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I purposely waited until today to write my last entry since my big MSNBC interview was this afternoon. What a way to wrap up a whirlwind of a semester! The whole thing was quick, only about three minutes, but like a lot of things I've done lately, it was a crazy rush. I was a guest on today's episode of "The Most," a news show hosted by the pleasant and perpetually smiling Alison Stewart. A new program, I admitted to the show's producers that I hadn't heard of Alison or her show but at least I had an excuse! I also told them that they had just earned a dedicated viewer. I was proud to represent Junior Year Abroad on television today and if you missed it, you'll be able to catch my interview with Alison on both the J.Y.A. and MSNBC sites very soon.
I finished this week what was probably the most difficult episode to make, my finale from home. Ryan, J.Y.A.'s humble producer, promised me this would be the easiest of the season but I didn't think it was. It wasn't difficult in the same way as when I had a hard time getting decent footage of myself flying off a surfboard when I filmed at Manly Beach. It was tough because I needed to try and make the most comprehensive and appropriate contribution I could to the finale of J.Y.A.'s first season. Of course, I understand it wasn't my responsibility to cover every last detail or even to speak for all of my castmates but I was determined to go out with a bang.
I wish I knew what to include in here that hasn't already been said. I swear I was exhausted after taping my footage for the last episode only since what you'll see up there is pure gut-wrenching passion and emotion. A lot of people have asked me what I got out of being a cast member on J.Y.A., what I learned. That's a tough question to answer but here goes: I think this experience taught me, or rather reminded me, just how many different personalities there are out there. This might seem obvious but when you really think about it, it's interesting how all those differences basically make up the way we interact with each other at just about every level.
Over the course of my trip I came into contact with a countless number of people who would eventually fall into categories of varying closeness to me. These categories ranged from "never saw them again" to "close friends." What I found most surprising was that closeness was not the greatest indicator of how supportive of the show this person would be. I met people that fell into the former category who were more fascinated and more enthusiastic about the program than some who fell into the latter. I constantly sought out ways to involve as many people as possible in J.Y.A. and I should've realized sooner that interest from someone wasn't dependant on our relationship but on the individual.
Looking back, I don't know why I find this so shocking but there were certainly times where I was disappointed by the reaction from others over the show. I couldn't comprehend the idea that not everyone was as thrilled by this idea as I was. You would think that amongst a group of international students I would need to keep them away from the camera with a stick but that wasn't the case at all. Most of the time, I got better reactions from strangers eager to jump in front of the camera and make a stupid face or give their friend bunny ears. Few bothered to ask what I was doing since they seemed satisfied smiling, waving to the camera, and then walking away.
J.Y.A. affected my trip because it helped me to sift through the multitudes of people I met and to see who my real friends were in Australia. It might sound naive to think that only someone who cared about J.Y.A. could be a real friend but I don't think it's far from the truth. I might not know anything about Africa but if Africa is important to someone who's important to me, and then I take an interest. Who knows, though. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know. It's almost 1:30 in the morning but everything I'm saying at this very moment makes sense to me. The bottom line is that I received both ends of the spectrum in terms of reactions to J.Y.A. and now that the season's coming to a close I see how valuable every reaction I got to the show really was.
That about does it for me, I guess. I'm sure there are things I'll remember tomorrow or next month, things I should've included somewhere in the season. That's probably a good thing though. It should give anyone who hungers for more information an incentive to keep in touch or to check out the profile of one of my hardworking castmates. It's also excellent motivation to go abroad, right? I could blog until I'm blue in the fingertips and I still won't be able to convey every feeling, every nuance of what it's like to step out into the unknown and come back with a head full of new memories and even more questions. That's why I'm going to draw the line here. I'd like to sign off with a quote by Yogi Berra. I don't know why but it just popped into my head and I think it's appropriate. Ok, here it is: "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
Do with that what you will and, for the last time, thanks for reading!
Jason
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