Thoughts on My First Day of Class

So as my title indicates, today was the first day of film classes at our school FAMU, which stands for Film and Tv School of Performing Arts. This marks the end of the first part of my experience here, being the time in Prague before my actual program begins. I would definitely say that we all got in a sufficient amount of "chilling" before the real work kicked in. Already I can say without a doubt I have had some of the most interesting nights of my life here, though to what extent I will describe them I haven't decided yet. If you contact me via Facebook or email, I'll gladly tell you about bar Ul, Cross Club, 80's night or Karlovy Lázně, which is the largest club in Europe. I will say that Prague has never ceased to amaze me, whether I'm wandering it's streets or partying somewhere (club, bar, park, you name it) that I've never seen anything like before in my life. 

However, with the end of an experience comes an era. Every amount of thought and stress I've put towards this semester abroad ultimately comes down to how I handle this challenge. And it is finally upon me. Tomorrow, we have a scriptwriting and directing seminar, and we will also discuss our still-blossoming film ideas, which I currently have two of, though I don't know if either will pan out.

During my first two weeks as I got acquainted with my new home, I haven't done much reading. I have tried to stay on top of current affairs, but truly I spend most of my days discovering new places, enjoying photo excursions, eating, drinking, and relaxing. And while all of this has been quite swell, I feel like I've been exercising my mind in a different way that I have never really tried before: deep thought. I know this may sound silly but I truly feel like I am getting a firmer grasp on my ability to conjure ideas and articulate my mind. Perhaps this is because of my blog, but I feel stronger that it is a side effect of my new film environment. Every day I talk over my many film ideas with peers in my program, taking in advice and always enjoying their stimulating opinions. We talk about these things over almost every meal, and it is always on my mind. Yesterday I went on a long walk with a friend and over the course of three hours, we really sculpted out a few solid ideas for our stories, each driving our themes and motifs into a deeper and more meaningful place. I've never really taken the time out of my day to really refine my ideas so that they mean more symbolically and logically. Ideas has been at the center of our film lessons thus far, and as you can tell, I've been taking it to heart.

I guess tomorrow is really the beginning, or at least what I've been anticipating the most. It's a cool feeling. I really want to make a great film, something to show off as my first real attempt to express myself. Wish me luck :)