From Business Administration to Film and Television

Since I can remember, I have always loved films. I used to come from school and watch a movie almost everyday. So, when the time came to decide what I wanted to study, my first thought was to become an actress. Actors were the face of movies, so in my young and naïve mind, if I wanted to work in film, that’s what I had to do. Of course, when I told my parents, they immediately refused and persuaded me to study something else. While not entirely convinced, I choose to study Business Administration. After all, it was a degree that could be useful in any industry I wanted to work in the future.

Through university, I managed to get good grades but still felt miserable because I was getting further away from my dream of working in film. It wasn’t until my final year that I discovered a scriptwriting workshop offered to communication students, and despite not being one of them, I decided to join. In all my years studying, I had never enjoyed a class as much as I did in that workshop, nor had I felt such excitement about what I was learning. That was the moment I finally knew. I never really wanted to be an actress, I wanted to be the person who made the movies. I wanted to be a filmmaker. As thrilled as I was with this discovery, I only had one semester left to graduate from university, so I now had to make a choice: switch majors and start over, or continue and graduate with a Business degree. It wasn’t an easy decision, but after everything my parents and I had sacrificed, I felt I owed it to them, and myself, to finish. So I did. I graduated with a Business degree and decided to pursue film making as a postgraduate. But first, I needed to earn some money.

I started working and held roles where I learned a lot and grew professionally, but as the years went by, no amount of growth or promotions could fill the lack of fulfillment because I wasn’t pursuing my passion. It took me a while, but two years ago I finally decided to go for it and study what I had always wanted. After doing my research, I found the MA Film and Television programme at UoB, which was perfect for me since I had no prior experience in film and it would allow me to learn everything I needed to enter the industry.

Although the decision to quit my stable job to pursue something unknown was terrifying, I feel that I made the right choice. Even though I’m only halfway through my Masters, I’ve already had incredible experiences that are bringing me closer to what I always dreamt of, and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead. If you find yourself in a similar situation, all I can say is: Believe in yourself and take the leap. How will you ever know what you’re capable of if you never try?