Thirsty Thursday

I've been thinking a lot more about my life and how I am going to use my capabilities to benefit someone else. The thing is I knew the answer all a long. I now want to be a cinematographer more than ever. I know what you're thinking, how is film going to help others? Well it's not going to cure cancer obviously, but film gives people something that nothing else can. It's a preservative. The whole reason why I ever wanted to be a cinematographer is not because it's fun, or it's something I am pretty okay at. I just want people to be able to live in ways that they aren't able too otherwise. I want people to be able to experience the world I live in as it is now, whether it be real or not. The whole world is changing drastically. New buildings are appearing, and once small towns are becoming cities. The climate is also changing. Whether global warming exists or not is beyond me, but if it does, one day there wont be much snow around. The only way people in the future will know it ever even existed is through pictures and video. And sure photography could be enough, but I want people to be able to hear and see at the same time.
I guess an example to better explain myself would be of a video I recently saw of the Beatles playing "Hey Jude". Sure we can listen to the song and look at pictures, but the video says so much more. I got to witness and feel the emotions of everyone there. It made me get a true feeling of what it was like to actually be there as they played. I could see how important this band once was to the world by not only how the audience responding by singing along and joining them on stage, but also by the simple fact that they were being broadcasted on television in a time when there were only a few channels filled mostly by news and a select handful of family sitcoms. MTV did not exist and music videos were almost unheard of. I also got to see the band interact. They were clearly a real band, real friends, and most importantly real musicians. For a couple of minutes, I got to live in an era where I didn't even exist yet. Video just gives us a way to appreciate things more whether we realize it or not. Since there isn't and probably will never be such a thing as time travel, this is the next best thing.
I've always been good at drawing and painting, but all I can do is see things as they are. I can't manipulate and use my imagination to be more expressive. I'm simply a copy machine. With video it's somewhat different though. I can manipulate the film to make people see and feel in different ways whether it be through simple filming or editing. I have a creativity with film that comes naturally and that I don't have to force.
I'm not trying to make it big in any way. Who would I be kidding? Actually I'd be completely satisfied with making ends meat. The most important thing is doing something I love and that will mean something to someone else as well. One of the good things about coming from where I do, and living the way I am right now, on my own, I've come to realize that money isn't everything. I have learned to be completely satisfied with close to nothing. As long as I have food to eat, a roof over my head, and friends and family to love, I'm perfectly content. The road I am taking may not end glamorously and will definitely be a bumpy one, but I only have up to go from here.

Today I did not take the walk I was hoping I would motivate myself to do. It was way too cold. I did however get out my unused camera and take a picture of Lake Champlain during sunset off of my roof. I also managed to shovel out my car even though I had no intentions on going anywhere. I even forgot it was Thursday until Mary had asked why I was trading in a box of wine for an early start to bed. I miss all my Champlain friends and can't wait till everyone comes back.
I am thinking about taking some language courses. I'm still pretty set on traveling a lot one day, and the confidence in my future career makes it all little more set in stone. I think learning and actually using some new languages could really help in satisfying my urge to broaden my knowledge and capabilities. This is all starting to sound like a dream again, but what doesn't seem appealing about documenting my personal discoveries of a bigger world.