A Creative Casaulty...: The next Chapter

So yesterday I graduated... A moment that was a long time coming, and yet extremely anticlimactic. It's definitely feels like the turning of a new chapter in my life, and while I'm looking forward with anticipation, I can't help but feel like I didn't tie up all the loose ends. It was certainly a time for reflection, and this came most as I began to clean out my room. It started with some name tags that I had hung up on my wall, I had begun collecting them from different conferences and events.

Its crazy to think about how much has happened in such a relatively short amount of time. From Florida, to Boston, to Houston, to Montreal, and even San Francisco... It's surreal to think about how many events I've had the opportunity to attend... how many people have I talked to? How many people have I had the opportunity to present to? In high school I remember when I started doing Drama and I had this nervous tendency to talk in an accent on stage when I was nervous in front of people, and to think now I've been on stage presenting to 2,000+ business professionals, I've taught classes to freshman, given presentations to representatives from the United Nations, and even gave a presentation at the Montreal International Game Summit. It's almost like a dream really... with it all being over it almost feels like it didn't quite happen.

On my next wall I had concept sketches from our America's Army map, and some concept stuff from our game Transcendence. That's another thing that I hadn't given much thought to... I worked on a released a map for America's Army that people are still playing online. People have logged about 13,900 hours playing our map since December... it's nuts really...

And quite possibly my biggest experience was going to Africa, which I've blogged plenty about and is something that will just never leave me. These past four years have been nothing short of amazing. There have been hard and stressful times, but working through it and coming out the better for it... I guess it's sort of a growing experience. I can't really believe it's over.

For the most part I have no regrets, I took chances, I was ambitious, and I took what opportunities that were available to me. I said "Yes" to everything I could, which certainly made it hard at times but I think I'm the better for it. It's hard to write everything I've been wanting to say right now, I've been meaning to blog all this week but I had been trying my best to soak what I could out of my remaining time in Burlington. Thinking now I do have a few regrets... I had really only begun to be friends with a group of my classmates that I was graduating with, fairly recently. That was one thing I never was really, I was never tightly knit with the others in my own degree program. I made plenty of friends for sure, and my two best friends I had known since my second day at the school and remained friends with them all fours years. Yet to feel like a bit of an outsider with other people in your major, who you might possibly relate to more about some things... I dunno I just regret it. I also feel as though I don't have much closure with a couple of my professors and even a few people I worked with, but it's truly the time to move on.

On that note I guess this is a good a time as any to say that I am accepting a 6 month internship with a studio in Montreal called Mistic Software. I couldn't be more excited about this tremendous opportunity! I was able to say, before I graduated, that I have something lined up... and to be honest I was very nervous. With the economy the way it is, and with it being so hard to get a job in industry anyways, I wasn't sure I'd find a place too quickly. Granted this is only an internship, but I can't help but hope it may turn into something more. I have a job in a gaming studio, doing what I love to do... I guess that's the goal isn't it? I know that starting with Mistic will be my first step to hopefully a long career. What scares me is the move to Montreal, while the city is beautiful, it's been hard to find a place to live thus far and well I'm moving to a different country! AH! Although I'm still as close as I can be to my friends and family, this is really the ideal position for me and again I couldn't be more excited. I can see the first chapter in the rest of my life... and I'm filled with hope.

I was able to party after graduation with some friends but mainly my parents and the families of my friends Steph and Niki. I met Niki the second day I arrived at Champlain, because I was at the cafeteria too early for breakfast and so was she. I don't know how we became friends but we just did, and Steph was her neighbor at the time in Cushing Hall. Steph and Niki got introduced when Steph needed to borrow scissors for something haha and well the rest is history. It's been the three of us for four years strong, we've had our ups and downs but we've stuck together and I couldn't be happier to have met them. Near the end I've been getting nervous that we may lose contact, going our separate ways... but that doesn't scare me now. We're friends for life and I don't plan on letting that happen =) What was so neat about this afternoon was that it was the first time our families actually met each other, after all these years. It was all like everyone belonged, and in some way we're all one big family brought together by an early visit to the cafe and the need of open something.

I really need to end this post! I'll finish with saying thank you to everyone who I've met while I've been on this path, without you (either good or bad) you helped shape me to be who I am today... and some definitely more than others. To others I regret that we weren't friends longer, and had the opportunity to really get to know each other better. I hope I had the opportunity to help others as much as everyone has helped me to be who I want to be today. Thank you for picking me up when I was down, helping my find my path, or just listing to me. If I didn't say good bye it's because I meant to, I'd rather not say good bye to anyone. While the chapter has closed on Champlain, I hope to keep a spot open for you in the next...

Thanks,

Wes