Frustrated is an understatement!!

Hi folks.

I know it's been longer than a while since I posted so I thought I would come and vent a little.

Since handing in my dissertation at the beginning of May, I've been applying for jobs non stop but do you want to know the frustrating part? When I constantly get rejections stating:

"Thank you for your application however at this time you haven't been successful because there are other candidates who have more/better experience than you"

Whenever you receive emails or letters like this, you start to think about giving up on the whole job search thing - right?! Well I've had tons of people around me telling me not to give up on my job search because there is a job out there for me.

What most of these companies don't realise (but will in the near future) is that they missed a great opportunity to hire a hard working, highly organised, bubbly personality and enthusiastic team player/worker to work for them because this girl right here is GOING PLACES!!

Signing off until next time...

kingdomCitizen xo

Say 'NO' To Bullies

Sitting in a room full of people who had their own fair share of problems finally gave me a sense of clarity. I had heard countless stories like these before, but the one being told at that very moment was as my subconscious had crawled into my head, parked a chair, and began reading my thoughts.

The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of the word ‘bully’ is a person who is ‘a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker’. In my experience, I’ve learnt that this type of person isn’t always someone who doesn’t know you, but rather is most likely to be someone who you’ve known and trusted for many years. Begrudgingly, my mind went back to the fateful day I learnt this lesson the hard way.

This particular day started off as any other normal day. I had just come back from school with my two best friends and we were relaxing in my bedroom. My phone made a sound telling me I had a text message. My eyes began to water as I started to read. Even as I was remembering this fateful day, my subconscious had now made herself extra comfy with a box of popcorn as if she knew the story was getting ‘good’. My best friends noticed that I had gone quiet and asked me if I was alright. I said nothing but passed the phone for them to read themselves.

“Everyone knows that Matt never really liked you and was just flirting with you as part of a bet,” Melissa began to read.

“He would never be your boyfriend because he thinks that you’re nothing but a fat, pathetic, ugly and desperate wannabe,” Sarah read out.

“There isn’t a single person who isn’t glad that you’re not here,” Melissa finished.

“Why can’t they just leave me alone?” I whispered, finally regaining the ability to speak.

“I’ve left the school, I’ve left my neighbourhood and I’ve even left the damn town so why won’t they just leave me in peace?! I whispered fiercely.

A single tear rolled down my left cheek.

“Aww Grace please don’t cry,” Sarah said slowly rubbing my back. “Whoever sent this is the one who’s pathetic! I mean you left that school, what, a year ago and their sending this now?! They obviously have nothing better to do with their time.”

“Do you recognise the number the text came from?” Melissa enquired.

“That’s the worst part. It’s from a person I grew up with. Someone I considered to be a big brother.” I replied shaking my head.

My subconscious’ lower lip was now trembling, the popcorn long forgotten.

The organiser of the meeting spoke up, bringing my mind back to where I was.

“Thank you for sharing Lisa. Who would like to go next?” he asked.

Bravely, I put my hand up.

“Hi, my name is Grace and I’m a victim of bullying.”

Bye Bye Education (For Now...)

Well it's official...
I'M GRADUATING THIS YEAR!!!! Thank you JESUS!
I had my very last undergrad lecture 2 weeks ago and I must admit it was a bittersweet feeling.
Strangely, I know I'm gonna miss going to uni for lectures and seminars. But the things I definitely won't miss are the essays and most definitely the annotated bibliographies (I HATE those things btw).

After I had that last lecture, the common saying "Shit just got real" popped into my head and I started to panic.
I have just 4 weeks to complete all of my assignments. They include:

1. Dissertation; 7,000 words creative piece with 3,000 word essay and annotated bibliography
2. 2,000 word specimen chapter with synopsis, critical commentary and annotated bibliography for my non-fiction module
3. Work placement report on the success/failure of the annual Middlesex University's North London Literary Festival

All of this has to be submitted on May 3rd.

I hate being a last minute .com sort of person when it comes to my work, however it's not easy to write when you have a severe case of writer''s block AND you can't seem to work out where you need go next - especially when you're writing what I am.

I know that I should not fear because I have God on my side but that doesn't give me the right to waste time and do what isn't important.

If there is one thing I do know, it is that by the special grace of the Almighty God, I will be walking across that stage with my head held high.

Signing off until next time...

kingdomCitizen

x

Sisters

Growing up, I had always dreamed of having either an older sister or a younger sister. There were times when I’d even beg my parents to give me a sister. I wasn’t naïve, I knew all about the birds and the bees (as Americans so aptly put it), but I was willing to cope with having the gross image of my parents burned into my brain for eternity if it meant that I would get a sister. Out of all the birthdays I’ve had, I remember my tenth the most. After all the guests at my party had left, I remember my dad sitting me down and telling me that my mum was pregnant. The first thing out of my mouth wasn’t a delightful scream (as one would expect), it was “Couldn’t you have waited until tomorrow to tell me this? Are you trying to ruin my birthday?!” My mum was too tired to react, but my dad sure as hell did! I was sent to my room and not allowed to have a party bag from my own party. Eventually I got used to it and my baby brother was born in the summer of 2000. Oddly enough, I spent a lot of my time babying my brother and spoiling him rotten – all the things I had planned to do with my sister (if I ever got one). It wasn’t until I was seventeen, my older brother was twenty-one, and my baby brother was seven that we finally welcomed a baby girl into the family. When my mum told me she was pregnant this time around, her and my dad were convinced it was going to be another boy however I had my suspicions that this time round, my dream of having a baby sister was going to come true. When I received the phone call from my dad to tell me that my mum had delivered, my suspicions were confirmed. I was ecstatic! I remember receiving the phone call from my dad telling me it was a girl, and me punching my fist in the air whilst shouting “I knew it!” Naturally when my mum came home with my sister, I spent all day holding her and gazing at her just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I did all of this before very stylishly rubbing it in my mum’s face that I was right and that her and my dad were wrong. Everything was going perfectly until my sister learnt how to talk. By the age of three, she was talking fluently and had developed the habit of speaking her mind. She became exceptionally rude and didn’t respect anyone apart from my older brother. She even began to tell everyone to “shut up”. She would even say “whatever” to my parents if told off. I found myself wondering “what happened to my cute, sweet baby sister? The sister who couldn’t pronounce words or letters properly?” I finally came to the conclusion that she didn’t exist anymore.

Goodnight One Tree Hill...

I've had to leave a whole day before I could write a post about this.

As some people may know, the great show that is One Tree Hill ended on Wednesday 4th April 2012. Now I know that there are some people out in the world who would be saying "Yeah so what if it's ended", and to them I would say that they don't know the true impact watching a show like One Tree Hill can have on a person's life.

I've been a proud member of the OTH Family since it started in 2003, and I wouldn't change it for anything!

One Tree Hill has brought me joy, laughter, tears on some occasions and most importantly, it has taught me a lot of things about life.

The original cast of Chad Michael Murray, Bethany Joy Lenz, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Antwon Tanner, Lee Norris, Craig Sheifer, Barry Corbin, Barbara Alyn Woods, Paul Johansson and Moira Kelly have been the BEST cast to portray the characters of:

Lucas Eugene Scott
Haley James(Scott)
Nathan Scott
Peyton Sawyer
Brooke Penelope Davis
Antwon 'Skills' Taylor
Marvin 'Mouth' McFadden
Keith Scott
Coach Whitey Durham
Deb Scott
Dan Scott
Karen Roe

Even though I fell in love with the original cast members and characters, it was easy to fall in love with the new ones that came along, such as:

Stephen Colletti (Chase Adams)
Jana Kramer (Alex Dupree)
Millicent Huxtable (Lisa Goldstein)
Julian Baker (Austin Nichols)
Clay Evans (Rob E Buckley)
Tyler Hilton (Chris Keller)
Shantel Varsaten (Quinn James)
Jackson Brundage (Jamie Scott)

All in all, my favourite aspect of the show was and always will be how close knit all the friends and the people who live in the town of One Tree Hill are.
I love the fact that they went to high school together, and that even after graduation, they still remained the best of friends.
I love how they trust each other with their children and their businesses (not counting the time Millie & Victoria cost Brooke Clothes over Bros).

One Tree Hill is just such a phenomenal show, and even though I'm heartbroken to see it go, I will NEVER EVER forget it!!

I want to say a massive THANK YOU to Mark Schwahn for creating my all time favourite tv show, and for giving us the fans & the actors I'm sure, the chance to say a proper goodbye to the town and show we love so dearly.

"Mark Schwahn was gonna change the world, and he didn't even know it"

Goodnight One Tree Hill, I will miss you from the depth of my soul...

:'(

Signing off until next time....




kingdomCitizen x

Its Been A While...

Okay, I know I started this blog as a mandatory thing for my screenwriting module but I figured I can still make use of it - right?

Anyway, it seems as though my brain is in belief that 2nd year has finished already - even though I've still got 2 months left
[Yes it's true - 2 MONTHS left, not a typo]

I've got 3 more stories to write, a synopsis AND a portfolio to create. All of this must be done by the first week of May. However it seems that my brain wants me to go on holiday NOW instead of after my final assignments are submitted!

Can someone answer me this - how is a writer/student on a writing course meant to write ANYTHING resembling a story if their brain DOESN'T WANT TO CO-OPERATE??!!

:(

Guess its time for me to go on my knees in prayer to God, because I WILL kick ass with my final assignments, in Jesus' name

;-)


Until next time...
(and I promise it won't be another 2 months before I post again)


kingdomCitizen x

Say Goodbye to Screenwriting (For Now)

Well it's all over for screenwriting this year.
12 weeks have come and gone and I will no longer be having any seminars or workshops to do with Screenwriting: The Short Film.


I wouldn't say that I'll be sad to see it go, but at the same time I wouldn't say that I was happy to see it go either.
It was a good experience for me and I have definitely taken valuable things away from the seminars and lectures.


At least now I know how to write a script full stop so in the future when you see me winning Oscars, Screen Writers Guild Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmys and BAFTA's, don't be surprised.


Don't worry David Coitus and David Heinemann, I'll mention you both in my acceptance speeches ;-)




Signing off until next time... 






kingdomCitizen x

Blowing Hot and Cold

In today's final screenwriting seminar, I got the chance to have the 2nd draft of my script read through out loud.

To my ears (although what I'm about to say may sound biased in a way), it sounded like a perfectly reasonable short film
However, my lecturer pointed out that to him it sounded like a story for a long film instead.

The 1st draft I did was accepted with extremely good criticism, extra ideas and feedback. Today unfortunately I had the feeling that people were blowing hot one minute then cold the other (so to speak).
One minute the script idea is perfect, the next minute it's not!

I've decided not to let this get to me though. It's too late to start changing the idea - especially since its due on the 20/01/12 and I don't have any other ideas.
The only thing I will change as suggested by one of my peers today is the title, frankly because I don't want to sound like I'm some cold-hearted bitch to the audience.


Signing off until next time...



kingdomCitizen x

Not So Critical Anymore...

So thanks to my lecturer, I'm not panicking about how or what to write for my critical essay about my script.
Now I'm just panicking about whether I can do 1500 words on it, and if I can remember how to do the annotated bibliography correctly (yikes!)

Did I mention its due this Friday, and I've only done just over 100 words...? Oh dear...

Well here's hoping that I get inspired and that I actually READ the suggested screenwriting textbooks to help me write both the essay and bibliography!

Wish me luck (I'm gonna need it)


Signing off until next time...



kingdomCitizen x

Screenwriters for TV Need To Step Into The Real World

Right, so the Christmas episode of Eastenders this year was intense, but at the same time STOOPID!!


Let me just start with the writers of the Boxing Day episode...

1. They just allowed everything to drag way too long!
2. They made it UNREALISTIC!
3. They probably ended up pissing the whole of the audience that were tuning in to watch it!

I can definitely say that if I had written this episode, people would be praising me (and I ain't being big-headed - it's a FACT).

The only good thing to come out from this episode is that the devil a.k.a Yusef Khan is FINALLY DEAD!!!

Anyway, signing off until next time....

kingdomCitizen x