Category: Lilah

It’s application season, and students are scrambling to find employment for the summer. At COM, it’s expected that students have 2+ internships while they’re at BU.

When I give tours for COM, I speak truthfully when I say that it is a competitive environment but not dog-eat-dog. We are all mutually motivated by each others’ drive to succeed, but we are not beating each other down in order to reach our goals.

I picked BU because I wanted to be in an environment where students supported each other. Since day one, I have found this kind of energy to be the core of COM’s student body. I love working with my peers, and we all want each other to do well.

I knew this kind of environment was right for me. Naturally, I’m disgustingly competitive and it is kind of like Abbi from Broad City where she goes Hulk. So… just bad. Now, I’m finding myself in the middle of internship applications, and so is everyone else.

How can I do my best to get what I want without being overly competitive with the people I care about?

The conclusions I have come to are:

• We are 20, 21 years old. Careers happen over lifetimes. If we don’t get one opportunity right now, that’s OKAY!

• Take a breath.

• Friendship > jobs. Be supportive of your friends. Peace and love, baby.

Finally, BU prepares us so well. A lot of people worry that they’re not ready for the real world. However, I truly believe that COM’s students are naturally career-driven, and we will be fine – even better than fine! Great!

Can you tell I’m graduating soon? Zoinks.

Thanksgiving break brings many mixed emotions. Kids are thankful that they get to escape school at the apex of stress, aside from finals week. However, some dread going home to confront their odd families. This is especially stressful when you are a film and television major. I do not know what to do when family friends say, “So what are you planning to do with that degree?”  I was at a restaurant, and I ran into an old family friend and his parents. When my parents asked what his major was, he said business management. “None of that art nonsense in this family, no,” said his dad. “Zoinks,” I thought to myself. He then asked, “What’s your major?” to which I sheepishly responded, “Film and television.” He looked embarrassed, and so did I.

Personally, my family is entirely in the entertainment business, so they cannot judge my decisions like a third party. However, they can scrutinize every little decision I make because “they know best.” I am not completely sure what is best. I will say that, whenever someone criticizes your decision to pursue a communications degree, you must remember that you get what you put in. Like that man, a lot of people view the arts as nonsense. Sure, if I was a parent, I would love for my child to pursue something that had a stable income. Instead of instilling a sense of financial stability into my mind, my parents have always taught me to be headstrong and hard working. I have found that, with the qualities they gave me, success follows. As does happiness. On the other hand, I think the world would be way worse off if the arts weren’t there to distract from mundane activities or bad times.

On the subject of family, I must write a little love letter to mine. Everyone that knows me knows that my family is the heart of everything I do. As I grow older, I see that my family is morphing into a stereotype of itself. Our activities include singing around the piano and dance parties, exclusively. We are loud and obnoxious, but our bond grows tighter every year. As I left to return back to school, I realized how much I needed my family - especially during sophomore year, during which the “sophomore slump” can easily overwhelm you. When things are difficult at school, your family will always be there to support you. For me, calling my mother every day is the only way I can survive.

Overall, Thanksgiving brings you together with those you love, or those you dread to see. Just remember to defend yourself when someone says, “Oh…” judgmentally when you say what your major is. You are working hard here at BU, and you cannot let anyone invalidate your work. Also, cherish your family, because you do not know how often you will see them in the future. ALSO, despite how exciting or busy college life is, CALL YOUR MOTHERS!

I have a story that epitomizes my time as a new Production Assistant this summer. I had the opportunity to work on “The Sinner,” a new television series produced by USA Network. I was the youngest person on set by 5 years, and I often misunderstood directions. Part of this is because a film set has a different language. This story has less to do with that language and more to do with my own ignorance, but it still shows how things got lost in translation for me during my time on set.

The Key PA had asked me to get our Assistant Director a “peanut butter and jelly sandwich, heavy PB and heavy jelly, triangle cut.” I enthusiastically ran to Crafty to execute the best PB&J this man had ever seen. For context, I never ate sandwiches as a child, so I am still pretty foreign to sandwich culture. I spend 15 minutes making this beautiful creation, bring it back, and a fellow PA says, “Uh, I think he meant cut down the middle.” I had cut the sandwich into a literal triangle, and I realize that I did not know what “triangle cut” meant. In my defense, I only started eating PB&Js in college! Sue me!

I left the sandwich by the door, and raced back to Crafty to construct another PB&J - cut down the middle this time. After 25 minutes, I hand it to my anxious AD and return back to my post. Suddenly, every crew member starts coming up to me and asking, “Hey, can I get an octagon-shaped sandwich?” Ah, another mistake: I left the sandwich on a bench, everyone got a picture, and word spread fast. From then on, that mistake was my trademark.

Although I was anxious about being the youngest crew member, it turned out to be an amazing experience. My naive mistakes gave other people a break from the stress of filmmaking. While I didn’t necessarily enjoy the torment, it reminded me about the nature of a film set. In the end, they respected me. I worked insanely hard for almost 4 months, 15 hours a day. A common saying for me was, “She’s young, she’s learning.” The crew taught me how to laugh at myself, and how to move on from errors. If you are ever the youngest person on set, use it to your advantage. Make friends with whoever crosses your path, because they want to give you advice. Being the center of a joke on set was truly amazing, because everyone learned the new kid’s name!

Here is a photo of the incident. Pictured next to me is our Director of Photography, Radium Cheung.

As we head into the final days of second semester, it’s important to have time outside of the library or class. When crunch time comes, make sure you do little things that make you happy! I personally find myself struggling to balance between friends, sleep, and work. I’m sure I’m not alone. Aside from the daily conversation with my mom to keep me grounded, I need other activities that will allow me to fully enjoy my last few weeks of Freshman year.

Here are some things that, personally, relieve stress when I’m busy planning my schedule down to the minute.

1. Turn your phone off / Take a break from social media

It’s easy to take breaks from work by scrolling around aimlessly, but social media can also cause more stress! Take a break from the internet, and meet with friends instead. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s a difficult task. It is quite easy to get lost scrolling through every app for hours on end. Also, side note! Keep your eyes up on the sidewalk! You don’t want to run into this fierce New Yorker as she heads to class.

2. Take a walk / Go outside

When you live in central campus, you can easily stay within a 50 feet radius for weeks. I personally feel much better when I go outside (especially when it’s so nice now!). Going on walks is a really great way to clear your mind. Or, if you prefer to lounge around, the BU Beach is a beautiful place to lay down in the sun. Also, the COM lawn is a beautiful green area where you can relax with your COM friends! It is also important to explore the beautiful city that lies beyond BU’s campus. Especially as the year is ending, make sure to visit the places you never got to during the semester.

3. Breathing Exercises

It may sound cheesy, but when you’re stressed, breathing exercises help a lot. Take your mind off work, and let yourself focus on ~being zen~. At orientation, they taught us several exercises that help in times of stress. At that point, I was confident in my ability to defeat the end-of-the-semester slump but I was wrong! Remember to count your breaths… and your sheep.

4. SLEEP! SLEEP! SLEEP!

It’s so important to nap during this time of year. I’ve been strongly anti-nap my whole life, but here I am! Napping away every day! Don’t be a stereotype. College kids are allowed to sleep, too.

5. EAT! EAT! EAT!

Take a good portion out of your day to have meals. Whether you’re alone or with friends, mealtime is a therapeutic and necessary part of your day! Also, drink water. Always.

I’m sure everyone has noticed the latest fad on Facebook: cooking videos. Instead of seeing Aunt Sally’s latest redecoration shenanigans, your feed is flooded with videos of comfort food being made in under a minute!

Well, I’m here to guide you in the right direction. As an obsessed viewer, I’ll tell you who has the best videos out there.

Delish posts the unhealthiest recipes, because they all include about 2 pounds of butter, cheese, or sugar. They’re fun to watch, but they can be a bit overwhelming. Delish posts a lot of food articles, so you’ll have to sift through to find the videos.

Cooking Panda does a satisfactory job, but again, the recipes are extremely unhealthy. Good to drool over, but pay attention to the ingredients!

They just caught onto this new fad, and they’re doing pretty well! If you’re feeling classy, head on over! They feature Food Network’s actual chefs, so it’s a bite size version if you don’t have cable.

The original popular one on the block.

Tasty has sites that represent many different cuisines, such as Japan, Brazil, France, England, and Germany. I find that they are pretty accurate, but many of them do not update often enough to satisfy my visual cravings! Within all the Tastys, the original is the best.

All in all, the only benefit to Tasty is the deep-rooted bond that some may have, but we must move onto the future!

Finally, the Queen of cooking videos. Tastemade gives a wide variety of cuisines, and they are all unique and faithful to the countries. In my opinion, their videos have better cinematic quality than any other site. Personally, I believe Tastemade Japan is the true winner. Aesthetically pleasing, out-of-the-ordinary recipes right at your fingertips. In second place,

Sweeten is one of Tastemade’s other sites, and if you have a sweet tooth like me, you should check it out. It’s all super sugary dessert recipes (watching pastries being made is the BEST).

I recommend that you try making the recipes! If not, just sit in class and watch them until your stomach growls.