Tachyon part 1

It’s the early 1990s again–

It took a while but I must have finally fallen asleep in March 2018. Now, through the biomechanics of recalled memories, my lifetime has reversed and I am again deciding where to go to college.

I have been accepted by the local university in Hawaii, another university in Los Angeles, and a film school in New York City.

If I stay local, I live with my parents until I graduate. I’ll be able to see some of my friends, though. And I am already familiar with the campus because I was there for a summer program in mass communications. Up to this point, I’ve wanted to be a journalist and I also developed a rapport with the university newspaper advisor when I was at the summer program. So, I’m somewhat expected to be there. But I have known Hawaii all of my life and only left the islands a few times. I want to see what else is out there.

If I head to Los Angeles as a communications studies major, I’ll be away from home for the first time in my life. I do know of some classmates who are currently attending there, so I will not have to start from scratch. I also have a lot of relatives in Cali who I hardly know–both pros and cons to consider. The biggest thing though is if I go there, I’ll be on scholarship which will take some pressure off of mom and dad.

If I head to New York City, I’ll be a film school major… in New York City! I’ve been a fan of a rap group and a filmmaker based there and I have a romanticized notion of the New York lifestyle. My high school newspaper advisor, however, profoundly summarized for me the difference between Los Angeles and New York City this way: Appearance (Los Angeles) versus Substance (New York City). I would also be on scholarship but not as much as in Los Angeles. I don’t know anyone there and that sort of both scares and intrigues me at the same time.

So I decide to go to New York City.

My dream fast-forwards ten years and I am making a living as a photojournalist while trying to string along some creative gigs as a documentary filmmaker. I’ve made a handful of friends in the Big Apple and life there has its up and downs. Meanwhile, my brother was in-state for a few years since he was attending the military academy nearby. It was nice to spend some time with him whenever he came to visit.

This morning I am shooting some footage for a documentary. I’ve already got some beautiful exterior shots of the Twin Towers at sunrise. Now, I need to just get inside one of the buildings and interview some of the people who work there. Hopefully, someone will be willing to stop and talk to me.

It is Sept 11, 2001–

Then I wake up.

In the early Nineties, I actually had decided to go to college in Los Angeles. But ever since 9/11, it makes me wonder what would’ve happened if I went to film school instead.