THREE MORE WEEKS UNTIL TAF! Please register ASAP if you haven’t yet and invite your friends. Here’s Jesse’s piece for the LOL blog series and some thoughts on how what we learn at TAF applies to everyday life, projects and pursuing our goals.

Hi TAF! Originally, my friends and I were going to create a little drama that showcased loving out loud to the fullest. Unfortunately, due to some technical issues and some time constraints, the video is still not complete. I hope that we complete and post the video on the blog before TAF 2011 starts! To make up for the lack of video, we created a great trailer that has nothing to do with the actual Love out Loud video, but has some scenes that will be used in the Love out Loud video. Here is the link if you want to watch!

Even though the film is not complete yet, I still can reflect on the process of creating the film. It turns out that the four main themes of TAF all showed up in some way while creating the video: Communication, Ethics and Values, Leadership, and Identity. Loving out loud was also a prominent theme while creating the film. How can all of these themes be seen simply just by creating a video? I am about to tell you!

Communication: TAF’s theme from last year was definitely used while creating the film. Because this film was my idea, I had to call/text/fb message the crew and actors or actresses to tell them what time and place we would be meeting to shoot some film or edit the video. This may seem easy, but rounding up 15 people and trying to fit time into their summer schedule was really hard!

Ethics and Values: It was hard dealing with what was right and what was wrong for the video. For one section, it seemed right for the character to swear, but knowing that juniors may be watching, we edited and forced some actors to do retakes of scenes over and over again! We also got side tracked from the original goal sometimes. The primary value, or goal was to finish the video for TAF Blog and show loving out loud, but sometimes we strayed from that and just tried to make an entertaining video. I don’t know where on the road we are now, but hopefully, the video will present an entertainment aspect as well as a loving out loud aspect.

Leadership: My leadership skills were tested thoroughly throughout the creation of the video. Some of the cast members wanted to make this film a feature film that got thousands and thousands of views. This meant that while filming, everything had to be perfect. Knowing that we were short on time, I sometimes had to boss my friends around change their stubborn mind! (Don’t get me wrong, their stubborn minds created great ideas, but some were just too ambitious for the time we had.) When I reflect on creating the video, I know that I could have led a lot better than I did. Gathering cast members, directing the film, giving my ideas, incorporating other ideas, and organization all could have gone much smoother. Good thing leadership is this year at TAF!

Identity: The major thing I learned about myself while creating the video is that I am never going to make it as an actor in Hollywood. It is just too hard to keep a straight face on when there’s a camera pointing right at your face.

Loving Out Loud: My friends definitely Loved Out Loud while creating this video. If it wasn’t for them, we would not have any video in the making! We have been shooting film for the video for about 24 hours, and to show for our effort, currently have about 5 minutes of edited film. That meant that my friends volunteered a lot of their summer just to help shoot a video for TAF! Also, when it came to getting people to act in the film, it was easy as pie. I have become better friends with the people involved in the video, and that is because we both helped each other out while creating the video. I could bounce off ideas with cast members, or we could just goof off a little. They all were certainly there for me and I was there for all of them. All of the people who were involved in this video are crucial characters in my life that help me get through the tough school year every year. I love them!

I hope I see everyone in three weeks! And make sure to check back to see the awesome video that will be posted before TAF 2011 starts! (hopefully)

-Jesse Kao

General consensus is that TAF helps us understand ourselves better. Subsequently, this also gives us insightful material when needing to write essays for English class/college admissions essays. [TAF is great for academic success!] Here’s Jason (YAY!) with an introspection piece. See you all in North Manchester, Indiana in FOUR WEEKS!

Essay

Yeh /yā/ (rhymes with hay. Same pronunciation as interjection yay.) n.
1. The root of all awful jokes generally following roll call or an introduction
2. My last name

I’ve always thought that names are an important aspect to someone’s sense of self. Without names, no one would have an identity. I imagine it would also be a lot tougher to buy Taylor Swift’s amazing new album on iTunes. There would also be absolutely no chance that a white person could identify the actual race of that one “Asian kid” without names. This belief has led me to question why the universe has decided to spite me by birthing me into a family with such a comically simple last name. I mean no disrespect or dishonor to my ‘fahmiry’; my family doesn’t get much better. Just there is this one little three-letter embarrassment. I am positively certain everyone has that single facet of themselves they absolutely dread. For some people, it could be a final exam that they “studied” for by watching the last five seasons of Entourage or a musical performance that was unprepared for (lip syncing actually isn’t considered an effective method of practice). Both actually apply to me, but they don’t even compare alongside introductions. Not just because I know I’ll manage to embarrass myself within twenty seconds of meeting someone, but because of the awkward single eyebrow and head cock I receive after introducing myself with, “Hello, I’m Jason Yeh. Nice to meet you.” It would be extremely rash for me to blame my current teenage unemployment to my last name, but I know I received an aforementioned eyebrow and head cock at a job interview at the local Dairy Queen. The unemployment is probably because my competition was a high honor roll and dance member at my high school. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have chosen me either. All of my teachers and coaches would even dish out similar eyebrows and head cocks upon learning that my last name was actually not several foreign car companies long.

Of course since then I have changed. I know there was no event of self-actualization found in movies. Accepting my last name has actually been disappointingly anti-climatic. Now, I don’t have to mumble through introductions with gibberish syllables after “Yeh.” Rather, it’s as if my brain tells me in the voice of Kanye West, “You is what you is.” I can take pride in what I am, and I know that has to mean a higher sense of maturity. At least that’s what I managed to rationalize the situation with. When that fails, I know that the jokes that follow my name aren’t as bad as some jokes that follow “Bing Wang.”

FIVE more weeks until THE ONES!!!

HAFA ADAI! (That’s “Hello” in Chamorro, the local dialect in Guam.) Here’s Bing video blogging from Guam (it’s in the South Pacific for those who didn’t know). Umm… can someone get me a box of tissues? You might need some tissues too. And then, after you watch this video, and stop crying, you’re probably going to need your credit card so that you can register for TAF right away! LOL

Hello Everyone!
The LOVE OUT LOUD blog was busy with exams, graduations and summer travels. But we’re back and getting ready for our final countdown to TAF2011! (Be sure to register ASAP! We are on WEEK 46 – or 6 more weeks until TAF!!!)
Here are Cathleen, Erica, Jasmine, Joy and Allen spreading some LOL in the language of words of affirmation.
P.S. Happy Father’s Day!