Kankakee River

I’m two weeks into our month long break from classes, and I’m already beginning to pine just a bit for cardigan sweaters and new notebooks. I’ve always been a sucker for all things fall, but especially when they are attached to school (crisp library cards, the scent of erasers — you get the idea). My husband very smartly suggested that we hang on to this last bit of summer by taking a short Illinois camping trip. I’ve never been camping in Illinois before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My native land is Minnesota, where camping spaces are ample and full of adventure. I have to say that I found this trip to be spectacular and, in fact, I think I’d highly recommend outdoor adventures to folks new to Illinois (and graduate school) who are looking to escape the fast paced city for a couple days.

Things are looking up! (Photo Credit: yusinc.com)

As I’ve continued my journey at Columbia, something strange has been happening for me: the further along I get into the program, the more the lines between the professional world and the work I’m doing here at school have become blurred.

When I was in “Boot Camp” last August, I knew that I didn’t know enough to be able to jump into the professional world of producing.  But the problem was that “I didn’t know what I didn’t know”. Learning everything I might eventually need to know to be able to successfully launch myself as a movie producer (let alone fulfill my dream of running a studio) often felt like climbing a mountain that I could never see the top of.  I soaked up everything that I could in classes and in talking with my professors and fellow students, and it was a very challenging time.  It’s hard to push forward not knowing when you’ll see the other side.