So today was the fateful day, and to be honest, it was a really mixed bag of nuts. I arrive at the school at 8:50ish and thought I was 5 minutes late. But instead, the advisor wasn't even in the office yet! She didn't arrive until like 5 past 9. Apparently she FORGOT about our meeting today, which was quite off-putting. Apologetic and all, I was sneaked into class as if I was the one who was late, so I had to appear apologetic too.
Since I wasn't given a formal introduction, I didn't even know who the teacher was. Apparently one of the students was giving a presentation and I totally thought he was it! Again, off-putting until I realized what was going on. The class wasn't the best one for me to take, as it was a very introductory course and we spent most of the class watching "Speed" and going through the hero and villain introductions. It was a small, intimate class and it was easy to spot those who were serious, and those who were just there for whatever reason.
After class, I met with the advisor again, who was part apologetic and all enthusiastic. She took the writing course 5 years ago, and she was probably one of the more dedicated students. My guess is that's what got her a job at the school. Being the wife to an instructor didn't hurt either. Her experience sounded awesome, getting internships, doing collaborative work outside of school work and basically being a really studious student.
Ultimately, what I took away from today's meeting are:
1) VFS is what you make of it, hands-down. You control how awesome or awful your experience there will be.
2) There are a lot more foreign students than I expected.
3) VFS is very, very well packaged. The receptionist was beautiful and the advisor knew what to say.
4) The instructors there are absolutely solid. They appear to really value their students work and appreciate hardworking students.
5) VFS has a strong emphasis on professionalism, but I wasn't shown much at all, what with the advisor forgetting our meeting, and NOT sending me a link she said she would after our meeting.
6) Contacts are king! You either get along with your instructors, or you don't. They pretty much hold the key to cracking the industry. At least that's how I feel!
All in all, I am confident that VFS can teach me the technical skills and craft of commercial writing. It's purely a matter of how ready I am to commit to it, and the odds of me making it after graduating. Talking to mom did not exactly solidify my resolve, but only reiterated some of the tougher questions that I must answer such as:
1) Am I good enough?
2) How much do I know about the Western culture?
3) Screenwriting is a tough enough industry to crack. Combined with English not being my first language and the lack of shared experiences with North American audiences, it's made even tougher i.e. Odds of success appear low
4) Is the opportunity cost worth it? Giving up a good-paying full-time job and nosedive into a non-paying "adventure" for 24-36 months.
Right now, I'm still very much undecided...
Had a pretty chill day today, since I slept at 3 in the morning! I forget to add this, but we went go-karting, bowling and late-night Pho-binge last night.
