Growing up, I’ve always had the desire to do something creative. It started out with various things. I’d always try to find new and different ways of doing things, whether it be in Video Games, school, or anything else in my life. As I grew older I knew that I had to have some sort of job that utilized this or I would simply lose my mind. I never really thought of it much as choice, more of a calling.
The more I thought about this, the more it came down to film. There is nothing else that combines everything I’m passionate about in art with the things that I love to do. Everything that I like is something that is utilized in film. Beside that, my main goal in life has always been to produce some form of art that moves others emotionally to the same intensity that the things that I love have done for me. I started making various films with friends and I got more and more into it. I always felt alive at the helm. It was in that frame of mind that I did BreakmanX.com as well. I always tackled the show, the forums, and everything else like I would a film. I tried to put all the sense of style into the site that I did in film.
I started learning about USC when I was in Junior High or so as George Lucas went there and talks about it all the time. As I looked into it I saw that in addition to George Lucas, there is quite the impressive list of successful film alumni. USC is the the #1 film school in the nation, and because of this I always thought I’d never get in. In fact, I was all ready to apply when I was a senior in high school, but because of a girlfriend I applied to KU so we could be together. Yeah, don’t ever do that, she left me the following May. Well, actually, strike that. Everything did end up great in the end as I met my amazing wife at KU which wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
And then I got really into the site and college and Hollywood seemed to get farther and farther away. Until E3.
At E3 2004, I absolutely fell in love with L.A. I loved everything about it. I knew, instantly, that I wanted to live there. It was crazy to think that all the movies and music I have enjoyed throughout the years came from this location. As we waited to get into the Microsoft Press Conference that year I saw USC sitting across the street and it reawakened all my dreams of making movies of my own. At that point I decided to try and get into USC. As many of you may remember, I got into their Summer Program in 2005 where I spent the entire summer making films. This was one of the absolute best summers of my life, but was bittersweet knowing that this was just a temporary thing as I wasn’t really a parmenant student there. Just visiting.
That summer propelled the change that began at E3 2004 though, as I dedicated myself to the entertainment industry. I took every step that my professors at USC, as well as my lovely cousin who is a very successfully costume designer in Hollywood, and went full steam ahead. Once KU’s graduation rolled around. the moment of truth started to creep up on me. I starting looking through USC’s application procedures and how they get 1,000s of applications everyday and only accept between 25 – 50 students a year for film. But, I just kept thinking about how this was my most secure shot of breaking in as their after-graduation success rate is unmatched (not even close) by any other school out there. I mean Spielberg, among others, is on their board! I wrote essay after essay about myself. I catalogued everything I’d ever done. On October 16th, 2007; after my wife assured me for the hundreth time that everything on the application was perfect, I submitted myself in paper form with much anxiety.
After that, I waited, and I waited. I knew they told me I probably wouldn’t hear until April, but I couldn’t help but hope I’d hear sooner…no such luck. My anxiety and nerves worsened.
On April 26th, 2008, Shadow and I returned to my place after eating some breakfast to find that the mail had arrived. I started to take it out of the box to see a big envelope with USC’s famous maroon colors all over it. I literally screamed. I threw the rest of the mail and ripped it open. "Congratulations on your admission…" After that I ran inside and gave Shadow a huge high five and read the rest. I had been accepted into their Film Production program, and I was scheduled to begin my journey of earning my Master of Fine Arts on the subject August 2008. I kept thinking I was dreaming… After all, this was my dream. I had made it into the school I’d wanted to go to for so long. I had made it. My dream continues in August guys, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated.
