As time goes by we age and begin having to make more and more decisions in our lives. Some more important than others. Every single one reflecting on the type of person that you are today, and are to become in the future. One of these major decisions being what you are going to do when you get out of high school. "Do you plan to further your education and go to collage?" It is very important for most people seeing as though you are deciding what you are going to do for the rest of your life, because you don't want to make a bad decision in your younger years and end up like one of those grumpy old people you see that hate their life because there stuck working a job they don't enjoy that pays just over minimum wage. The time to make this decision creeps up on you and that is just about where I stand. Seventeen years old with a major decision on my hands that will shape the type of person I will become.

Throughout the day everyone talks about collage: friends, teachers, councilors, parents. I hear it all through the halls and it gets you thinking about the future. There are a lot of paths to take in this world, with a lot of different directions to go in. Choosing something you are going to be doing for basically your entire life is not something to take lightly. You must think this decision out as well as you can in the time you have, thinking ahead, and choosing wisely because this will most likely determine your happiness throughout life, which is very important to yourself and the people around you.

Ever since I was young I had never enjoyed going to school. Waking up early, having to learn things that didn't interest me, being told what to do. It just wasn't my thing. I always got the work done and never got bad grades, but I just always hated going. As most kids did. The farther I got into school the less teachers really cared about what you did. If you didn't want to learn they weren't going to make you, and that is how I thought it should be, which made me enjoy school a little more, knowing it was up to me to do good or not. I liked having control over my own future. The older I got the more I understood what I had to do to "make it" in this world. It seemed like finding something you loved to do that you could make a living off was all that it really was. Never having to work a day in your life simply because your work was your passion/hobby. A job where you could make a decent amount of money doing something that you enjoyed even if you never got payed for it. Finding that one thing you love that you can make a solid living off for the majority of your lifetime is a harder task than it sounds, but I think I have figured it out. Things seem to change at a rapid rate, so I am never to sure about something, but ever since I bought my first video camera and started shooting my friends skating I knew that making videos was something I wanted to do in the time to come.

I've been interested in filming and taking pictures ever since I was a kid. Always learning as much as I could about whatever I could on the topic. The original, old school, ways of filming and taking pictures with actual film is what always interested me, getting back to the basics of where it all started from. Taking the time to shoot and develop it by myself. Making it original unlike the digital stuff that you see today. The old way of doing things always seemed better to me. As I got more and more into filming/photograph the more people that I began to meet in the industry. Seeing these people working, making a bunch of money shooting videos that looked like a blast to make/be a part of opened my eyes to something totally new. I wanted to start making my own videos and money doing something that I always loved, so that is exactly what I did. I talked to everybody I knew and told them I was interested in cinematography, offering to help them out with whatever they needed me for and I`d just keep working my way up until I`d get to where I wanted to be.

Getting my first paid job helping shoot a music video with one of my buddies is where it really took off though. Helping set up all the backdrops, lighting, and camera equipment. Meeting new people and closely observing I got the feel of a full on production and how everything worked on set. It just clicked for me. I got it. Everybody had there own specific job and it ran quite smoothly. I was able to understand how movies and videos I'd seen in the past were made. How with just a few dedicated and talented people that knew what they were doing and a lot of time and hard work I could produce something just as good as what I'd seen in movies and on television, only it was my own work. I have the opportunity to create something that I think is cool and interesting, bringing the ideas that come to my head alive in the best way I can.

Recently, I got hired by a friend working for his production company as an assistant editor. This has helped me learn more about filming/editing and really helped me get a foot in the door of the film industry, and what I want to do in the future. I have met so many different people in the industry and have had many different experiences so far that my knowledge/interest continues to grow, and without a doubt is something I will remain interested in. I've found a hobby of mine that allows me to never have to work a day in my life and I am thankful for that.

The question of, "Do you plan to further your education and go to collage?" Still comes up and I feel that I personally do not need further education past high school for the profession I plan to do. With my foot in the door of the industry already I can save the money that I would have invested in collage and invest it in camera equipment and other things that will help me get jobs, meet new people, and learn the same stuff in the real world that I would be in collage without sitting in a class room trying to learn information in a way that does not suit me. I am a hands on learner that likes to get right to it and learn from experience and practice, and that is what I plan to continue doing.