Harvest

As I witness the bright hues of red and yellow that garnish the trees and wince at the dreariness of October weather (and the impending doom of winter), my mind is stuck on memories of fall 2006. Why? I really can’t say; it just is. There’s something in the atmosphere that reels me back to that period.

September 2006 marked my big comeback at Concordia University. Following my operation in December 2005 and having taken a semester off in the winter, I had taken a class in the summer semester as a test: I wanted to go back to school so bad, but I knew I couldn’t dive back into my studies with full force. I tested the waters, took a 7-week Literature course and got a B- (not too bad, eh?). I dropped the other course I had enrolled in to enjoy the second half of the summer and gather even more strength to return “full time” (with 3 courses) in the fall.

With the kind of motivation I had, you’d think I was getting ready to go to the Olympics. I meant business: I signed up at a gym and spent all of July and August working out three times a week. I knew that strengthening my body was key to my recovery. Let me tell you that during that first week of September, I was pumped: the Comeback Kid had a new attitude and was ready to tackle university.

The brisk wind of October, its rainy days and far too absent sunshine didn’t deter my enthusiasm. Sure, my life as a student was far from perfect; it was challenging to re-adapt to a full course load, essays, midterms and readings in spite of having health restrictions. Nevertheless, I was driven by my will to silence that annoying voice in the back of my head that couldn’t fathom how someone like me could really have a “normal” life once again, go to university, have good grades and have a future. I envision that voice to be a Debbie Downer wearing a fluorescent scrunchie and an oversized sweater with wolves printed on the front. And apparently that annoying little voice is stuck in the ‘80s, but I digress. A part of me was scared that I wouldn’t be able to really, really, have it all despite the odds. Can I really manage school, working out at the gym and being involved in my church without ending up sick on a hospital bed? Can I really finish this semester better than I finished my very first semester at Concordia?

The end of that semester was nothing short of difficult. As a matter of fact, I had a minor relapse, which included strong chest pains, fever and all that jazz. But, thank God, my professors were kind enough to let me hand in essays way past the deadlines. When I mean way past the deadlines, I ain’t kidding. I snail-mailed my research paper on the Château de Versailles to my art history professor: he sent me a heartfelt email telling me how short life is and that health is the most important thing we possess (or something like that) and he said not to worry about the deadline that I could send him my paper by Christmas and all would be well. I somehow managed to mail him my essay sometime around December 19. My Brit Lit professor told me not to worry and that I had until New Year’s Eve to email him my paper. Say what?! Okay! I actually sent him my literary analysis of the father-daughter relationship in King Lear on December 22: ain’t no way I was gonna work on that stuff over the holidays.

Needless to say, the Comeback Kid did good in the fall of 2006.

Now, five years later, I feel that I’m finally able to reap the benefits of all that hard work and sacrifice. Sure, it’s coming in drips, but it’s coming! Last Tuesday, I was on set for a photo-shoot for the magazine’s next issue. Never mind the fact that I was in charge of ironing gorgeous gowns that I can’t afford behind the scenes for an hour and a half and that I was doing the inventory of what everyone in the shoot was wearing for about two hours: my job felt real and it was awesome. Yeah, I arrived on set at 6:45 AM and left at 6 PM. I have to say that the experience was a bit surreal. When I was working in retail in 2010, giving a phony smile to customers, fetching their overpriced clothes on the racks and ironing clothes ad nauseam, the thought of working as a magazine editor cheered me up. I visualized what it would be like to be knee-deep in glamour, hobnobbing at social events and attending fashion shows. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get out of this dump and actually live this dream?”

Am I really living this dream? Even back then I knew that fashion wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be: just work in retail for a few months and you’ll see the dark underbelly of the industry. But the idea of being involved, surrounded, submerged and driven by the world of fashion in my field of work was still appealing to me. And it still is. Working behind the scenes the day of the photo-shoot really helped me appreciate every effort needed to create an electrifying atmosphere that would translate into print: the stylists, the hair and makeup artists, the choice of venue… All of these elements combined, with each person at their post doing the most amazing job picking the perfect ensemble, the right hairstyle to concord with the setting and the lighting… It may seem trivial to many, that thing called fashion and that silly medium called magazines. “All you gotta do is throw some clothes on a model, fix her face and her hair, take some pictures, and make sure she don’t look ugly.” After seeing the proofs about two hours ago, I can guarantee you that it takes more than just clothes, jewellery, shoes and makeup to create a beautiful shot. It’s an art. It takes a group of people who are obsessed with details, who see their talent to choreograph a cover spread of 15 media personalities (oh yeah, 15) as a craft and not as a mere ‘job’. It requires the patience of Job to see that vision come to life after strenuous research and preparation.

The world of fashion and magazine ain’t no joke and it sure ain’t for the faint-hearted.

With all that backbreaking, mind-numbing work behind the scenes, there is plenty of room left to thoroughly enjoy the fruit of one’s labour. When you observe the photographer working that lens, when you bask in the laid-back vibe of the shoot itself, when you wave goodbye to the people you worked with at the end of the day and can’t wait to work with them again, then you know that all that hard work was not in vain.

Every element comes together beautifully, as it should, in harmony.

This season of my life is truly a time for harvest.

"Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,

and righteousness looks down from heaven./

The LORD will indeed give what is good,

and our land will yield its harvest."

            - Psalm 85:11-12