By Chaya Gurkov
“The world will ask you who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you.” —Carl Jung.
Jung might have been too forgiving with this thought. For most of us, the world has already told us what we are. We are rarely afforded the agency to discover what we might actually want for ourselves. To discover oneself therefore becomes synonymous with opposition.
It is not enough that we war with ourselves, we must war with those around us, even with those who love us. It takes a painful amount of quiet courage to take the road less traveled on, especially if the well-trodden path before us was paved with good intentions. But when does life really start, if it’s not when you finally pick up the pen and discover you have, and always had, the ability to write your own story?
Motivational speaker Mel Robbins likes to call this the “aha-moment.” But know that this aha-moment does not look like the one from the movies with angels singing holy glory as a shining realization illuminates your face. At least it didn’t look like that for me. No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t feel or look anything close to angelic while lying on my floor in my bedroom closet with my hand throbbing from a rather dumb attempt at punching my rage out against my wall. But what did it matter? I finally realized that it was time to do what I wanted. I truly believe that this is a journey that everyone must go on.
Sometimes it’s a realization that you are perfectly okay with where you are, and sometimes it’s a realization that upends your world. Whichever it is, it’s only in that moment when a person decides to stop waiting around for something to change that the story really begins, and that is what “Unproductive” season seven is all about.
“Unproductive” is a scripted web series made by students and faculty from the Television, Radio and Emerging Media Department. It is produced by Brian Dunphy and co-written between myself, Alexa Whyte, and Professor Dunphy. For better or for worse, all of the characters in this season of the show decide the power, or the pen, is in their hands to take action against the news of a merger taking place against their college newspaper.
What ensues is a mix of external and internal conflicts filled with heart, drama and camaraderie. But at the heart of it, it’s about each character finding the answer to the question: Who am I?
If the initial question, the idea of discovering oneself, or simply the prospect of working on a web series interests you, please consider reaching out. If you have any questions, we’d be excited to chat about the project and the different ways you can be a part of it. Please contact unproductivewebseries@gmail.com.
Availability is needed from June-July.