My Personal Intellectual Journey in Five Acts.
ACT I: Desire
My two best friends and I raced to our usual corner on the courtyard. When we got there, it was no longer recess. It was the three of us training to save the galaxy.
“Luke, you must go with Yoda to master the force,” I said while wielding my imaginary blue lightsaber.
“Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi,” He replied, and I watched my friends battle it out, advising over them just like how Obi did with Luke in Star Wars.
I was always intrigued by the ideas Star Wars had to offer, such as; intergalactic warfare, light-speed travel, and Jabba the Hutt. Since second grade, it became the best of my interests to explore these ideas.
It was these moments during recess where I learned where my future lay — astrophysics. A study that excites me and brings my curiosity about space and physics to a new level.
Holding this ideal close, I entered high school with a burning passion, and I bought my first telescope. I spent countless hours peering into the night sky, stumbling upon stars of different sizes and brightnesses. I shortly binged watched the “Crash Course: Astronomy” series to learn more. Never before has an academic subject completely captivated me. It guides my actions, tames my curiosity, and inspires me to learn more.
Throughout high school, I sought out opportunities to further my understanding of astrophysics, taking advanced science and mathematics classes offered, and two summers ago, I took a physics course at the University of Washington. I was enlightened to learn theories of interstellar light speed travel but saddened to learn the impossibility of Jabba the Hutt. This course allowed me to take my understanding of physics to another level.
On March 26th, I was admitted to USC Class of 2024 as an Astronomy major. I felt at peace knowing my goals and aspirations were satisfied, and my future was secured.
ACT II: Doubt
After watching Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, I nearly stood up to applaud in my own room. I loved this movie, and as a child of divorced parents, I could really relate to the story. I was moved to study it — from cinematography to screenplay writing. This feeling, being involved in the making of the film and reading between the lines, sparked something in me I thought not possible, and it scared me. Yet for months, I continued to pursue the process of filmmaking and storytelling, watching video essays and reading books. Film after film, my interest had kept peaking.
It was after I received my 2020 AP Physics exam score when I realized that I needed to acknowledge the full scope of things. I had begun to question myself. Why hadn’t I spent more time studying? Where was my motivation? Am I still interested in astrophysics?
I wanted to store it in a locked box and call it a night, but then I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I couldn’t help but contemplate how I spent my time since quarantine. I wasn’t keeping up with the latest NASA breakthroughs or practiced physics. Instead, I watched an over-the-top amount of movies, and I hated myself for that.
ACT III: Truth
Two weeks ago, I was assigned to write about how something meaningful to me had influenced my personal intellectual journey. As soon as I heard of this task, my mind immediately went to film. This time, however, I wanted to find answers. As I was pouring my thoughts into this paper, I was learning more about this situation and about myself. I didn’t even know what film meant to me until I really started to lay out what I loved about film, how film changed me, and why I was writing an essay about it. Eventually, I realized that I should be open to this new passion for film.
I had begun to read John Yorke’s Into the Woods and John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story, two books about storytelling and screenplay. Unexpectedly, these books taught me so much about myself and my journey. I was able to relate my personal intellectual journey to the character arcs described in the books, and I found “What a character is scared of in the first half, they now embrace with enthusiasm. Midpoints are, as we’ve seen, the ‘truth’ of the story, a truth the protagonist must embrace,” (Yorke). The ‘truth’ that I have come to embrace is that I love film, and those days of running away from the truth are over.
ACT IV & V: Untitled
This is where I am now. My story is still being written. Even though these last two acts of my journey are still yet to be decided, I can still say that I have undergone some serious character development. From Truby’s The Anatomy of Story, “Your hero’s development depends on what beliefs he starts with, how he challenges them, and how they have changed by the end of the story,” I used to be rigid, with a concrete vision and mindset, but after finding film, these views were challenged, and now I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel lost sometimes and it’s important to be open-minded and flexible.
This essay does not end with me declaring a film major. It does, however, end with a changed mindset on my future. Last year, if I’d been asked what major I was, I’d confidently respond with “astronomy.” Now, if I’m asked the same question, I’d confidently respond with “astronomy, but we’ll see.”
WORKS CITED
Yorke, John. Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey into Story. London: Particular, 2013. Print.
Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. New York. Faber and Faber, 2007. Print.
