...wait, it's time for the real world?! so soon?!

Today in the mail I received a piece of paper that not only have I been waiting anxiously for all semester, but really a piece of paper that I’ve been waiting for, for the past 16 ½ years. This magical piece of paper came from Buffalo State College and contained sentence such as “completed all requirements” and “approved for graduation.” This moment of sheer bliss to finally be done with school, papers, lectures and exams was quickly over shadowed by the realization that D-day was quickly approaching. This day of course being the day when it’s time to enter the real world, get a job, worry about benefits and 401K’s. This was also when I realized that I really don’t know much more than when I entered this wonderful land of higher “education.” Sure, I learned a bit… brushed up on the quadratic equation and Freud’s discoveries because this school wants me to be “well-rounded.” Now, however, here I sit weeks from finals and what do I have to show for it? Not a lot. I am trying to enter the TV and Film Industry with basic knowledge of necessary equipment and programs, a lot of which was self-taught from mere curiosity figuring there was certainly no way any of my professors would ever bother teaching me. Maybe it’s me, but for some reason when 2/3 of your credit hours are to

classes NOT towards your career something is just not write.

My mother is a high school teacher who teaches a broadcast and production class and has students who come back to visit her. Recently I had to hear about how not only did her one of her old students get a degree in half as much time as I did [18 months] but ALSO she got a new Mac and Sony camera TO HERSELF. Now with these tools she has been able to produce multiple documentaries and is being paid for her work, before she even graduates! This should be nice for her to show in her portfolio, what do you get at this school? Maybe 1 or 2 group projects that you have been spoon fed to produce exactly what the professor deems satisfactory. Buffalo State has barely enough equipment for one class let alone an entire student body in the Communication department and MAYBE a computer or editing suite that hasn’t been stolen or reserved by the lovely TFA kids who run the whole department, but that’s a whole other rant. Perhaps it’s the smell of the student loan payments approaching that has made me so bitter, so thank you Buffalo State for absolutely nothing.