CreComm: They'll take you to the depths of hell.

So I have one more 'test' left, and then school is pretty much done for the year. (This is both exciting, and nerve racking, as I am already experiencing fierce separation anxiety from my CreComm family...)

Let me tell you all a little something about CreComm; it's intense, incredibly challenging, and extremely stressful. I have never doubted myself and my abilities more, but on the same token, I have never worked harder and achieved so much either.

I guess a good metaphor for explaining what it's like would be this:

You get accepted into one of the best programs this city has to offer. You are excited, self assured, and probably boastful too. You literally think that you are the best, because this is a hard program to even get into, and you made it. You start your classes, with 25 other 'all-stars,' and it's like one-by-one the instructors take you by the hand and walk you into the depths of hell and give you exactly 10 minutes to get out. (Oh, and you have never been to hell before, so you have no idea how to get out, or what you're doing, but you've got to do it...)

This, my friends, is CreComm.

It sounds dismal, but I assure you it's not. (I mean, yes it's hard, and your first autofail will feel like somebody ripped out your soul, peed on it, and gave it back to you with a big fat F on it. But, it's par for the course in CreComm. -- In hindsight of all my autofails, were truly is the best way for me to learn never to make those mistakes again...)

One of the greatest things about CreComm is the people who are wandering around the depths of hell with you. Though this program, and industry is extremely competitive, your fellow CreCommer's are like your family, they know exactly what you're going through -- stress, excessive weight gain, sleep deprivation, depression, suicidal tendencies, etc. -- They're the ones who are going to talk you off that ledge when it all becomes too much. (And yes, you will do it for them. Even the toughest, smartest, best people get there, nobody is immune...)

You will spend evenings, weekends, mornings, and any spare moment you can muster in computer labs, the newsroom, edit suites. (You may as well get a locker, and put some spare clothes, snacks, and whatever else you need in there, Red River College will become your second home.) You will loath the security guards when they kick you out at midnight, and then scurry home, while still cursing them, to try and finish what you can, before taking a power nap, and returning in the morning to finish your work.

You will cry, and probably take bad marks personal. You will have your highest highs, and your lowest lows in CreComm, and you will learn to become bionic with your time management abilities. You will also see classmates drop out (much to your dismay) and probably threaten, or at least question your own fate in the program.

You will compare yourself with others, and it will probably hurt your self esteem, but you will get through it (perhaps after a pep talk from a friend, instructor, or family member...)

Yep, this is what CreComm is like.

It's one hell of a roller coaster ride, but it's awesome. (And that feeling of complete and utter awesomeness you had when you first got accepted into the program will return, except this time you will have 75 other people stroking your ego (about being the best) with you.)

I love you CreComm.



Here's Jess Chapman's montage (Added because it's just so CreComm!)

Kids are funny.

My niece is hilarious. Here is a video I took of us (trying to make a video for "Na" (Christina, my sister in Vancouver...)

My Amma - By Shelley Cook

For TV class our final project was to make a video montage. We could choose any song and subject to film, so I decided to film my Amma.

This montage took me about 30+ hours to create (You wouldn't think so, considering that it's only four minutes, and there is no trick filming!) But it did.

I spent an insane amount of time in Edit suite H (at school) cutting, clipping, editing, and piecing back together clips. I had just over 80 minutes of footage, but in the end, it was barely enough! (Seriously!)

I'm super happy with my montage though. It made my Amma cry when she saw it, and I really think it tells the story that I wanted to tell...

Enjoy!

C: CreComm reflections and changing the world...

Well, first year of CreComm is quickly wrapping up. We've completed almost all of our major assignments for the term, and we survived!

I would be lying if I said that I handled this term like a pro, because I didn't. It was tough, hard fought, and in the middle of it all, I wasn't sure that I was even cut out for this program. (Are congratulations in order? Was this part of the test?)

The countdown for the end of this semester is on, but as I've said before, it is bittersweet.

I can't imagine what next year will hold, or even more dramatic than that, the year after that. I've become so used of my CreComm family. (Heck, I see these people more than I see my own family!) Now that things have calmed down, I can really appreciate them again!

I keep contemplating whether I chose the right major.

I came into this program with my sights set on being a journalist. It's all I've ever wanted to do, and I didn't even consider anything else when I was applying to be in this program. However, after this year and the opportunities that I've had, I'm not even sure if I am cut out for journalism. (I love to use adjectives in excess, I am disjointed in my abilities, and if and when I compare myself to others, I am not sure that I am up to par with those folks.)

It's a weird position to be in, and it's an even weirder thing to admit on my blog.

This summer I am going to try my hand at a communications job. (I'm not sure if communications is my calling either, but I figure I should give it a shot.) At this point I am not sure that I can even commit to saying which part of the industry I want to work in; I mean I know that I do want to work within this industry somehow, but this year has sort of blurred my objectives, and I am unsure of which direction I will take once CreComm is over.

I say this because my one true love (even more than writing/journalism) is my love of volunteer work. -- There is something about helping others, and knowing that I am a part of something that could potentially change other peoples lives, that really gets to me. I love working hard, and seeing my work rewarded in the form of change, and understanding on the part of others. (There is nothing I love more than to be able to make people understand, or evoke empathy for a cause that is near to my heart. I love to throw myself into a cause, give it all I've got, and watch the changes unfold...It's kind of weird, and I can't really explain it.)

I guess we'll see what the future holds. All I know right now is that I have survived the first year (thus far) and I have already learned so many things that will help me achieve my goals to "change the world." (Ugh, that sounds so cheesy!)

Until next time...

-Cook

I'm a cowboy...

Um, awesome. (Except that I look as though I am with child...Time to shed these CreComm pounds!)

Thank you Cindy Titus for filming this awesome spectacle of awesomeness.

We put our SOLES into this...

I have been counting down to the end of first year since about two weeks into CreComm. However, now that it is quickly approaching I'm getting a little sad. (I know, I know, kinda lame...) But I am.

We just finished our magazine project (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a dreadful, yet incredibly awesome and fulfilling project that sees a group of four -- assembled randomly by a teacher --create a magazine from scratch!)

My group, Yvonne, Andrew, Sean and I created a magazine called Soles: a magazine about shoes and the people who wear them. It was a challenging project all around, but in the end, we made an awesome magazine that we are all extremely proud of. We also took home top place for best overall magazine at yesterday's magazine fair. It was a honour, because the competition was fierce, as all of the magazines made by the first year CreComm's were absolutely incredible.

I guess the reason I am getting so nostalgic all of a sudden is because one CreComm milestone has just passed; the magazine fair. Soon, summer will be here, and we will all fall back into real life, anticipating (or perhaps dreading) our second, and final, year in this program.

I have never worked so hard in my life, and I have never been pushed so hard in my life. For that I am extremely thankful. Also, I feel as though I have made such deep rooted friendships with both students and teachers. I finally feel like I am in the right place in my life.

C: Cinderella Soles