We got into New York late on Tuesday on went straight to NYU from the bus from Boston. We really only had one person to meet there, but that was in no way a disappointment. Sawyer was of course a connection from SDLC, but had become close friends with Morgan over the past two years and spoken with Lexie many times too. Both of us were really excited to see him in person because it had been so long.
I've never fully understood the concept of an artist finding their muse, and it's possible I'm being a bit dramatic, but now that we've spent four days in NYC with Sawyer, I get it. We've always known Sawyer to be a really amazing person, in the most honest way possible, but we never expected to be so inspired by being around him. Our project has taken many new forms throughout the trip and it would be an outright lie to say we weren't inspired by every other person we've met, but something about his stories really spoke to us. We filmed Sawyer nonstop for days, doing about nothing in particular. His entire friend group was amazing to be around and we were lucky enough to film some of them together telling us about their little family. We only wish we could have stayed longer and gotten to know each of them more, even the people we didn't really get to talk to, we know we would have loved. His friend Hala so graciously gave us her extra bed and it may seem like we're going over the top in our thank you's to people we stay with, but our equipment really spreads out and it is no small feet to give us full access to your space. Hala, you're a goddess and we are eternally grateful.
One of our favorite people, hands down, was Sawyer's roommate, Louis. He wasn't someone we interviewed or even really hung out with, but he was an experience nonetheless. We got to talk to him a lot and even ran into him at the park while waiting for others to get out of class. To quote Sawyer, "I've never had a full conversation with him where I knew... what was even going on." That sums it up really well, thanks for letting me sleep in your room Louis. Nice to meet you.
So maybe it was New York or NYU, or Sawyer, or the beautiful, eclectic group of people he surrounds himself with, but Lexie and I can't wait to get home and start editing. Hopefully someday we can go back to New York, I know I wouldn't be opposed to making an entire feature length film about the people there.
When it was time to leave the city we took the bus back to Boston and Jake, sweetheart that he is, picked us up from the bus station and brought us back to his house and ours (our car that was in his driveway). While we let the snow melt off for a bit, we sat with Jake's family eating dinner and shared stories. We honestly wish we could bring him with us. It would be an understatement to say his family reminds us that there are truly good people in this world.
