"

If you're not asking yourself a similar question once a month then that's how you can lose your way. It's good to check in on yourself.

But I don't ask this question to check in on myself. I do this because I don't have a mentor or a teacher. Plus I like trying new things and learning about new things, which can distract me from what I should really be focusing on.

It makes me think where would I be if I stayed focused on one thing. But if I didn't drift off to visit other islands, would I have any stories to tell? Where would I have gotten my people skills from (something that still needs work on)? Where would my story ideas come from?

For the Tiny Home community project, I'm the cinematographer/editor/my dad's assistant. He doesn't always remember things, has people he needs to call, he needs a third and fourth hand to hold the measuring tape and whatnot. I can't say I enjoy this work, but I know it's the future and it's a dream that needs to become a reality.

Too many people are drowning in expenses. The homeless population in America has been increasing for the past couple of years (though it kind of has always been increasing, but it's been increasing even more). In 2020 California has had a 36% increase in homelessness. Crazy shiz if I do say so myself.

Today on Filmfreeway I got a message.

Yeaaahhhhhhh (o^∀^o)

The confetti was moving down my screen and the heart was beating. I stared at it for a while to take it in. At first I felt indifferent about it. From all the rejections for I'm Not Here, my numb auto pilot was on. I had to take a second to turn it off to be happy about this win.

The virtual confetti flapped down the web page and I thanked God for this win. I hope this is an in person event. Online festivals have no emotion. They said they'll email me again with the next steps.

This win was probably God confirming, " Emel, this is what you need to do. Film."

I believe he sends signs to us every day. We just ignore them. If we do listen to him and read a sign wrong he'll keep directing us to the right direction until we get it right.

I was talking to my mother earlier before receiving the email from Filmfreeway. I told her, "I'm feeling fuzzy on where I'm going and what I want to do." She asked, "Do you still want to do film?" I said, "Yes." She said, "That's good enough."

We talked more and she suggested I should network more.

She's absolutely right. My filmmaker friend circle is tiny. There are two people I actually talk to and one of them is the producer I work for who has only made two films and has grown up during a time where people read more than watched films.

This one guy from my college who was also a film major messaged me today asking if I knew anyone in film who would hire him. I laughed because of my connections. I then thought if he's really looking to build a portfolio then we could team up to make some short films.

I'll go ask him.

Best,

Emel