Have you ever been in a situation where you've literally worked your butt off to achieve a goal but NOTHING worked? You've tried literally everything possible but nothing produces results.
It's the most frustrating feeling in the world lemme tell ya. And gotta admit, at times I thought God wanted me to fail to teach me a lesson. Not sure what the lesson was supposed to be, but I really thought this time, I would not succeed.
So basically, the premise of this project was to create a short video that could be posted on social media platforms and would inform viewers of a timely event on campus or in Austin.
I know what you're thinking. It's just a project. I shouldn't let it stress me out so much, much less allow me to doubt God. But I did.
In the beginning, my partner and I came up with an idea that we were genuinely excited about and we had detailed a plan of action. We emailed our source asking if we could conduct an interview and they gave us a positive response, saying they would be more than happy to help. Of course, we were overjoyed. (For a journalist, finding sources is probably one of, if not, THE most important element of a story.)
But a few days later, our perfectly detailed plan crumbled... into tiny tiny pieces. We received a curt, one-sentence email from our source telling us they could no longer do the interview with us. They gave us no further explanation, leaving us very confused and frustrated. If they couldn't do an interview with us, our plan was basically a bust. So we went back to the drawing board.
That day, we had actually gone to the Blanton art museum with one of our classes and we noticed there was a new building under construction. Curious, I asked around and realized that no one really knew what it was, at least from the student perspective. So my partner and I decided to find out what it was and create a video that would revolve around that.
We found out that the building would be an extension of the Blanton and it was a piece of architecture called the Austin by an artist named Ellsworth Kelly. It was set to open in the spring of 2018 so we thought it made for a perfect timely event to cover.
After getting our TA's approval, we began to email professors and curators to see if they could participate in interviews with us. We emailed multiple people so that IF we ran into the same situation as our previous plan, we would have other options.
If only it were that easy though.
Of all the people we contacted, no one was available. The curators were busy because the new installation was about to open and some people never emailed us back. We then proceeded to call them and even go in person to request an interview. But no one picked up and we were unable to get an interview even when we showed up in person. Even though I was frustrated, I couldn't really be angry because I knew they were all busy people.
Our TA wanted to check up on everyone's progress with the project and when our turn came, we told him our situation and even he wasn't quite sure what to do because we had literally tried everything. But he still wanted us to have an "expert" on the topic so he just told us to keep trying. I, however, did not want to keep trying. I was bout ready to give up.
I remember calling my mom out of frustration and I told her it would take a miracle to get this project done in time as our deadline was nearing. My mom, being a very grounded person, told me to keep praying about it. So I did. I also emailed a couple other art professors as a last attempt, hoping that ONE of them would be available.
Annnddddd whadya know!!! They both responded. One of them redirected me to another professor who actually had the chance to tour the inside of the building and the other responded that he would be willing to talk to us. I was ELATED!!! Pretty sure they were angels sent by God.
With the help of these two professors (who were so pleasant to talk to), we were able to FINALLY finish this project. Not only did we finish the project in time, our TA also really liked it and our video was selected to be one of the videos they showcased in lecture. One of my professors (who is also the director of the journalism school and hangs out with celebs cuz he's occasionally a film consultant) praised us for being curious enough to investigate something that people pass by everyday but don't know much about.
I was beyond surprised when I saw our video on the list. I literally asked for a miracle and got one. I honestly expected to fail this project but the complete opposite happened. And I'm not posting this as a way to brag (even though I gotta say I am pretty proud hehe), but I'm posting this as a way to show that God DOES provide. Even though it may not be when or what you expect, He DOES have your back. Just another thing to add on to the endless list of reasons why our God is the absolute greatest!!
~jo
Here's the link to our video if ya wanna check it out!!