Another life checkpoint post.
I came to NYU knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Unlike most college students, who dabbled here and there and have some sort of vague idea of what they want their major to be (and don’t have to choose for two more years), I knew not only that I wanted to be a film major, but that I wanted to specialize in sound design and engineering.
Oh, how I miss that blissful state of certainty that I had two months ago.
My first quarter of college, more than anything else, has taught me that I really know shit about where I want my life to go. I don’t even know whether being a film major is the best choice for me. Sure, I’m doing well in my film classes - but to be honest, I’m both doing better in and enjoying my non-film classes much more. Would Computer Science have been a better route for me? Or web design - the dozens and dozens of hours I’ve spent doing web work for the NYU Newspaper have been incredibly fun and educational for me. Meanwhile, my film teachers go on and on about how expensive our Junior and Senior projects are to shoot; how we’ll never see the light of day once we enter our Junior-level production class; how intense the competition becomes.
Do I want this?
I keep telling myself that things will get better next year, once all of the introductory-level classes are done with. Then I can take the specialized classes that really interest me - Editing, South Mixing, Sound Design… But then again, by that point, it’ll be too late to switch out. If I get to second semester Sophomore year and decide Film isn’t what’s best for me, what do I do?
In reality, this deliemma is no more unique or problematic than the situation of any other college student in any other university. I think I’m just more worried than most, because I’ve seen how quickly a die-hard passion can fade away. Most students work off the idea that they’ll know what they want to be by the end of their four years. I’m working off the fear that I won’t know until it’s too late.
