2014 Year in Review

1. Became a smartphone owner. My parents got me an iPhone for my 22nd birthday; it has been life-changing! Having a camera and web browser and any app under the sun right in my pocket has allowed me to do so much - like stay in touch with my friends and document my life on Instagram. 

2. Traveled to Washington D.C. Working as an Executive Producer on a documentary about the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial led to an amazing week in Washington, D.C. 

3.  First trip to Canada! Good thing I have a passport! Roadtripped it with Tara across the border, where I got to meet Meg for the first time in real life , and then we all took the train up to Toronto where I got to meet Angel for the first time in real life. It was a perfect weekend of friendship, ramen, screaming about boyband members, etc. Oh! And we saw The Lion King musical! #meghangel

4. Graduated from Ball State University. It was an amazing four years of adventure. I got to make films and friends and I learned so much about myself and the world. I spent a semester studying abroad in the United Kingdom and another semester creating an award-winning documentary with a fantastic group of students. I'm so glad I chose BSU. 

5. Accepted a full-time position with The Honeywell Foundation. I've been at my job for seven months and I love it! I get to work in the programming department for a non-profit organization, and I have amazing co-workers. I have grown so much in the past seven months, and it is very rewarding to put what I learned at BSU to good use. 

6. Won an Emmy.  It was absolutely thrilling to be awarded an Emmy for Post Production Director of "Legacies of Perfection: Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg". It was a film that I and my fellow Barnfind students poured all our time, hearts, and minds into for three months. We were all so excited to receive 6 nominations - and to win was amazing. I may have cried during my acceptance speech (don't judge me).

    7.  Bought my first car.  ...and learned that doing so is rather complicated. YAY ADULTHOOD!!!!!

8. Starred in a play. Hayley Quinn was a young lass from California on a cross-country road-trip with her crazy soon-to-be in-laws to her wedding in Hawaii. One of Hayley's many problems was that she was cursed with the worst luck in the world when she was in third grade. I had so much fun being Hayley in this hilarious play, "Mama Won't Fly". I had to scream and cry and run and sing and jump up on chairs and nearly get run over by a gigantic ball of bras, among other things. 

9. Went to Hawaii.  One of my dreams came true when Jessica and I flew to Hawaii for the concert to end all concerts. We got to see our favorite band, a Japanese idol group called Arashi (their name means "Storm"), perform in their first American concert for their 15th anniversary! It was the biggest production ever staged in Hawaii - pretty much a massive party of 15,000 people on the beach at sunset, with fireworks. Absolutely gorgeous and so much fun! We also visited Pearl Harbor, botanical gardens, and spent a whole day on the beach (and got the sunburns to prove it). The whole trip still feels like a dream.

10. Premiered a documentary at Heartland Film Festival. Remember that documentary I mentioned way back in number 2 on this list? Well that documentary, titled "The Healing Wall" and directed by my friend Chris Kosinski, was accepted to premiere at the Heartland Film Festival this year! It was my first time at a festival. So rewarding to sit in an audience and see my work on the big screen, and then do a Q&A afterward! I hope the film means a lot to veterans and their families. 

11. Began work on a new film. I'm joining back up with the same team that worked on "Legacies of Perfection" to create a new movie. "Boulevard" is a short fictional film which aims to help end the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide. Our campaign to raise funds for filming ends on January 14, 2015. For more details and to donate, please visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/boulevard-a-short-fictional-film . 

12. Started studying Japanese. Akemashite omedetou~

Let's do our best in the new year!