...In which our heroine talks ch-ch-changes.

I just got home from my last D&P class and it really seems now like the semester is over. I cannot believe that my first semester of college is nearly over.

I could never put into words the way I have changed thus far already in my college career. I feel little like the girl that graduated in May or stepped foot in Chicago in August. Everything just feels different. I feel independent, more resolved than ever to succeed. I've learned to live away from home, with friends only as my family now. I know what it is to have siblings now. I know how to grocery shop, how to maintain a budget, how hard it is to do homework and go to class when you really don't have to.

From an academic standpoint, I've grown so much when it comes to understanding the constructs of film and what goes into making the moving image look compelling. I have written four short films, and seen in excess of 50 new films. I know the different types of camera lenses and how to spot discontinuity editing. And I love it. As a moviegoer, I watch films from a totally different position now. Susanna put it well in D&P today "Once you go to film school, suddenly you can see the man behind the curtain, and some of the magic is gone." Yeah, it is, but now I'm just compelled to start writing films of my own.

From a personal place, as cheesy as this may sound, I know now that being with someone is what was missing from my life to make me truly happy. Although it has only been two weeks officially with Ben, I really am quite content. I'm admittedly behind the curve on the whole boyfriend thing, but now that I have it, life has been pretty sweet. Ben is so sweet, so funny, and gets all my nerdy passions. I still don't want to rush anything with him in terms of the relationship, but things have been really good so far. Any boy that you can watch From Dusk Till Dawn with and appreciate Salma Hayek's ridiculous hotness in addition to that sweet gun-baseball bat-cross thing Harvey Kietel wields is a keeper.

I, your humble heroine, am continually changing and things just keep getting better. As fall turns to winter and snow starts to fly, I feel more hopeful and happy than I've ever been. This is the life.