Off Once More/The Morning Of/Study Abroad Spring '19

Currently:

Packing, stressing over what to take and what to leave, pushing everything else regarding the next four months to the back of my mind; frazzled.

But it's all good!

(For those of you that have not visited this blog before, I also used this when I went on a road trip with my father in summer 2017, feel free to check that out and see how I've progressed along this journey from boy to man since then)

Now, please allow me to reintroduce myself...

I'm Isaiah, a current junior at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, CA. I will be studying abroad in Prague, Czechia ((the official English short name of the Czech Republic -- this was registered voted on and registered in 2016; in Czech these names are Česká republika and Česko) (Wikipedia))  for the next for months through CET - Film Production at FAMU, the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

At this point in time I want to thank all the people that have helped me get this far, from the love and support of my family and friends, to all of the wonderful people at CMC [deans/bosses/professors/friends], the people at Determined to Succeed, the people at All Ways Up, and every teacher I had.

I am a product of public schools-- LAUSD pre-k through 12th-- and am proud of UTLA for standing up and walking out for the benefit of their students!

Oh yea, we've got opinions over on this side.

I know there's bound to be people I forgot, but you are appreciated regardless, and if you're taking the time out of your day to read this, I thank you too.

phew... time for the introspective stuff

I woke up from a nap last night, knowing it was my last night at home, feeling dread. And that was reassuring, believe it or not, because it's a definite emotion. It signals feelings of potential homesickness, fear of the uncertain, and wariness of what is to come. And it is good to know where you're at.

This is a daunting excursion for a number of reasons:

-furthest and longest time away from home by myself

-focusing on just one subject, that could be an indicator of what I end up doing with my future

-socializing and meeting new people that will serve as my most physically proximal community for four months

-working in groups (large part of the program is working on a short film with three others for the duration of the semester)

-it's a whole new country and culture

So I made a list of my worries/what could go wrong, so I could better organize my thoughts and face the beast head on, this is most of it (I forget sometimes, what can I say):

-being in an unfavorable group for the short film

-getting there and realizing that I don't want to do this at all... and realizing that I have 3.8 months left

-pickpocketers/theft

-interacting with strangers that could inflict harm to me

-just being a naive tourist

-being Black abroad

-weather (snow and not seeing the sun)

-lack of sun

-having to cook for myself

-plane failure

-something happening at home and me not being readily available to address it

-realizing that film is not what I want to do, then feeling lost

-losing my luggage

But when I was discussing this with a dear friend, she pointed out to me that there is importance in power in how we structure our thoughts, and sometimes it begins with the question we ask...

So here is a list of what could go right:

-STUNTING - I don't think y'all understand the excuse this gives me to wear sweaters that would usually gather dust in my closet. I also bought some new stuff so you already know I'm going to show out.

-being creatively actualized

-a collaboration process that brings out the best in me and my peers

-cheffing it up

-learning about film

-meeting cool, new people with shared interests

-growing my little scraggly, incomplete beard

-exploring new cultures and countries

It's remarkable how the latter flows out just as easily as the former. That is a good sign.

So, my friends, what questions do you ask yourself?

ALSO:

I've got a playlist going for my ride there (10hr 45min to France, 2hr layover, 1hr 40min to Prague), nothing special, just songs that I have been listening to as of late or some that came to me in the moment. Feel free to listen along and let me know what you think/how you feel
(disclaimer: some of the songs are explicit, but hey)

Here's the link:

En Route Sp '19