Ever since I started making movies, I began taking a camera with me everywhere I went, hoping I could capture everything or anything nature and people had to offer. It didn't matter how I got it; whether through a digital camcorder or a phone, all I knew was that life was happening all around me; every moment just waiting to be filmed.

 

With years' worth of footage including home movies, behind-the-scenes, outtakes, stock footage, and miscellaneous sources, they became the basis for these two compilation pieces.

 

Sometimes we know exactly how we're going to get where we're going, and other times it's uncertain, but it's the journey itself that defines you. Destination explores this with the contrast of nostalgia; an endless journey of self-discovery and the affection between two people both past and present. Throughout all this, we see that the ultimate destination is love.

 

Love is also the answer as I explore both the dark and the light of the Windy City itself in my visual poem, Welcome to Chicago. As a student going to Columbia and commuting every day, I got to know the city better than I ever have through the towns I visited, the food I ate, and the people I met. Last year was a very passionate year politically, and while I wasn't always in the city, I felt it spiritually, being simultaneously hurt by the outcome and inspired by how strongly Chicagoans protected their city. I felt proud to be a part of what they were fighting for, and while it might not always be perfect, Chicago is still a huge part of me.

 

I anticipate making more of these compilations, as I still have extra footage both old and new in need of a home.