The Graduate Slump

Screencap from the film, "The Sophomore Slump".
Very slumpy indeed. 

Several years ago, I produced a documentary film entitled "The Sophomore Slump". The film chronicled my sophomore year for a few months, with the film's title referring more so to the ubiquitous saying rather than the nature of the year of itself.

Especially when compared to the situation I'm in right now.

I've mentioned this before: I am an undocumented alien residing in the United States (see the blog post about my Sun Sentinel article on the subject here). When President Obama announced his executive order to provide work permits and deferred deportation statuses to kids like me, myself and several close others had reason to be excited.

And while the program will benefit me, the gap period between applying for it and actually receiving it has produced a sorts of "Graduate Slump" for me.

Obama announcing his executive order for
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

I was so prepared to move back to my homeland of Argentina and continue my studies there that applying for colleges here in the United States appeared to me as a frustrating waste of time, one that would proportion many acceptance letters (as my friends tell me based on my academic achievements) and much sadness in not being able to return the favor to these colleges.

Blame it on who you will, but since I didn't embark upon that "frustrating waste of time", it's Fall 2012 and I'm not enrolled in any post-secondary institution. Given the fact that I still only qualify for private and/or institutional scholarships - the best of which are awarded solely in the fall - I've got a long wait ahead of me.

Hence, "The Graduate Slump." Sounds like grounds for a sequel, right?

The Graduate Slump

Too Much Summertime

September 10th, 2012. Oh boy.

Elementary school kids, middle school kids, high school kids, and even college students never want their summers to be over. And when you consider their reasons why, it's no surprise: who would say no to a life of relaxation, hanging with friends and sipping on ice-cold sodas by the pool?

Uh, me.

Yeah. As weird as it sounds, I can only take so much of summertime. And it's not because I'm a nerd and I love school (although that is true). Rather, it's because summer usually involves doing nothing, and I just can't have that.

For me, being occupied isn't just a way of keeping boredom away. Instead, it's a form of engendering self-confidence, self-esteem; of assuring myself that I'm using my time wisely and for a purpose larger than myself. That being said, whatever I occupy myself with doesn't have to involve anything extraordinary like flying to the moon or finding the Holy Grail.

It just has to be rewarding in some way.

P.S. awkward moment when you can't find a Google Images image to suit your blog post, huh?

Too Much Summertime

Day Trip to Tavernier/Islamorada

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Ever felt like just going somewhere beautiful on a Wednesday morning when you were up early and had nothing better to do? Here's the byproduct of that: a day trip to beautiful Tavernier and Islamorada in the Keys. 

Day Trip to Tavernier/Islamorada

Workshop in Tallahassee

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I'll blog more about it soon, but here's a little picture recollection of my time in Tallahassee at the ... ahem ... Multimedia Workshop for High School Students at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University sponsored by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and NBC Universal.

Whew.

Workshop in Tallahassee