Reflections

The deed is done. There’s so much blood.

I thought V-Day was going to be a whirlwind of fast moving people, loud noises, beautiful films, inspirational talks, and way too much food. I was so right. There was this electric energy flowing between not just the staff but between the faculty, visitors, and filmmakers and scholars. Last Friday felt like such a long day, but at the end, it was over far too soon. If I could live in the exhilarating energy that we were breathing in that day, I would do it in a heartbeat. Speaking of heartbeats, let’s just go ahead and discuss how amazing it was to meet, interact, and bond with filmmakers and scholars from all over. Jon (Heartbeats of Fiji) and Zach (Straight Down Low) were the two that I felt like I bonded with and connected with the most. It was such a crazy phenomenon to sit there and study and deliberate these films and papers in so much detail that I actually felt like I already knew the creators. Then, I actually got to meet them and see a glimpse into their lives and creative processes. As a whole, Visions was what I expected and so much more.

I have definitely dealt with a lot of stressful situations so in that realm, the way I operated and delegated that day didn’t really surprise me. One thing that did surprise me though was how I interacted with the visitors. After the Thursday night dinner, I saw myself going out of my way to meet as many people as I could and learn as much as I could about each individual.

The festival surprised me by showing me what we are really capable of. Not just in our hard work, but the way that we worked together. I didn’t hear or see anyone just completely lay down and not lend a helping hand. The amount of teamwork that we exhibited as a whole was extraordinary to me. I actually feel closer to the staff now than I did before.