Tough Questions Part 1

Why do you want to study at graduate to get degree X?

I always have felt that I need a little bit more education. High school was a high point in my learning and college was not a great time for me except for when I found the classes that I really loved. I could excel when my passions were engage. Or when it worked towards another goal. College was about the overall degree, but not about the journey to substantial goal. Therefore I was little aimless in my studies. But in my professional life, I do feel the passion for gaining more knowledge. This is the push that can keep on my the path towards the goals I wish to accomplish for myself.

Why do you want to study at this particular college?

I have a long legacy with Virginia. From my parents time, through my own time as a student there, up until now, it was continued to be a beacon of excellence and I appreciate its dedication to its students and creating happy, healthy, and informed members of the community. I would like to continue that legacy. I specifically want to take this program because its curriculum is the most comprehensive program I’ve seen out there that manages to cover the basic skills as well as the targeted real world (situations and jobs) that I hope to be able tackle when I complete this certificate. I want to be specific in my studies. Taking 32 credits for the sake of 32 credits is not what interests me. I want to have the practical courses and lessons that will best help me to reach my professional goals.

Is your experience related to your choice of degree?

I’m a producer. I actually don’t think I could have said that with full confidence three years ago. It was actually a colleague who has become a dear friend who first recognized that trait in me. After years of creating compelling stories, I had compiled quite a list. When David first wanted to hear what ideas we were pitching, he was honestly floored. The fifteen active projects we had were music to his ears. He was even more shocked when I brought multiple ideas we'd had over the years that never got picked up. Or worse, were snatched up and given to other companies. We started talking back and forth about what this network wanted to see, versus that network.  Why a show works for TLC but doesn’t captivate the audience for WEtv. Or even Lifetime. That same group of women ages 24-54 were looking for something different in their programming, and different in their network. The beauty was in the nuance. Emphasizing one character over another. A mother-daughter relationship vs a brother-sister relationship vs a marital relationship. Whether you are creating a story arc over on episodes or an entire season. Do you have a build process from beginning to end? What exactly is the pay off, superficial or tangible? As a developer, I had the unique opportunity to envision a world that I could create, where my story could have a certain flow, but in becoming a producer, I more readily embraced looking how I could make those ideas a true reality.

It takes a lot to be a producer. You have to vision. And when you don't have your own, you borrow someone else's. But there is always an eye. You have to have the eye. Do I? Some days I could say yes. Others? I'd say I'm faking it.

"Fake it 'til you make it." How often do we hear that? It is actually the best advice out there. Because if you can fake your confidence, you'll usually find that you have eventually become that person you've been pretending to be. They have slowly become a part of you, enveloped you as you have stepped into that role and molded yourself to become them. And it happens slowly, gradually. Like it has all the time in the world.

On inner fire

Forget your self-righteousness. The smallest scrap of paper that blazes from my Presence is more useful than a thousand pieces of regal unlit wax. I’m going to set you on fire and send you into the dark. You’ll melt, Beloved, but do not fear. You’re surrendering to a Light that will never go out.
How often do we dress ourselves up and put on airs? How much of what we show to the world is a gilded outer shell? Many times do I feel that there is the beautiful facade, a mask that the world gets to see, but there are few who actually know what lies beneath.

If I am not filled with worthwhile values, morals, or thoughts, than am I actually worth my salt? Am I just an empty vessel? What is that my vessel needs to be filled with?

Someone who burns bright with love, and trust, and truth. Don't we always find that person to be the most attractive and magical of all. They draw you in. They make you feel warmth and love. They are a beacon when all else feels lost or unfulfilling. They light up a room.

Can that inner light be spirituality? A presence emanating from their being? At this time, I think of Paul Abernathy and his magnificent spirit that has the power to call people from all walks of life. He is like a shepherd that the flock wants to follow as he leads them through their spiritual journey. But like John the Baptist, he is not The Way - but he is the very important messenger.

I have long since held that different people see God, or find God, in many different ways. Whether they see them in the face of their child, in the beauty of a piece of music, or in the freedom of running down a forest trail.