How does one even begin to write a blog? There seems to be so much pressure- will the writing entice the reader? Will it be interesting? Funny? Epic? Tragic? Will I be able to attract you with my first few words?

If I’m being completely honest, I’ll admit, I don’t really know. What I do know is that I’m writing this blog for a school assignment...but that although mandatory, in the history of my education, this may be one of my favourite assignments I’ve ever had to complete (and that’s about 18 years worth...) Seriously! Why? Maybe because I love writing. And writing with a purpose? Writing while opening up a forum to talk about issues and ideas that are important to you with similarly (or not so similarly) passionate people? How exciting! That’s a gift.

So where to begin? I guess first I should introduce myself. My name is Kiran and I am a first year Creative Communications student at Red River College. Before this, I attended both the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. I have a double major in Communications and Psychology. I decided to come to Red River because at the end of the day, I really want to be a journalist....or a broadcaster...or to just have a show that’s named the Kiran Show (run similarly to the Oprah show). Anyways, Red River and this program seemed to be the best avenue to follow that dream, at least in Winnipeg, and I am thrilled to be a part of the program.

In order to enrol though, I had to do something that I’d been dreading. Quitting my fabulous job. I have just spent the past 15 months working at Manitoba Film and Music as a Locations Services Coordinator. Basically, MBFM is the province’s Film Commission and my job was intricate, stressful, hard...but exciting, exhilarating, and challenging all at once. I spent a lot of time reading feature film scripts and analyzing them. I’d then create packages for offshore producers in which I matched the locations in the scripts with different locations in Manitoba that could double for the script’s locations. Once that was done, I was in constant communication with the producers...basically convincing them to film their movie in our province. Then, when producers came to the province to get a feel for what we could offer, it was my job to take them around, schmooze, get them familiar with the province and our locations, and entice them to shoot their movie here. It was a hard, time sensitive, detail oriented, and difficult job...but it was an amazing experience that I loved. I had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest people I’ve ever met.

In order to keep my job though, I worked full time during the day and did full time night school at the U of W so that I could still finish my degree. This lead to quite a difficult year for me but one in which I learnt a lot. That being said, I was glad to shift gears and go back to just being a student this year. I’m excited to focus solely on this program and have fun while I’m at it (I’ve taken up a part time waitressing job on the side! I’ll let you know how it goes!)

So where does that leave me now? What kind of a person am I really? I guess this leads me to the topic of my blog (if you’re still interested! :)). I thought a lot about it...and decided finally to write about the thing that I know the most about; love.

Now I know, I’m young...how much could I possibly know about this vast, intricate, and complicated topic? I’ll admit...not everything. That being said, I find myself always being asked for advice on the topic. I realize that I am no expert and I know that most of the time, people come to me with their problems just because I love to listen (and who doesn’t like to talk while someone truly listens?) But because of my listening skills and the fact that I am a hopeless romantic, I think I’ve acquired enough information about love to make it my blog topic. I’ll be writing about all kinds of love: relationships (good and bad), platonic love, companionate love, familial love, and movies, songs, books, and experiences that pertain to it. Every post I’ll explore another issue, problem, or experience that relates to love and find some way to dissect the issue! Sound passionate? Well good... I am :)