JONIZZLE

Full Circle.

Today marks the three-year anniversary of my time in Los Angeles, California. Because of this, as well as an upcoming trip back home to Springfield and Urbana-Champaign for nearly two weeks, and as always, another year of TAF, I've been in reflection mode for awhile. There is a lot to say and I have been unsuccessfully trying to type out in an eloquent and meaningful way. So instead, I am going to try to keep it short. Basically, I see many things are coming full circle* in my life. I see how the events from ten years ago, from the summer of 1999, are coming back to fruition now. It's pretty crazy to realize. In my initial writings, there were many ways in which things from a full decade ago are ending an era now and evolving into something new, but I will just take time to tell you about one**.

Back in the summer of 1999, for reasons I cannot fully recall, I distinctly remember thinking about NOT going to TAF for the first time. I find that scary to imagine. Me not at TAF in 1999 might very well mean me not at TAF ever again, all the way up until 2009. I would have missed out on some of my best friends, as well as some of my best opportunities in my life. But I did end up going to TAF'99 after Howard simply asked me one day if I wanted to apply to be a slideshow coordinator with him. I applied and got it, and the rest isn't history, but it is a quick summation of my life.

Slideshow. Media. Class President. Staff. PD. ITASA Program Chair. Karen Lin and Will Tiao. Hollywood. Formosa Betrayed. Associate Producer. tafLabs. All connected to my desire and purpose to use media to make positive impacts on humankind in unique and compassionate ways.

And so in 2009, Howard, my slideshow co-coordinator a decade ago, and I look to start a production company with the help of other friends, both TAFers like Alex and Kev and non-TAFers. The name of our new company? Slideshow Pictures, because that is where it all began.

And thank God, because it is simply crazy that I can track the past ten years of my life to the simple instance of one message, asking me to join on working with media content. Ten years later for hopefully much longer than ten years, the same message is being sent, and I am again accepting.

So with that, this will be a fitting close to this blog. Hopefully I can archive it on whatever my new blog will be on our new Slideshow Pictures website, whenever that gets up and running. But the past decade has been a fun ride, and it is time to look forward as this cycle comes back to the beginning.

With faith, hope, and love -- peace out.

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*I propose this as an idea for TAF2010's theme name. It's a communication year so think the full circle that is the communication model + it is the 30th anniversary of TAF!
**I should mention one other thing actually. One of the reasons I am going back to Springfield is to celebrate the wedding of Adrienne and Steve, two good friends that I spent a lot of time with during the summer of 1999. Congratulations to them!