“Who are we as individuals?  As a society?  As a species?  And more importantly, where are we going?  What should we be?  What can we be?”  These are the questions that inform my writing.  After three decades in public education, spending day after day working with young people, I find myself asking these questions more and more.  And the stories I write – as well as the ones I read and watch – bring meaning to the answers. Much of my writing contains sci-fi elements (or something mystical or fantastic), mainly because most science fiction stories are about people:  who they are, how they interact with each other, how they overcome problems, and how they improve themselves and their worlds.  And yeah, the aliens and spaceships and special effects are cool, too.  But my hope is that after reading (or, one day, watching) my stories, I want the discussion to start – over dinner, or drinks, or frozen yogurt, or whatever – and go back to the questions of what we would do in the protagonist’s shoes, and why.  Film is a medium that can be both escapist and philosophical at the same time. It’s said that writing is a lonely endeavor.  But writing – screenwriting, especially – is really more of a group activity.  Once the script is written, a community must bring that story to the screen (big or small).  Networking, connections, and support teams are important, which is why we seek out groups like ISA:  to get our scripts out there, read, discussed, and produced.  Simon Pegg has an interesting line in the Star Trek reboot (2009), in which he describes transwarp beaming:  “It’s like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse.”  If that doesn’t describe what it’s like for a screenwriter to break into Hollywood, I don’t know what does. But we keep writing.  And learning.  And growing.  And connecting.  If you’d like to be a part of my journey, or if you need more people with you on yours, let me know.  I like to think that we’re all in this together – as individuals, as a society, and as a species.   Jack Cusick lives in Southern California with his wife, with a constantly developing sense of self, and with a weird cat.