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katrou1894-blog · 6 years ago

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Frozen 2 Movie Review (No Spoilers Until Partly Through)

*All rights to this photo belong to Walt Disney Studios Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to Katie’s Messy Little Blog! I want to do something different (again) for this blog post. A movie review!

I, like many others, flocked to the movie theater the weekend before Thanksgiving to see the greatly anticipated Frozen II. (Sorry it took me so long to get this review out btw. The end of November and beginning of December has been super busy! 😅 )

[FYI the first half of this blog will be spoiler-free, so it is safe to read the first half of my blog if you haven’t seen the movie yet and you don’t want spoilers. It will be super obvious when we hit the spoiler part of the blog 😉]

I’m going to start by sharing, I LOVED this movie! I think it is one of the best films that Disney has produced this decade! (Not quite the best because I actually think that spot belongs to Coco, but this would be a close second!) Although Frozen II is a sequel, it really didn’t feel like one to me. Frozen II, of course, has the same cast of characters (with a couple of great additions like Lieutenant Mattias and Bruni), but this film also had almost an entirely different feel to it than its predecessor. Everything from the high fantasy elements of the film to the (at least in my opinion) much more mature soundtrack felt very different, but “good different.”

Frozen II also did an excellent job of tying the two films together. There are quite a few specific call back to the first film, both serious and humorous, which makes the jump from the first to the second film much smoother than it might have been without these specific references. Plus the storyline of Frozen II really is just a continuation of the first film, full of plausible and likely next steps for each of the characters.

Other then plotline, I also really loved some deeper Nordic cultural references and influences that Frozen II includes, the absolutely gorgeous animation (seriously one of the visually prettiest movies I have ever seen!) and the incredible, heartfelt and meaningful music. I could go on about all of these topics for a bit, but I strongly encourage you to go out and see the film and see what I mean for yourself!

SPOILER WARNING!!!!

(If you read past this section and you haven’t seen the film yet it is your own fault that you got Frozen II spoilers 😉 You have been warned.) For those of you who have seen Frozen II or to those of you who don’t care about reading about spoilers, welcome to the spoiler section of this blog! I am going to start my spoiler section by sharing my only real complaint about the film.

Frozen II leaves some VERY IMPORTANT sections of the film unclear. They chose to vaguely tell/hint at major reveals, leaving (I believe) many moviegoers somewhat confused until they later explain what happened in the film. There are two key moments, in particular, in which this happens.

The first being when Elsa awakens the spirits of the forest. This supposedly occurs at the very end of Elsa’s song, “Into the Unknown,” when she reaches out to the phantom voice that has been calling to her and she conjures the weird floating, ice-diamond, element symbols throughout Arendelle. Although this scene was showcased in promotional materials for the film, I was still very confused by this moment until Elsa tells Anna a few minutes later (after the entire population of Arendelle is evacuated to the nearby cliffs) that she had summoned the spirits of the forest (okay…). Admittedly, upon the second viewing of this film (Yes, I have seen it twice already. Judge all you want, I am content with my life choices. 😂) this series of events made much more sense because through the course of “Into the Unknown” Elsa actually dances/interacts with each of the elemental spirits which (at best) hints at Elsa potentially awakening the spirits. (I guess…) I think this really didn’t make sense the first time around because the film hadn’t yet explained what the water horse, hopping flame, the rock giants and the gust of wind were (it had only implied). So (I believe) between the overall vagueness of the scene and the lack of prior explanation of what the spirits are that’s why at least I was (perhaps many others were too) scratching my head at this point.

The other key moment that was unclear was when Elsa discovers that she is the fifth spirit. This occurs during Elsa’s other show stopper tune, “Show Yourself.” I really just don’t think this scene is very clear because one moment Elsa is in the large ice room surrounded by images of her memories, then she is singing with one of her mother’s images. (Who turns out to be the voice calling her?? Also unclear about this, however, the actress who voices Queen Iduna for Frozen II, Evan Rachel Wood, is credited for singing this song so I guess so??) Then suddenly the elemental shape appears (which not so discreetly is in the shape of a snowflake (We all see what you did there Disney)), Elsa steps into the center of this shape, and then she gets, yet another, dramatic makeover while she is singing an epic song. Don’t get me wrong, this is a stunning sequence and a super cool moment, but other then the makeover, a giddy face by Elsa, and a glowing snowflake, but there is no direct explanation on what is happening in this scene until about 20 minutes later when Elsa explains it to Anna. When I first saw this scene I guessed that they were trying to imply that Elsa is the fifth spirit, but it just wasn’t clear.

Now, in defense of this scene, I really am not sure how they could have made it more clear other than maybe Elsa saying to herself, “Of course, it was me all along!” However, I understand why the filmmakers may not have wanted to do this since it would seem quite narcissistic if Elsa had stated this, especially at this exact moment. Nonetheless, this scene did lose some of its power because of the lack of clarity.

I will also say that the overall spirit plotline/origin story is very vague and it leaves me with quite a few questions, specifically about the spirits. I am willing to, for the most part, overlook most of this vagueness because I did overall enjoy the film that much and I think that Disney is really striving for a different kind of storyline with this film because of the spirits and high fantasy elements. [However, if Disney actually answers my questions about the spirits (especially more on why Elsa is a spirit) I would not be opposed to a Frozen III. Assuming, of course, that they stay true to their commitment to high-quality storytelling. Seriously Disney, please don’t just make Frozen III for the money. If you do it well then you can both make great art and make a ton of money.]

Okay, now that I have shared my only real frustration with Frozen II, I want to get back to sharing about the film’s strengths.

The character development in this film is truly amazing! The majority of the film’s focus was, of course, on Elsa and Anna, but there was some really great character development for the beloved side characters in the Frozen gang. Both Olaf and Kristoff really grew in this film and took some maybe slightly unexpected, but interesting and crucial roles within the film.

Olaf in this film is “growing up” and “maturing” which leads him to ask a bunch of questions, to research, and to essentially become a walking and talking fun fact machine. Olaf represents children that have endless questions about the world and how everything works. I love that this is the direction that the filmmakers chose to progress Olaf’s character. Plus they use Olaf’s curiosity of life as an important vessel of key information that the film needs to explain in order for other parts of the film to make sense. This primarily being the concept that “water has memory” which Olaf shares with the group and keeps insisting on throughout the film. (And which he turns out to be right about, at least according to the film.)

[Also I really love Olaf’s silly line, “Samantha?” Towards the beginning of his song “When I Am Older.” It has been reported that Josh Gad, the actor who voices Olaf, did, in fact, improvise this line and the filmmakers loved it so much that it stayed in the film. However, I am burning with the question of Who is Samantha??? For now, I choose to believe that it must be the name of the promised, but not delivered upon, girlfriend of Olaf which was suggested during early discussions of the film who clearly was cut from the end result. ‍💁 ] Kristoff also has some truly incredible character development himself! Kristoff has always had an interesting role within the world of Frozen. He starts off as the brutish, but lovably dorky companion of Anna in her original search for her sister, then through the course of their journey he turns into the true love interest for Anna (leaving Hans already not looking super great before he reveals he is evil). Essentially, this is his entire arch for the first film. Naturally, Frozen II deals with Kristoff’s next character steps. It was absolutely no surprise to me that Kristoff spends the majority of the new film attempting to propose to Anna, however, what is so revolutionary about Kristoff in this film is both his open expression of emotion (since society has for generations and generations told men the bull crap that it “it isn’t manly to have emotions”), the fact that he doesn’t actually journey with Anna through the entirety of her journey and that Kristoff is also extremely supportive of Anna and he really doesn’t try to “save her.”

Kristoff has this amazing love ballad, “Lost in the Woods“ about halfway through the film. I love this scene for two reasons. Firstly, because this is a scene where Kristoff is free to express his emotions and frustrations. Secondly, because this scene is ridiculously funny! Kristoff sings in the woods with the help of his reindeer friends (especially Sven). This song pokes fun at pretty much every boy band ever and every weird and overly dramatic music video ever. Plus, I love the subtle hint at Queen’s famous “Bohemian Rhapsody” music video where Kristoff and his reindeer friend’s heads are highlighted on a black background.

I also love the fact that Kristoff very much has his own journey in this film. He is left behind by Anna, Elsa, and Olaf for the majority of the primary adventure of the film. Now, to be fair, the group (or at least Anna) didn’t want to leave Kristoff behind and the only reason why he was left behind was his own fault because of his weird proposal scheme with a bunch of reindeer. Yet, Kristoff’s alone time allows for his dramatic, but powerful emotional expression. This separation from the rest of the group also allows for Kristoff’s key positioning towards the end of the film in which he is able to help Anna in her mission to destroy the damn.

Kristoff’s unique positioning in the film not only allows him to help Anna destroy things, but it also allows for a subtle, but powerful moment in film history. It is not very often that a female lead is “allowed” by a male lead to go off and just be able to do what she needs to do without the male questioning her. Kristoff in this epic battle sequence does not question Anna at all. He allows her to take control of the situation and supports her in her efforts. This is HUGE! Now, don’t get me wrong, there are other films that have allowed for this before, but not many.

Kristoff also gets huge kudos for delivering (at least in my opinion) the best line in the film. After Anna apologizes for leaving him behind on their journey, Kristoff states, “My love is not fragile.” I love that Disney chose, in this moment of potential conflict, to show the strength of love and a solid relationship, rather than show a potentially distracting fight. I hope this moment will sink into young children’s heads and hopefully help them understand what a healthy and strong relationship could look like.

Anna also has a powerful and interesting journey in this film. Anna is incredibly protective of Elsa throughout the majority of the film. It is clear that Anna is struggling with a massive amount of change that she is facing in the film and she desperately wants to cling to her strong bonds (which she finally got at the end of the first film). Anna is this sort of overprotective, semi-controlling mess throughout the majority of the movie and it isn’t until she loses a couple of these dear bonds that she starts to face and accept her new reality of change. This leads me into possibly my favorite part of the movie, Anna’s song “The Next Right Thing.” This song is directly after Anna loses both Elsa and Olaf, two of the people (I guess I and counting a snowman as a person in this…) that she is most close to. I LOVE the fact that Disney actually dared to create a song about grief and the realities of loss. This is such a powerful and honest song about grief and the grief process. Anna mourns and struggles to find motivation to go on, yet still keeps stepping forward (both metaphorically and physically). This song acknowledges so many of the thoughts and struggles of losing loved ones, but also the active choice to keep pressing on, to do “the next right thing.” This scene is so full of meaning! Everything from the fact that Anna is trying to find her way through a cold wet cave through the course of this scene (stumbling towards the light at the end of the tunnel), to the fact that her costume changes slightly at this point, she loses her purple cape which she wears through the majority of the film and is now left in her black dress (a morning dress perhaps?), to the deeply meaningful lyrics. This is, by far, one of the most powerful scenes in the film and I so deeply value that Disney included this scene about such a difficult topic in such a high profile film. This scene (at least for me) made an already good movie, into a great one. A movie full of meaning and one that genuinely reflects life in many ways. Another favorite aspect of Frozen II that I really love is that each of the major characters in this film goes on their own paths of discovery. I have already discussed most of them. Olaf deals with “growing up” and how to process the world around him. Kristoff struggles with his emotions and feelings of rejection (although he is not actually being rejected, but sometimes we can feel like that even when it is not true). Anna struggles through her co-dependent nature and loss of control. Actually, looking at all of these major themes in the film really makes it quite clear to me that Frozen II is not only an enjoyable film but is also a very mature one.

Now, I’m sure most of you have noticed by now that I haven’t yet discussed Elsa’s journey in this film. I have saved this one for last primarily because Elsa’s journey is, of course, the primary journey of the film, but also because this is the journey that resonated the most with me personally. Elsa experiences this call, one that in the film is literal, but in real life can be a concept that might deeply resonates with some people as this kind of internal call. At the heart of Elsa’s call is the call for deeper meaning and a greater purpose in life. A call “Into the Unknown” of our lives. A craving to go out there and do what we are meant to do. I love that a children’s film brings up this “call.” I know (although I don’t have voices in my head) I personally have experienced a similar kind of craving to go out and do what I am “meant to do.” I believe that this very much can and does exists, although maybe not everyone has it or listens to it. I love that Disney also chose to include this kind of call in a children’s film. Perhaps this will help people to better understand this concept and help to motivate those who hear it, to pursue it. (Such as a young writer working on pursuing her dreams 😉 )

Before I conclude this blog post, I would love to just bring up a few short notable mentions of various other things that I really loved about Frozen II.

1. First off, I deeply appreciate that Disney did NOT take the “long thought to be dead parents are suddenly alive” approach in this film. This is done just a little too often in children’s film and I don’t like it (although some do it better than others, How to Train Your Dragon 2 for example I believe did an excellent job with bringing the long lost mom back, but I digress...). If Disney had taken this approach then it would have totally ruined the blow of the parent’s death in the first film. Plus it would have personally really pissed me off. Primarily because why would parents (especially ones that really needed to be there for their children (particularly a child with special needs) and their kingdom) just not come back? Or at least fight and work their butts off in order to get back to their loved ones? It just wouldn’t have made sense and I am really glad that Disney did not take this root. If anything they confirmed that Anna and Elsa’s parents did, in fact, die at sea. This is tragic, yes, but necessary. (I’m also a firm believer in the concept that the mentor has to die in order for the protagonist to grow to the point they need to be. Frankly, Anna and Elsa’s parents had to die in order for both of them to grow.)

2. I also love the fact that Anna and Elsa don’t actually stay together at the end of the film. They both have larger responsibilities/calling that they have to tend to. Although they, of course, love each other, sometimes physically staying in the same place as your loved ones hold you back from what you are capable of. The end of the film also shows a good example of how to stay connected even when you don’t live together anymore.

3. Okay, this one isn’t directly connected to the film actually because it is about one of the songs that got cut from the final product. So if you listen to the full Frozen II Deluxe Edition of the album (Available on Spotify if you are wondering) then you will come across the song “I Seek the Truth.” I have found this song quite delightful and I highly encourage people to go check it out! This song has intriguing lyrics and gorgeous music. It doesn’t quite have the powerhouse quality that “Into the Unknown” and “Show Yourself” have (which I am guessing is the main reason why this song was cut), but it does have a clever tune, plus it is very enjoyable and meaningful (at least in my opinion).

Overall I LOVED Frozen II and I am super excited for it to join the Disney library. The film is both highly enjoyable and deeply meaningful. Kudos to Disney for yet another masterpiece!

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#frozen ii #disney #blogs

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katrou1894-blog · 6 years ago

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Alone in the Gallery (A Short Story)

Hello readers!

I decided to do something different for this post. I wanted to share one of my short stories with you all.

Alone in the Gallery is one of my first real attempts at writing a short story. It is a piece that I am actually quite fond of and one I seem to keep returning to. I originally published it in my university’s student magazine, The Spyglass. But I felt like it was time to bring it to a different audience.

I have edited and revised quite a bit of the piece, so if you happen to be amongst the few who have read the earlier version of Alone in the Gallery, it has changed a bit.

I will admit, I believe Alone in the Gallery is far from my best piece, but I am curious to hear people’s thoughts. Please feel free to comment or reach out to me and give some feedback! I am always looking to grow as a writer and love hearing from you all!

(Fun Fact: I did in fact work in a Student Art Gallery in college so there is some truth to this piece, however much of it is fictitious.)

Please enjoy! And thank you for reading!

Alone in the Gallery

How does one discover that they are insane? When they are with people? Or when they are alone?

Back in my university days, I worked at the campus art gallery. The job was simple. All I had to do was sit at a very small, uncomfortable desk, for hours on end and essentially babysit the art. It was easy and unglamorous, but it was good work for a crazy, overcommitted, college student. I got paid to sit there and work on homework.

It was, however, an extremely lonely job. I would, at most, only see about ten souls in the art gallery throughout my entire shift and more often then not, it would only be one or two people.

Hours of solitude passed. My only constant companion was the art. And, to be quite honest, most exhibits were a tad bit, unsettling. The whole experience made me much more sympathetic for the poor souls who suffer in solitary confinement.

Oddly enough, there was a weird sort of comfort that was formed in solitude. Often when a guest did choose to enter the gallery, I couldn’t help but feel that they needed to leave immediately. They were, after all, disturbing the art and myself.

It seems so strange, as I reflect back now. I often felt like I was a part of the exhibit, like I was one of the pieces of art in the gallery, that both the art and I were on display for the world to examine. As if I was just a face behind a piece of glass.

What didn’t help, was that the part of the room I sat in had enormous glass windows behind my seat. Occasionally, a person from the outside world would pass by my tank. Sometimes I would look, and we would exchange an awkward smile or nod. Others, I only saw them out of the corner of my eye as they passed. I couldn’t help but feel observed, like I was being watched.

The Gallery was always very quiet. A place where if you dropped a pen it would sound like an erupting volcano. This quietness was seldom broken by conversation. Only on occasion, would a couple of people enter into my gallery and dare to talk amongst the presence of the art and me.

The walls were white. Not a harsh white, but more a subtle grey white. The color was very calming and just bland enough that any art would look good on it. There were many times as I think back to my gallery days, that I am relieved that the walls were NOT yellow. I remember some years back reading a short story about a woman who went insane because of solitude and yellow wallpaper. I took comfort in this, that I would not go insane because of this one small fact. Solitude was one thing, but the color yellow is apparently enough to drive a person mad…

One particular day, nearing the end of the semester, I was working on a paper during my gallery shift. I allowed my thoughts to wander. My mind drifted…

I first thought about how eerie this place can be. Then, despite my solitude, I sensed that I was not alone. I knew logically that I was in fact alone, but I could not shake the feeling.

It seemed almost like the gallery had some poor soul that had never left, someone trapped. I knew this was absolute nonsense, so I shook my head and continued with my work.

Then the thought hit me. What if? We do not only observe the art, but the art also observes us?

What if I am always on display in this place? Not because of human eyes, but rather, the eyes of something not fully understood. What if when an artist creates a piece of art they leave a bit of soul in it. Not even necessarily the soul of the artist, just a soul. Can inanimate objects also think and feel? Can they see and judge us? Is this why some people have anxiety while they are alone? What if, we are never truly alone? What if art is the most judgmental of all? Since it, itself is constantly judged?

After these thoughts passed, I then looked up and noticed something strange on the other end of the gallery, a figure. The lights began to flicker, a light goes out on the far side of the room. Then another on right. The left. My heart starts to race. What is happening?!?

The room goes black.

My eyes squint for a moment, trying to readjust to the change. Once they adjust, I look across the room to the other side of the gallery. In the blackness, I can vaguely make out a figure. It seems to be in the shape of a man, but it also looks like something else, something otherworldly.

I start to shake, unsure of what will happen or what I should do. I start to quickly pack my things. I stand to leave and all at once the lights come back on.

I turn in disbelief, the figure seems to be gone.

I stood still for a moment, glancing around the room. I was still slightly shaking. I placed my bag down, then I then walked the gallery. Observing the art, the walls, and the lights. I wanted to ensure to myself that everything was normal. It seemed to be.

The rest of that day was extremely uncomfortable. I could no longer sit still, nor could I stand to be in that place any longer. Yet, I stayed out of duty. I endured through the rest of that shift, knowing that there is nothing truly to fear, but fear itself. I assured myself that my thoughts had merely gone wild. That I was in no real danger, these things cannot do anything to me…

After what felt like an eternity the time came for me to leave. So, I did and I went on with my day as if nothing unusual had happened.

I asked not long after that shift about the brief power outage. It turned out that the lights only went out because a fuse blew. My brief moments in the darkness were nothing more than some faulty electronics.

Now I think back at how silly I was. Why was I so scared of being watched by the world? Is that really such a bad thing?

Besides the only things in this world that can really observe are those with a heartbeat and eyes. My foolish thoughts at that time were nothing more than the solitude getting to me and too much free time on my hands. I am sure if I were to go back to that same art gallery today, I would have a very different experience.

Yet, I also wouldn’t be the one in the seat anymore…

It is curious, the thoughts we have when we are alone. But also you must not take them too seriously. For if you do, maybe you do not need yellow wallpaper to go insane.

#short story #artgallery #writing #university

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katrou1894-blog · 6 years ago

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Why Writing? (Seriously You Want to Be a Writer?) Part 4

Welcome back to Katie’s Messy Little Blog!

So if you have completely missed the last three of my blog posts, I am currently in a series of blog posts sharing the story of how I got into writing and this is the last post of this series! (Yay! I’m sure you are all sighing in relief.)

This is the 4th and final part of the series. So it might be helpful (if you haven’t read them already) to go back and read my previous three posts entitled Why Writing (Seriously You Want to Be a Writer?) Part 1, 2, & 3. [However if you don’t want to read about my childhood through high school experiences I completely understand.]

So, if you haven’t picked it up already, my education history isn’t exactly “traditional.”

This is a theme that very much continues into college! It actually probably gets even more complicated post-high school…

When I graduated high school, my family could not afford for me to go straight to a four-year university. So, even though I really didn’t want to, (this is another case of a story that can easily take up a whole blog post on its own) I started my higher education at community college in Los Angeles.

This is another pretty funky section of my education history. So I am briefly going to summarize a few years in a single paragraph in order to save some time. (Which I am quite proud of because it was a pretty wild few years.)

After high school I went to a local community college in LA, (which was an experience ) after a semester of community college, my family made the decision to move to Austin, Texas. So I then took the spring semester off from school (even though it ended up taking 7 months to sell our house! ) and we moved to Texas that summer. Upon arriving in Texas, I immediately signed up for the local community college in Austin. Which I then proceeded to complete another semester of college, during which I applied to the Disney College Program and I GOT IN! Then that spring I took part in my Disney College Program (I will share more on this, just not right now). Then I came back to Texas, completed another year of community college and then transferred!

[Wow… that looks really complicated when I type it all out like that. Again, life is messy!]

During this time, I wasn’t fully sure what I wanted my major to be in. It wasn’t until my last semester of community college that I finally figured it out. (Which looking back, I can’t believe it took me so long!)

In my last semester of community college, I took my first upper-level English course and LOVED it. I enjoyed the material, I loved the discussions and the projects. At this point, it all became very clear to me (finally) that I needed to major in English.

This was only confirmed for me when I started at Southwestern and started taking English there. My first English class at SU was Post Colonial African Literature (a mouthful, I know ). And although I wouldn’t say I enjoyed all of the material (mainly because a lot of it was really dark and depressing), I valued every single thing I learned in that class.

I became a sponge of knowledge in my English classes and I honestly loved every minute of them throughout the two and a half years I was at Southwestern.

[Also a special shout out to my amazing professors! I REALLY wouldn’t be the person I am today without you. Thank you for teaching me, pushing me, learning with me and being amazing mentors! I couldn’t have asked for better!]

Southwestern also brought on the true beginning of my dabbling in creative writing (something I had never really taken seriously before).

As I reflect now, there is actually one particular person that I have to give credit for believing in me and encouraging me to pursue creative writing. My friend who I will reference as B (out of respect for my friend’s and family’s privacy I am going to refrain from using their real names on this blog).

B and I were fast friends. My first semester at Southwestern we actually had a class together every single day of the week, thus it making it really easy for us to become friends quickly. B also soon became not just a friend, but also a sorority sister and my big! B was my first real friend at Southwestern and is still a very dear friend today (to the extent that I am maid of honor in her wedding in a few months! )

Early on in our friendship B shared with me that she is a creative writer and even shared some of her ideas, concepts and working projects with me. Her enthusiasm and encouragement really inspired me to give creative writing a try.

I will be honest, my first few attempts at creative writing are not great… Most people will NEVER see them because I am so embarrassed by them now! But I do acknowledge that they are important because they helped me to get started.

B was also helped me in the early brainstorming process of one of the biggest projects that I have been working on for the last few years, my first feature-length screenplay. B helped me develop some of my biggest concepts connected to this screenplay and she was among the first few to read it once the first draft was complete. But I am getting ahead of myself, let’s backtrack for a second on how I actually wrote my first screenplay draft.

[FYI the screenplay I am describing here is an adaptation of Cinderella. However, that is all you are getting on this blog because I have worked too hard on this project for my idea to possibly be stolen. You’ll just have to wait to eventually see it in theaters ]

Once I had a solid idea, I knew I had to write it. But, I wasn’t sure where to start and how I could find the time to write it since I was a full-time student. But, then I came up with a clever solution. I decided to ask the English department if I could create a screenwriting independent study, thus solving my two problems listed above plus I actually got college credit for writing my screenplay! (How cool is that! )

I then proceeded to ask one of my favorite English professors if he would be open to instructing me in my independent study idea. He agreed, we submitted the syllabus and the goals for the class to review with the rest of the department and it was approved!!

The next semester my professor and I read Screenplay by Syd Field (highly recommend to anyone out there interested in screenwriting!) and a couple of scripts I wanted to try and emulate through my own script. Then I proceeded to write an entire 120-page screenplay in about 15 weeks… Which in hindsight sounds a little insane…

Mind you, I also already pretty much knew what I wanted to write and had an outline, and this was only the first pass at writing so maybe it wasn’t completely insane. Nonetheless, I am really proud of this time and that I actually accomplished what I set out to do!

For a first draft, it didn’t turn out too bad. I was very aware that it was far from a sellable state, (still is actually, I am still slowly working on it) but I did it! I wrote my first draft of my first feature-length screenplay and that was a really big deal. Also, it is kinda fun to be able to say that I have written a screenplay.

After the independent study, I needed a break from the project I had poured so much into for so long. So I turned to some other ideas. I started adapting my favorite novel of all time, Frankenstein, for film (I’m also still working on this one) and I have a variety of other projects I am working on including this blog!

It is weird to think that my independent study was only a little over a year ago (during the spring of 2018), so much has changed since then. I have since then, survived my final semester at SU, graduated, started my first full-time job, got laid off from my first full-time job, and have been hunting for a few months for a new full-time position (which has certainly been a journey of its own).

I have experienced A LOT of change and growth in the last year, and I would not trade a second of it. I know I am becoming the person I need to be and experiencing what I need to go through in order to be a better person and writer.

Writing has kept me sane through an overall pretty difficult part of my life recently. It has helped me work through my feelings and emotions and it helps me to express myself in a positive way. Plus it has certainly helped me to better understand myself.

I can’t even imagine my life without my writing now (however maybe I would sleep better without constant ideas in my head ). Writing has become not just something I do, but a big part of my identity and even if no one ever reads my writing I will still be proud of what I am doing.

I am excited to see what the future has in store for my life!

I hope to try and sell some of my work soon (optimistically maybe by the end of the year, realistically hopefully sometime in 2020). I hope one day to be able to live off of my writing and to write full time (since I would be able to get projects done sssssoooo much faster if I could do this).

But I also really don’t know what is coming and that is okay! If I have learned anything in 2019 so far it is that life is sometimes going to throw you some curveballs and you have to learn to adapt. I also know that God has something great in store for me someday. I hope to someday succeed in my chosen field of writing and I hope that I will be able to both entertain and inspire others. I have other dreams too, like how I also hope to meet a wonderful man and start a family with him. I am praying for a joyful and fulfilling life. I know I will be where I want to be soon.

So when I say that I am excited about the future, I genuinely am. I don’t know what is coming, but I do know that good things are coming and I look forward to embracing everything (the good and bad) that life has to offer me. I really do believe God makes all things work for his good, even the things that sting. And I know God has something in store for my life and I look forward to seeing where He takes me.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you. It means so much to me when people tell me that they are reading my blog (still kinda baffles me actually, lol).

I hope my story can help to inspire others to chase their dreams as well!

As always, thanks for reading!

[Also my next blog will be on a new topic, so yay!]

Check out more of my blog at https://katiesmessylittleblog.com/

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