California Dreamin'

California Dreamin by Mamas & The Papas

As a college student, I never thought I would consider 1AM to be late. That's what time it is in Ohio and when I left there this morning at 6:30AM, it was also 27 degrees. Nine hours later and I'm in Los Angeles, California, 70 degrees and 3 hours behind. So while here, it's only 10PM, it's 1AM at home. And I'm exhausted. But warm. And already more prepared, and excited, for my future.

Landing in LAX; view of the Pacific ocean.
First time in California.

When I applied for this one week intensive program in LA, I was nervous I wouldn't be selected. As a senior (graduating in 2 months), I have had no internship experience. Of course, with the sense of humor the world seems to have, everyone has been telling me over the past 6 months that the only way to get a job is an internship. I couldn't stop thinking about that. What do I do?! I've spent the past 2 years working for the university and any other part time jobs I could find because, well, I'm a poor college student. I never had time for internships.

And then tonight. LA gets me. It just clicks here. Internships, yeah, they are important. But the other stuff shouldn't be under valued. I'm currently working on a paper that focuses on the idea of schooling versus education. I think that is why people value internships so highly; they are hands on education that you just can't learn in the classroom. But, what if, education actually starts after graduation? What if, my education actually starts on May 5th? Okay, I'm a little behind everyone who has had internships but that doesn't make me any less aware of how important those experiences can be and what I can learn from them. I've also learned a lot from my job running a student union - a job only few students can truly understand and appreciate.

I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Everyone makes agency work seem like something people flow in and out of but I've considered making it a career. I'm a people person, I know I'd be good at it. And then there is the thought of working in casting. I love television or social media so maybe something along one of those lines. Or, if media doesn't work out, there is event planning. It's safe to say that there are still many cards on the table.

I've been fortunate enough to talk to 4 people in the business today about LA, the future of LA and my future here. Correct me if I'm wrong but, according to them, having many cards on the table seems like a good thing. I've always been open to new things and ideas and, in this industry, you have to be. When I started school, social media was just starting to boom. Now, there are whole careers based around it. There are the jobs that everyone hears about, talks about, the ones that are the first to roll on the credits. However, there are so many more companies and jobs that are popping up every day. To move to LA and be stuck in the idea of one job seems closed minded. You are almost setting yourself up to fail.

Jordan Blum, one of the writers for "American Dad", spoke tonight about how, moving out here, don't challenge yourself to necessarily be better than everyone else but instead, be better than yourself. Keep challenging yourself. Let your new piece of work be better than your last because only so much of how you succeed is your work. It's serendipity. It's relationships and networking. Put your name on a product that you are proud of and keep yourself open to jobs that are going to eventually get you to your dream job. Don't ever expect to be handed something.

View from our hotel in Burbank.