I certainly didn’t expect to attend Sundance during college. In fact, when I told my parents that WKU was offering a study away course to the festival, I was only mentioning it in passing, (trying not to focus on how badly I wanted to go.) I didn’t expect that they would encourage me to attend. Luckily, they did.

I have learned so much here at Sundance, and I have experienced more than I could have imagined. For me, the aspirations of being a filmmaker began at fourteen–staying up late watching indie films on our circa ’84 television set. Less than a decade later, I’m here at Sundance, watching phenomenal new films and incredibly talented filmmakers.

Watching William H. Macy’s panel was inspiring, as he is so very talented and yet so humble. Seeing one of my favorite actors exude such modesty and truthfulness in terms of failure made me feel like I might have a future in this industry. In short, Sundance 2014 has been surreal and wonderful.