Another One Bites The Dust

It is June, wedding and graduation season. I am happy to say that I just completed a one year program in entertainment studies at UCLA X and it represents the culmination of a year of sacrifices after giving up my job and lifestyle at home to come to LA to be a full time student again in my 30’s. Academically, I will say that I totally crushed it lol, but that is not because it wasn’t challenging. I did apply myself, to be fair sometimes better than others, and found the material covered in these classes incredibly practical and useful. I feel better prepared to work in the US entertainment industry now compared to a year ago after graduating with a Masters in Entertainment Law. That is not to discredit my other alma mater USC which was phenomenal and a far more demanding and academically rigorous experience, but merely to make the distinction that I nailed the technical over there and now believe I have unlocked the practical. The focus was also quite different since this program was about the business side of the entertainment industry, and not being a lawyer to support it. I’ve made a few acquaintances that I feel will strengthen in time as we all grow professionally. Last week we had a graduation ceremony and it forced me to confront the inevitable “what’s next?” as I have now checked this item off of my to-do list after conceptualizing it in the height of the pandemic’s second lockdown (which now seems so far away it is almost a fever dream). Joining a team where I provide value and gain practical experience is the short and perhaps unsurprising answer. I need to put what I’ve learnt to the test! I’m excited about contributing my diverse creative voice in a different environment. Who knows where I’ll end up, all I can say as I look back on what seems like a nanosecond of a year, is that I have grown positively and look ahead to doing more of that in the next place I am placed on my journey.