Post-Event Reflection

This past weekend at Visions might have been one of the most fun weekends I've had. It ranks up there with a day trip to Bath, England where I got to see in person the baths I had been studying for years in Latin class and nap in a park with green grass and 70 degree temperatures.

I can't even say what my expectations were for the event. I think I was so caught up in the planning and development of it that I forgot to even imagine what it would be like. In my sleep-deprived delirium I strolled into the event as it came alive. It was surreal at first to see in person all of the filmmakers and scholars I had fought over. It was even more surreal when they turned out to be awesome, and interesting, and just as wide-eyed as I was.

I realized about half way through the day, and then again on Saturday just how special our little event was. I think I had held it up next to a bunch of other film festivals and found it insignificant in comparison. Now I know we aren't even in the same ball park as the majority of other film festivals. What other film festival fosters the growth of an individual, and cares about them like we do? Our purpose was so much more than a film festival (we stated that in the beginning, but I got to see it in real life this past weekend) but a place to bring undergrads where they can feel like their voice is important. I knew by the conversations I had with them (despite their humble attitudes) that they felt very important, and heard. It's not only something that other film festivals aren't doing, it's something our culture isn't doing. The age at which a person becomes an adult is constantly being raised, but people have voices much sooner than that. This idea is what Visions exemplified this year, and it's something that is radically important.

I'm truly proud to have been a part of it. Yay.

End mushiness.