XXXII

STIPIMM: “Well It’s True That We Love One Another,” by the White Stripes

As of late, my mind, when not focused on one of the umpteen tasks at hand, has been focused a lot on the future. There’s been a lot going on that has all been pointing at the direction my life is going, particularly career-wise.

When I was at American University, I had little idea of what I wanted to do with the degree in film and video I was earning. It was a feeling that was at once disconcerting and exhilarating — lots of possibilities, lots of opportunities.

As the relationship between Bridget and me solidified, we talked a lot about what we wanted from our future (sounds romantic, eh?) and our careers. We charted out goals and paths to get there — she would earn an MFA in directing, which would jump-start her professional career in theatre, and I would pursue college teaching, possibly leaving summers open for personal projects and maybe bigger productions.

Our plans have already begun to bear fruit — Bridget, of course, is having the time of her life learning at BU, and I’m, well, teaching. I have six classes this semester—a tough schedule—along with editing a documentary when I can fit it in (editing “Indian Girl” is still on hold until things settle down).

And now, today, coincidentally on the 32nd anniversary of my birth, I laid another piece of our future firmly in place: I agreed to teach three courses at Emerson College—one of the best film and video schools on the East Coast—in addition to courses at the New England Institute of Art, where I’m teaching this semester. The photography and video departments at NEIA wanted to make me full-time this coming semester, but budgetary concerns delayed that. I’m confident, though, that they’ll try to make full-time (the closest thing the Art Institute has to an assistant professorship) sometime during the next school year.

In some ways, it boggles my mind that I would be at this level this soon after earning my MFA (granted, Emerson’s always desperate for adjuncts, and NEIA is a for-profit institute, but still…), particularly without a large body of professional work (larger than some, but still…). But in other ways, this is exactly what I wanted and expected—for someone in my industry, I am unusually comfortable in the academic environment, and I have the knowledge, ability, and willingness to teach both production and media studies, another rare commodity (or so I’m told). Luck had a lot to do with where I am now, but still… I felt that I could start earning a living in teaching, and I was right.

But still…

Now that things are starting to happen as Bridget and I envisioned it, and things are no longer as uncertain financially as they have been, the disconcerting and exhilarating feelings have been replaced something at once comforting and worrisome—worrisome because even though teaching is a good career that I’m lucky to be starting, it’s not the only part of our plans. A major part of our goals is for me to be able to do projects, both large and small, in addition to teaching. But careers have a tendency to eat up all one’s time, and I could easily rest on my laurels if I’m not too careful.

Fortunately, teaching institutions encourage and even promote the work of their faculty; indeed, if one is ever to get tenure, you pretty much have to be doing work nonstop. I’ve already been offered loads of resources by NEIA to complete “Indian Girl” and whatever other projects I have. But even so, it’s up to me (with Bridget kicking my butt every now again) to make sure I’m not just doing what I need to do to make a living, but doing those things that I got into film, video, and photography to do in the first place.

Here’s to another year, and here’s to Phase II…