The Reel Life of Josh

I’m in a similar situation as you.

I’m looking at schools – graduate schools – and deciding what to do.  It’s a crazy experience.  Going into college it wasn’t this strange.  Part of it is that when going into college, everyone is at the same point of their lives. Seemingly everyone goes to college nowadays.  Graduate school is different.  But back to similarities.

By the main lobby of CalArts. Was asked if the background was real. It is. As real as southern California can be at least.

Application recipes:

How to choose where to apply

Ingredients:

• Guidebook
• Internet access
• Email address

First, look at programs you are interested in.  SEE ALSO ones that you are not aware of.  Pick which ones you like.  Choose a location that you want to live in.  Next, do a lot of research and ask professors about programs.  Finally, disregard rankings.

How to get through the application process

Ingredients:

• Time
• Computer
• Pen and Paper
• Coffee
• Snacks
• Movies
• Trusted Friend/Parent
• Attention to detail

First, make sure you figure out how to manage your time correctly.  After mixing hard work and thought, let your application sit for a few days.  During this time, be sure to find ways to relax.  Next, go back and make some revisions.  When you are satisfied, send the application in and wait.  For best results, have someone read through your application materials.

How make your decision

Ingredients:

• Acceptance packages
• Moral support
• Guide books
• Professors/Teachers/Guidance counselors

Step one would be to find out where you got in.  Next, let your favorites rise to the top.  Compare those by looking at location, size, class style, field of study, professors, financial aid packages, etc.  One the perfect mixture is found, select that school.  Once finished, apply school’s sticker to rear window of car.

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Luckily for me, I didn’t have a huge decision to make.  I applied to 3 schools.  I got into one.  My theory was to apply to the 3 schools I really want to go to and apply again next year if I didn’t get in.  I got into CalArts though which is a huge feat.  It was a program I almost didn’t apply to.  But after researching it more and more, I fell in love with it.  The program fits my ideology and style really well and I’m happy to have gotten in.

I wasn’t 100% so I went to visit though.  I met the professors and realized how different grad school is than undergrad.  You are hand selected by the faculty at a place like CalArts.  The facilities there were very nice and the school is just a cool place to be.

Grad school is a huge step.  It’s terrifying and exciting.  Going to a part of the country in which I have no contacts or context is a daunting thing to think about.  Moving out there and starting anew adds to it.  But the thought of a new adventure is thrilling.  The new memories I can create, the new people and things I will be exposed to, and even turning my world on its head will all enrich my life.

This blog is a combination of my lack of something to say and an homage to High Fidelity, which I just scrolled past on TV. Just go with it.

Top Five Buildings
5 – Hodson
4 – Levering
3 – Shriver
2 – Bloomberg
1 – Gilman

Top Five Hidden Spots to Hang Out

My apartment. Another good place to hang out or study.

5 – Gazebo in the Sculpture Garden
4 – WJHU (if your friend has a radio show)
3 – Bloomberg Observatory
2 – President’s Garden
1 – (Cannot reveal for fear of outsiders finding it)

Top Five People to Avoid
5 – Loud talkers in MSE
4 – Drunken Frat guys
3 – The “Shush” Lady (she’s nice, but usually you’d see her for the wrong reason)
2 – Baltimore City Police
1 – There is always one person in each year that will fill this slot.

Top Five Ways to Get in Trouble as a Freshman
5 – Thinking too little
4 – Thinking too much
3 – Underage drinking
2 – Steal food from CharMar
1 – Loud party in your dorm

Top Five Ways to Embarrass Yourself
5 – Learning you have weird habits that your college friends don’t have, but were normal at home
4 – Slipping on the marble steps
3 – Dropping a tray of food at FFC
2 – Have an awkward conversation with someone you “pre-Facebook Friended” before coming to school
1 – “Walk of Shame” after a themed party

Top Five “Old White Guy” Professors

You'll have to look around real hard to find this place

5 – J.C. Walker
4 – Robert Kargon
3 – Mel Kohn
2 – Andrew Cherlin
1 – John Mann

Top Five Things About Hopkins that Make Me Feel Old
5 – Getting invited to Young Alumni Weekend
4 – Knowing what Gilman Hall used to be like
3 – Knowing what “Think Theta” on the billboard in the Gilman Tunnel is actually about
2 – Never having Mason Hall as an admissions building on my college visit
1 – Remembering Berts, the T Mobile store, and the stationary store on St. Paul + the Records and Tape Traders where Maxie’s/7Eleven is

We all know what we want to accomplish in life.  We all have hopes, dreams, goals.  Fairly recently, the idea of a Bucket List has become a way to neatly set out our goals an accomplish them.  But rather than tell you what I want to accomplish – which at this point might just make me depressed or frantic to try and complete it in the next few months – I decided I’d give you a more universal Hopkins Anti-Bucket List.

Anti-Bucket List – The things you should try to not do in your four years here.

1. Die
2. Get pregnant
3. Fail out Gain the Freshmen 15
4. Skip class for a full week
5. Take classes only in one area
6. Try to actually join the 30 groups you sign up for at the SAC Fair
7. Wait until you have no underwear left to do laundry
8. Have a hangover the day before an exam
9. Make a name for yourself as the person who sleeps around
10. Make a name for yourself as the person who has a very strange characteristic (Crazy Legs, Duct Tape Girl, Awkward Jeremy)
11. Eat at the FFC every day
12. Pet an animal at the petting zoo during Spring Fair
13. Become addicted to caffeine (or anything really)
14. Spend your rent money in one weekend on food and drink at Spring Fair
15. Become obsessed with getting perfect grades
16. Set off the fire alarm while cooking in Charles Commons (harder than it seems)
17. Take a 400 level class in a subject you have never studied before
18. Take 20+ credits
19. Take a Friday morning class
20. Slip on the marble after snow/rain
21. Get hit by a biker
22. Make eye contact with the evil squirrels
23. Use up your dining dollars within the first month as a freshman
24. Have $500 dining dollars left the last week of classes as a sophomore
25. Doing almost anything you see college students do in the movies or on TV

What is on your Anti-Bucket List?

College is a wonderfully exciting time.  You learn a lot in and out of class.  With one semester to go, I figured I’d give a run down of some of the finer points of life that I’ve learned while at Hopkins.  I’ll be sure to update this list at the end of the year, but for now…

Things I’ve learned at Hopkins – Pt. 1:

1. If a professor says attendance is mandatory but doesn’t keep attendance, people will stop showing up after the third week.
2. As a guy, you will unintentionally understand fashion trends.  For example, understanding what jeggings are when brought up in conversation.
3. If your TA isn’t fun, your class will be harder.  Know your TA.  You can really hit or miss with paper titles like my paper on the natural factors contributing to global warming called “Some Like It Hot”.
4. When people say that an event is free, they are really just saying you already paid for it with your tuition.
5. No matter what time you walk past the Freshman Quad, there will always be lights on in the AMRs.
   

   My trusty backpack

6. If there is some bit of news or pop culture (this includes every viral video) that is floating around on the internet, you will know about it within an hour.
7. 9 AM in college time = 5 AM in real time.
8. This is obvious: The M level challenge is harder than the D level challenge.
9. People who were overachievers in high school are still annoying in college.
10. If you are in a relationship, add 3 credit hours to your semester total.  It will give you a more accurate readout of your free time.  Plan accordingly.
11. Free/cheap tshirts are easier to find than Olin Hall.
12. As much as you try to prevent it, you will eat the same things in the dining hall pretty much every day.
13. Marble is slippery when wet.
14. The gym looks nice from the outside.
15. The quality of a class is determined by professor, content, and classmates.  Too bad there is no ratemyclassmates.com.
16. On a related note, there will alway be one person in class who raises their hand in a large lecture.  Many of them tell personal anecdotes before asking awful questions.  Many will do this at the end of class when the professor asks “Are there any questions?”
17. Appointments with professors work much better than going to their office hours.
18. Freshmen think they are the first ones to do anything they do at Hopkins.
19. Seniors think about everything as the last time they will do something at Hopkins.
20. A roommate is your best friend and worst enemy.
    

    Unrelated, but my father trying to get the Yule Log on our TV on Christmas morning.

21. Every college student graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of how to BS.
22. Humanities majors will get thorough instruction on how to be pretentious by learning philosophical ideas, literary and historical references, and figuring out how to relate everything back to Marxist ideas.
23. People will go to anything if you offer them free food.
24. The shortest route between two points does not involve the brick pathways.  If you are in a hurry, don’t follow the red brick road.
25. Hearing someone complain about getting an A- is a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

As with the other lists, any other suggestions from the HI team?  Or any disagreements?

The absurdities of college life are slowly becoming apparent, but it’s worth all the craziness.

I’m at a crossroads in my college career.  On one hand, I absolutely love Hopkins and can’t imagine myself leaving.  But on the other hand, it doesn’t seem like there is much left here for me.  When selecting classes for next semester, I realized that I’ve taken most of the class I’ve wanted to take.  I have been to most of the on campus events.  And I hardly know anyone here

anymore.

I’m not in a state of despair.  It’s just a confusing situation that I’ve never been in before.  I think it’s similar to how I felt in high school.  There was something about moving on from what had become routine for several years that is unsettling.  But honestly, I hated high school and was more excited for college and moving forward.  I’m definitely ready to move on, but I just don’t want to.

I love being in college.  I love the freedom, the crazy sleeping and eating schedules, the learning environment, the proximity to my friends, having a job and not a career.  There are some things that I’m excited for.  For instance, with grad school or a job (whichever path I choose), I can concentrate on doing something that I want to do with my time.

The biggest part about knowing it’s almost done is knowing that I’m leaving a huge chapter of my life behind. Something that I spent so long waiting for is not past.  It’s like I overran it.  It went by so quickly.  And every semester seems to get shorter.

It’s hard not to look back at this point.  But I’ll forge forward into the unknown.  I’m not scared or nervous.  I know that I won’t end up a bum.  I’ll make something of myself.  It’s not fear that’s driven me into this existential crisis.  It’s just looking around and feeling like I’ve accomplished all I’ve wanted to.  That makes me realize I am really done here.

I will make the most of my last semester. There is still a lot to be done.  And I still enjoy it here.  I don’t mean for this to be terribly depressing.  I am not sad or stressed.  I’ve just reached a fork in the road.

I’ll just have to take it.

I’m sure one of the many things you’re considering when you look at schools is the people you will encounter at Hopkins.  Let’s be more specific:  what are you potential romantic prospects like?  Now, I can only give the perspective from a straight male so I will only analyze it that way and talk about what types of girls I have encountered at Hopkins, but feel free to leave comments about things I leave out, disagreements, or alternate perspectives.

Places to find someone:

Classes

• If there is one reason to go to class, it would be to learn.  But if there were two reasons, they would be to learn and to meet other people.  Classes have people in them.  If you go to these classes, you will most likely interact with them.  So your 9AM Cog Psych class may not be as fun as you thought, but at least it has that cute blonde who sits next to you.  And when she drops her pen under your desk, you’ll be there to pick it up.

Dining Halls

• Everyone eats -- including the blonde.  And a lot more blondes, brunettes, redheads, and [other]heads.  Eat and meet.

Dorms

• AMRs -- just walk around for 3 minutes and you’re bound to run into someone.  They house most of the freshmen so the odds are that you have at least a few girls you are attracted to in there.  Just make sure one of you isn’t on the way to or from the shower in a towel.  Also, make sure if you/she is en route to or from said shower, and if you/she wears contacts/glasses that you/she is wearing said contacts/glasses.  Otherwise recognition or lack of recognition could cause some problems.
• Wolman -- the elevators are perfect places to meet someone.  Get some courage in the 2 minutes it takes to get to the 5th or 6th floor and strike up some conversation.  If you’re on your way down in the morning, it’s likely that you’ll run in to them again considering you are both probably on your way to class.
• Laundry room -- you will do laundry in college and so will girls.  Just remember, that the loud machines can sometimes mask the sounds of two people who have already formed a love connection forming an even closer union.  So sometimes if the machines are a rockin’, don’t come into the laundry room unless you want to feel uncomfortable.
• Common Areas -- common social areas facilitate socializing.  So take advantage of it.

The Library

• The library must sound so lame in high school.  But if you don’t know this, you have to study in college.  Most of the work is outside the classroom.  So lots of people congregate in the library.  With 6 levels to go to, the options are numerous.  It also helps narrow down what type of girl you are looking for.  Q level = coffee lover with not a lot of serious work going on.  M level = social butterfly or just a people watcher.  A = outgoing and wants to be on M, but has a major that involves studying.  B = quiet, reserved.  C = very private and serious about their work.  D = antisocial or failing their classes.

Student Groups

• What do guidance counselors always say?  Get involved.  But getting involved in a student group is also a way to get involved romantically with someone.  You are both already there because you have a similar interest.  Maybe you have more.  Most student groups meet weekly, so you already have a weekly date.

A little guy love in the back of my friend Hannah's car.

People you may try to force casual encounters with:

• The cute girl who works at Alkimia (the coffee shop in Gilman)
• The pretty Sciences Po exchange student
• The girl who sits across the Atrium from you every Tuesday in between your noon and 4PM class.
• That girl from the a cappella group of your choice who sang that amazing solo
• The all-too-common friend of a friend

Questionable people to find romance with:

• Your professor
• Your boss
• Your roommate/suitemate (purely for the logistical consequences of a breakup)
• Your RA
• Your best friend
• President Daniels

So where does that leave us?  How about this:  There are plenty of fish in the sea.  Try to snag one at The Beach on a nice spring day.

In the next few blog posts, the HI bloggers will be posting on a common blog topic.  The topic this time around is thoughts and reflections on our own experiences during the application process.  We’ve all been there (some of us are doing it again with grad school) and know what it’s like so we’re here to offer you anecdotes and advice to help you along the way.

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I think the college admissions process was more stressful for my parents (read: mom) than it was for me.  I knew I was going to get in somewhere.  And I made sure to apply to only schools that I’d be happy attending.  The search was long and tedious.  Many a college book that I couldn’t pass off to my younger brother is still stowed away in my bedroom.  It was an exciting and nerve-racking time.  For me, when decisions were released in March, I had a choice between a few of my schools.  It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make.  Even after finally deciding on Hopkins, I had some buyer’s remorse for a little while.  But ever since I got to school, I knew that I had made the right decision (or at least a very good decision).  I think approaching the whole process with an open mind and the notion that you’re going to end up at a college that you enjoy is important.

The college search is a daunting task though. So here’s some advice.

Three things the admissions process is like:

1) Dating

• I made a previous post about this.  (see: “You Had Me at Hello”)  But for those of you who don’t want to click, I’ll sum it up.  Selecting a college works kind of like match.com or other dating websites (or really more just like dating in general since we don’t use objectivity for the most part in either).  There are factors of compatibility that we use to figure out what school is the best for us.  Finding the perfect college is like finding your soulmate.

2) Eating at a restaurant

There's still time to be a kid in college.

• Think about the questions you ask yourself when you eat out somewhere.  Where do you want to eat?  What type of place do you want to go to?  How much does it cost?  How good is it?  What have you heard about that place?  How hard is it to get in?  These take little or no alteration to see how they apply to the college search.

3) A Talent Show

• You enter.  You prep for weeks, even months.  (Sometimes there’s a fee.)  Your nerves grow exponentially.  You parade around with the other entrants, showcasing your best talents and covering up your blemishes.  Every mistake will be scrutinized later if you don’t succeed.  Your parents look on with great hope – some living vicariously through their children.  Everyone has different talents that aren’t really comparable.  And then after it’s all over, you sort of forget what all the hype was about a week later.

Three things the admissions process is not like:

1) War

• It’s not life or death.  You will survive no matter what.  There is no reason to drive yourself to the brink of madness (or beyond) over college applications.  Everything you could have done is really over by the time you send in your app – and really a lot of it is in the books even before that.  You aren’t competing against others either.  In a sense you are, but really, if you’re good enough to get in, a school with take you.  So just give your best effort and don’t worry about anyone else.

2) A Math Problem

• Now, I’m not a numbers guy.  But I do know one thing about math (I think).  There are typically specific steps to get to a concrete solution.  This is not the case with college admissions.  Every applicant is different.  Everyone can get in a different way.  You have grades, essays, extracurriculars, hobbies, etc. to examine.  Some people do cancer research in high school.  Others, like myself and other average high schoolers, didn’t do anything outrageously special.  They are just pretty good students and somewhat interesting (ranging from uniquely strange to incredibly captivating) people.  There is no single way to get into college.
  

  I don't know what this means but it looks mathy. (From WSE site)

3) The Movies

• You will not drive 8 hours to convince the Dean that you should get in.  Your high school will not send the wrong transcript.  SATs are not as important as pop culture makes them out to be.  College tours will not be led by strange and overly-honest guides.  The tour guides will also not be irrationally peppy or emotionally unstable.  Your parents won’t embarrass you as much as you think they will.  You will not sneak into a college party on your overnight, pose as a student, and subsequently make out with a college girl.  The Mac guy cannot start his own fake college.  As much as it pains me to say, movies aren’t real life.  No crazy antics will ensue.  You just click submit on your application or send off your big envelope, and that’s it.  You wait.  You hear back.  You decide where you want to go.  And you go.  Sorry.

Just remind yourself that in a few months, this will all be over with, and you’ll be getting ready to settle in to your cramped dorm room and meet your roommate and eat the same food every day and love every second of it.

I’m sure by now you’re already tired of talking to people about where you’re applying to college.  I remember that feeling.  But good news: it goes away.  Bad news: it comes back if you decide to go to grad school.

It seems like the past 2 weeks, that’s what most people want to talk to me about.  Now, I’m not the best conversationalist, but I feel like I have more to offer than just reciting the same lines about my future.  And since I’ve been through it before, I know it will only get more intense as time goes on.

Inside Prof. Macksey's extensive library.

Last night at a cocktail party for the Film Program, held at the amazing home of Prof. Richard Macksey, several of my professors asked me what my future held post-graduation.  It didn’t stop there, as many of my former friends and classmates who were at the party for Young Alumni Weekend came and managed to slip in conversations about what they are doing now which prompted a reply about my future.

But why grad school for me you may ask (as I did to myself)?  I’ll start by saying I don’t need it.  In the film world, you need talent and a foot in the door – an education is not necessarily in the picture.  And people outside of Hopkins ignorantly continue to tell me that this program that they know nothing about couldn’t possibly prepare me like a bigger film program could so I should obviously go to one of those.

Let me first say this.  The Hopkins film program has prepared me to succeed.  I’ve produced over 25 short films while at Hopkins with 1 ½ semesters still to go.  I have become incredibly close with my professors because of the size of the Film program.  They are able to provide me with guidance whenever I need it and professional connections.  So the people who overlook those aspects of the education I’ve received are out of line in proclaiming the failures of the Film and Media program.

this in no way relates to this post, but i needed another picture

But back to the question at hand.  I want to go to film school to give me time.  Not time to waste or put off life.  It would be time to concentrate on making films without having to worry about the other courses I’m taking.  It would be time to develop my own voice and vision.

And now it’s time to apply.  I’ll keep my head up and look toward the future as I’m sure you will out there looking at college.  Wherever we end up, we’ll know we tried our best and that makes it the place we’re supposed to be.

(For those of you keeping tabs on me, here’s the latest film project of mine – done for Dance for the Camera)

Loss of Clarity from Joshua Gleason on Vimeo.