BioVoice

I was born in the small city Trenton, New Jersey. Aside for it being the capitol of New Jersey, its greatest claim to fame is that a secret Government Facility in the movie “Hellboy” was headquartered there. It is a snap shot of your urban DC, Chicago, or Baltimore. This is where I grew up. Listening to the streets sounds, while learning in overcrowded school buildings. I have never been one for remembering things; my earliest memory is filled with agony.  Around the age of 3 possibly 4, I accidentally stabbed myself in the eye with a pair of scissors.  The images of an ambulance and helicopter escape me, but I distinctly remember lying on a cold metal table with an oxygen mask on my face, singing the sedation song “happy birthday to you” knowing clearly it was not my birthday.  Thankfully, I enter kindergarten with two good eyes and a shy personality. 

I attended about 5-6 different elementary schools. We moved a lot. Some schools were great others not so great. My third grade teacher Mrs. Fitzgerald I will never forget. My fourth grade teacher I wish I could forget.  The most challenging part of changing schools is being the new kid, transitioning from walking to busing, and overall staying out of trouble. Most of the time when I came to a new school I was on the teacher radar, a feeling I despised.  Constantly being felt out “is she a good kid or a trouble maker”? Being a good kid was not always a good because I became the target of the trouble makers.  So eventually I transitioned to the new trouble maker.  Instantly, like any nostalgic kid movie I became part of the cool kid crowd. However this trend did last long.  Not for any particular reason, maybe it wasn’t who I was or it was just a phase.  Consequently I settled into the “ok” kid who wasn’t afraid to defend herself.  

Middle School: For all of my year before this I was a MAJOR tomboy.  I didn’t care much for pretty, but by middle school I wanted to be pretty. I knew what I needed oh yes, a job. Babysitting, hair solon assistant, whatever it took to get the money to get the cuter clothes (a new image). So that’s what I did, mostly babysitting.  And if you asked me then I thought I was cute. If you ask me now I would just shake my head. My shy personality kept me away from fast boys that would be in agreement with my judgment of cuteness then and now. Admitting I wanted to be pretty not for attention, but to be thought of nicely. Which from observing my “pretty” older sister, I gathered people generally think of you in higher regards if you are pretty. Nonetheless my middle school experience was good, filled with cute clothes and mediocre academic performance. So much so I was demoted from gifted and talented into regular classes between my 6^th and 7^th grade years. The best thing that I gained from middle school are my two best friends.

I entered high school with confidence and two friends I knew I could count on. We tried out for the varsity cheerleading team together, two made it and the other one joined the band.  So we were still together all the time. I became a lot more focused on my high school academic performance and boys too. Cheerleading weirdly became a huge part of me and I got a boyfriend. Senior years was good, I was captain of the cheerleading team, homecoming queen, and I got into 3 of the 5 schools I applied to, then I graduated. The four years I thought I never wanted to end ended, along with some other things, looking back now high school flew by.

I started Rutgers EOF program the 2 days after I graduated.  I thought I would hate it. Giving up my entire summer to do some summer prep program. I did hate it, only in the moment however. I appreciated much later in the semester. Like most students I entered undecided. I however, quickly found my way to production in theater form. As a freshman I was a work-study student in the theater. I never took to the stage but I liked being around the set designers and lighting technicians.  After taking a media and culture class I decided that I would major in video production. One night in my junior year at a costume party a meet a boy. After that he occasionally walk me to class, then we regularly went on dates, now we see each other exclusively. During my senior year when my friends were all applying to graduate school I was looking for work.  When May came I was jobless with a degree like so many. 

I free-lanced for the summer landing a couple of gigs in NYC, mostly short films that lasted 2-3 weeks tops. While the pay was decent the work was inconsistent. I ended up moving to South Jersey with my parents.  I landed a freelancing gig, which I detest to write about.  The pay was terrible and the call hours even worse. I found a production company based in Philadelphia with the coolest bunch of films makers I have yet to met. Even while shooting commercials, independent films and getting drunk, I stayed diligent looking for a fulltime gig. In November I landed a job at QVC, only part-time though.  I can’t complain it was a great experience minus to commute. Still persistent I continued to look for a full time production assistant position. And in January I got one! Three interviews and an offer letter later, I got a dreadful phone call the company was going into a hiring freeze. I stayed at QVC until mid summer of that year. Feeling crushed by failure, I gave myself an ultimatum. I would move back to North Jersey and look for work. If I did not find a full time job in 6 months I would go back to school. 

Its funny the way things work. I didn’t find a job in 6 months. In January I started the ICM program at Quinnipiac University.  2 months later I interviewed for a full-time video production assistant position and I got it. No hiring Freeze, just an offer letter with an April 9^th start date.  While I was not exactly enthusiastic about graduate school and I almost gave up on my passion, the two could not have come together in better fashion or with greater correlation. And although I am sometimes overwhelmed, I can honestly say I love this program and my job.