WK2 EXPLORATION: STORYBOARDLoren Maxwell - 0004358008

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Before I started the MCBS Program, I was a wanderer and student of life.

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I had always thought I would do great things by following societies rules.

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I would be successful, and I would be happy.

Following that path, I went to Western Washington University and began working on my degree in Music

Education.

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But, after two years, I began questioning everything and became confused and frustrated.

Nothing seemed to connect. I was becoming like the sculpture on campus that led to nowhere.

And, trying to sort my thoughts, just tangled them more. Why did I need to follow societies rules?

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Was this my dream, or the expectation of family and friends?

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All I knew, was it felt like I was wasting time, being chased by a dream that may or may not be mine.

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So I left school, and began a different adventure.

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As a result, my life became one journey after another.

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The journey began as I boarded a one-way flight to Hawaii with a backpack on my back.

I had no plans, no responsibilities, and no expectations. All that mattered were my own actions, and the

situations I found myself in.

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I spent years bouncing between Hawaii, Washington, and California.

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I had broken all the rules, and it felt perfect.

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I found success without a degree, built skills, and even found love interests.

But after seven years, my choices led me to troubled experiences and troubled relationships.

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It was then that my world shattered when I was diagnosed as HIV positive.

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My life as I knew it, had come to an end and a new experience began. Fear, anxiety and struggle.

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I spent nearly a decade lost and defeated.

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I never stopped seeking opportunity or inspiration to take back my life, but never found that true connection.

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And then it happened. Driving home from work, I was witness to the Coachella Music Festival being built from

the ground up.

It was that one defining moment, which was my greatest Aha! I had just found my life again.

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I knew then, that I would be part of planning and producing large experiential events.

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I immediately took action and chose Full Sail University as the school of choice.

I would go into the show production an touring degree program. I even visited the school and began the

application process.

But before I could complete the process, my doubts took control, and I was once again defeated.

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This was a pipe dream that would never be mine. I accepted I would have to settle for less.

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However a year later, a shift began to happen.

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I began working on a cruise ship and was inundated by dozens of crew involved in all aspects of the

entertainment onboard.

And my dreams crept back into my thoughts like a constant buzz and yearning.

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After four years working on ships, I returned to Seattle. I was looking for stability that ships didn’t provide.

Soon after returning to Seattle, I chose to join the Seattle Men’s Chorus. I needed a creative outlet in my life.

And that was the choice that made all the difference. It is their love and support that I lean on.

Friends, who choose to live their dream, each day. And friends who support me, in living mine.

It took a decade, but I understand now that HIV is not a death sentence, but only an inconvenience.

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I no longer live in doubt. I no longer live in fear. I embrace what seems larger than life.

And today I walk boldly through the door that MCBS provides, confident and ready to create my future.

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My time has come to unleash experiential awe in the world, and help others achieve the same.

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NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

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