The Beginning of College.

I was 16 years old. I had just finished high school and I had to think about which program I wanted to apply for college. I was always passionate about movies and stories, if I could, I would be so happy to pursue a career in that field. The only problem is my mom that wants me to pursue a career in a medical field. So here I am today, not sure about which program to apply to.

Choice 1 : Apply to Natural Science.

Choice 2 : Apply to Arts, Literature and Communication: Cinema.

Apply to Natural Science.

I listened to my mom and applied for Natural Science at Ahuntsic College. The course was great, but I never felt any connection and passion about what I was learning. I went through the programs but I ended up applying again for another program in College since I never saw myself doing any of the things I've learned. My mom was deceived but understood that Natural Science wasn't something for me. I decided to apply for Arts, Literature and Communication: Cinema.

Choice 1 : Apply to Arts, Literature and Communication: Cinema.

Apply to Arts, Literature and Communication: Cinema.

I finally decided to listen to myself and apply for Arts, Literature and Communication: Cinema. The program was super interesting and I felt like I was in a good place. The teachers were praising me for the ideas I had for future projects. It was now the end of the semester, I always have been kind of shy, but I was wondering if I should make more effort to have friends at school.

Choice 1 : Overcome your shyness and talk to other students.

Choice 2 : You are too shy and don't try to talk with other students.

Overcome your shyness and talk to other students.

I've overcome my shyness and decided to talk with Sandra, the girl who was sitting just beside me in creation class. Surprisingly, in no time we were best friends! She was only the beginning of all the friends I've soon made after being friends with her. We all finished the programs together and went to university.

Choice 1 : Going to university with your friends.

You are too shy and don't try to talk with other students.

I couldn't overcome my shyness and ended up alone. I finished my programs and then decided to apply for the same programs in university to achieve more knowledge about cinema and creating more. It was a shame that I couldn't share my creativity and make links with other people.

Choice 1 : Going to university alone.

University with your friends.

I was now in university with all the friends I had made during college. It was a lot more fun to go to school with my friends than going all alone and only focusing on my homework. They often asked me to skip classes and make activities outside instead of studying and doing homework. I really enjoyed the whole situation, but I was a little bit concerned about my grades if I don't continue to study as much as I used to. Sandra, my best friend, was telling me not to worry too much about it, that we still had times to study.

Choice 1 : Listen to your friends and continue to party.

Choice 2 : Don't listen to your friends.

University alone.

I was now in university all alone with no friends. In contrast, to college, university requires you to use your own links with people you may know to provide funding and other things such as actors. It was such a shame I never tried to make friends because it is now causing me problems with the projects I want to make at university. I was now facing two solutions: either never making friends and quit school or making friends and possibly go through university.

Choice 1 : Make friends at university

Choice 2 : Don't make friends at university.

Don't make friends at university.

In the end, I never took the courage to make friends in university and it cost me my diploma. Unfortunately, I learned with experience that you can't go in the movie industry without making contacts. So, I decided to quit school and find a job as a cameraman instead. It was not the result I wanted, I wanted to become a Movie Director.

Write a choice here.

Listen to your friends and continue to party.

I listened to my friends and went to parties instead of studying. The result: I couldn't study enough, and I was failing all of my classes. Even most of my friends also failed because they didn't study as much as they should. Unfortunately, we had to retake the semester and pay extra money.

Choice 1 : University with your friends.

Don't listen to your friends and study more.

I decided not to listen to Sandra and tell my friends that I needed to stop going out for a while and study a little bit more. I still had a little bit of difficulty focusing at school while being there with my friends. My concentration was harder and harder to have during classes. I always kinda had problems focusing at school but since I made friends, it became worse. I'm wondering if I could talk about it to a doctor, we never know, maybe he has a solution for me.

Choice 1 : I decided to see a doctor.

Choice 2 : I decided not to go see a doctor.

I decided to see a doctor.

I finally decided to go see a doctor and talked about my concentration problems at school. After a few minutes of talking, he told me I might suffer from ADHD, which means " Attention Deficit Disorder ". I never thought of that but now it makes sense! He offered me multiple solutions to help me deal with this disorder, he offered me tricks and so much more! Thank to him, I feel a lot better now at school, and I am focusing more on classes.

Choice 1 : Last semester of university.

I decided not to go see a doctor.

My lack of concentration became worse and worse. I didn't want to see a doctor because I was afraid of what he could have told me. But I didn't have a choice anymore, even after telling my friends I couldn't party anymore, it wasn't helping me more with the school. In the end, I decided to go see a doctor.

Choice 1 : I decided to see a doctor.

Last semester of university.

It was finally the end of my study in university! My friend and I were so glad that we went through without too many problems. It was finally the time for us to enter the industry that is cinema. Our teachers recommended that us to start with an internship, so we could first, learn how it is working in the industry. Because, as she explained, the school environment is not necessarily similar, and we should experiment the industry with skilled people first before going solo. She insisted that it was simply a recommendation and not an obligation and that we were free to choose what we want to do. I'm not sure of what to do. Sandra wants to go on an internship with me, but other friends tell me I am skilled enough to start alone. What should I do?

Choice 1 : I should do an internship with Sandra.

Choice 2 : I should start alone.

I should do an internship with Sandra.

We found easily an internship me and Sandra. We were kind of afraid of starting this internship because it was an on-the-job training. Our superior told us not to worry because it's easier to learn the ropes that way. Our whole teams got finally a project proposition, I wasn't sure if I should follow the director (as it is my dream job) or stayed with the general teams and learn general stuff.

Choice 1 : I should follow the director.

Choice 2 : I should stay with the team.

I should start alone.

After university, I tried starting a project alone and contacted a few friends to join me. At first, it was working pretty fine, but I started having problems with, the renting company for our cinematic stuff (camera, lightning, tripod and so many mores). They were asking me things that I couldn't answer, and I was extremely lost. Even if my friends had faith in me, I think it would be better if I started by doing an internship to be sure to learn everything I need because doing it by my own.

Choice 1 : I should do an internship with Sandra.

I should follow the director.

I decided to follow the director through this new project. I am glad that I decided to do so, the director was giving me a ton of tips on what to do in multiple situations. Meanwhile, Sandra was still working with the team and was also giving me information and tricks I should learn for the future. Now, after a year of working with them as an intern, I finally felt ready to fly with my own and do my own project. First, I needed to choose who would work with me. I did some interviews and I wasn't sure if I should choose my university friends with whom I used to work with, or going with a complete stranger who has more experiences.

Choice 1 : I choose to work with friends.

Choice 2 : I choose to work with strangers.

I should stay with the team.

In the end, I decided to follow the team. It wasn't a bad idea to do so, but I felt I needed to be close to the director to learn more about the job. In the end, I decided to follow him instead of staying with the team only.

Choice 1 : I should follow the director.

I choose to work with friends.

I choose to work with my friends. It wasn't a bad idea, but, in the long term I noticed that we couldn't work super well together because we kept making jokes and not taking the job seriously. I was afraid for my money to be wasted on a team that wasn't working efficiently. I decided to unmake the team and my friends were not super offended, thank's god. In the end, I decided to recontact the strangers who have more experiences. They accepted my offer and we started working together.

Choice 1 : I choose to work with strangers.

I choose to work with strangers.

In the end, I decided to work with the strangers. I definitely prefer this experience because they had the skills I needed, and we were not too friendly so the work was going well. They helped me choose the good actors for the movie I wanted to direct, we choose good cameraman and helped me complete the teams. Filming the movie went smoothly, more than I thought. My knowledge I learned while being on an internship helped me a lot and I could avoid making mistakes.

Choice 1 : Submit your movie to a festival.

Submit your movie to a festival.

My team and I decided to present our movie to a festival, hoping we could win a prize. Our actors went down the red carpet and people were taking pictures of them. Everything went smoothly. At the end of the festival, we learned that we won the first prize of amateur movie! We were so happy. After this, I did more and more movies, and not all of them were popular but that's okay, it is my passion. I did this for a few years before retiring.

Choice 1 : Retiring.

Retiring.

Today, I am 65 years old, and I am retiring from the industry. I did a lot of movies and I couldn't be prouder. It was a big journey, and I will never regret taking the cinema program at college. It literally changed my life. Thank you for following my story and I wish it encouraged you to make your dreams.

Write a choice here.