College allows students to explore new avenues of interest, discovering and refining their passions in life. During my freshman year at Wesleyan, I enrolled in a video editing class called “Live Performance – Video and Documentation”, excited to see my potential in this unique field. I soon realized how art classes at Wesleyan University are particularly known for their remarkable ability to push students to their full, creative potential.

Typically being pushed on the sports field or the conventional math classroom, I had never been in a position like this. The main goal of the semester was to introduce students to video production and build skills integral to capturing live performances across performing arts disciplines. The struggle began in our first project of the semester when we were given raw footage of interviews and asked to provide a 3-5 minute video of the main points of the videos. After countless days of working hard to develop my Adobe Premiere skills and complete the video, I was disappointed to receive a C-, a poor reflection of my hard-working nature. Despite wanting to drop the demanding class, I continued working hard to prove myself wrong.

I consistently worked one-on-one with my professor between class and lunchtime football meetings. I began to understand Adobe and its intricacies, yet still struggled with the “vision” of these videos. Personal research on how to develop efficient, effective, and entertaining videos helped me build confidence for future projects. Students were provided cameras and sent to live performances on campus to gain footage for our videos. While I demonstrated self-growth and honed my skills through countless hours in the computer lab, I was once again disappointed, receiving a C+. Nonetheless, I remained motivated by the slight grade improvement and newfound confidence. 

As I looked toward the intimidating final project, my previous grades sparked the competitive nature within me. I continued working lengthy, tiring hours in the library, inspired to see a better outcome in the final opportunity of this challenging course. My professor applauded my resilience and resourcefulness during underperforming times and rewarded me with an A- on my final project. This experience not only allowed me to uncover my artistic vision but also motivated me to continue persevering through academic hardships, a key learning experience as a young college student.

“Live Performance – Video & Documentation” Final Project