Filmed and Directed by Anthony Quezada. Written and Narrated by Gregory J Macias. Music “Smoke” provided by Gavin Greenway. A film about a journey to find self love.
Prologue
My journey began on August 20, 2016. I remember like it was yesterday. It was the day that the universe positioned me to hit rock bottom. I was alone and scared. I felt as if I had loss everything that I had worked so hard to keep. What I understand now is that I had to lose it all for me to awaken. You see, sometimes we get trapped in our own world of pain and suffering. We begin to use any means necessary to keep us there, so much so that it just seems normal. I had allowed myself to fall trap to numbing my existence because of what I might have discovered. What I found is that I didn't love myself. I wasn’t happy with who I had become. I believe that God intervened in a harsh but necessary way. Nothing was easy at first. Spending time with myself I realized I had forgotten who “I” was. I lived my life for everyone else but me. It sounds noble when you say it aloud but not knowing who you are is devastating. You can have all the friends, family, and support, but still feel extremely lonely. I felt a deep sadness inside. I looked for the validation of others to supply my happiness, but once they were gone I was left to deal. So, I decided to take charge. I sought therapy. I stopped the numbing and I gave myself an opportunity to be awake. I began to run. I ran aimlessly for a while. I ran to cry out my emotions. Every step forward was another step of leaving the past and hurt behind. Soon I found that I wasn’t alone; I was being led. I am not a deeply religious person, but I found God on the road. He led me to parts of the city that I had never fully appreciated. So I started to photograph my journey. “Step after step, mile after mile, I found my therapy.” I was rebuilding myself. I was learning to love again, but this time it was self love. With every run was another great image. Some images took many miles to capture, but in the end, they were all worth it. I was converting my struggle into something positive. I decided what better way to prove to myself that I had what it takes than to endure 26.2 miles of pain. I knew in my heart that at the end of my 26.2 mile journey that something magical would happen. I met up with an amazing director/cinematographer friend and we decided to document the whole thing. At first we aimlessly shot footage of me running, but it was on a special night that KEEP ON RUNNING was written. It was from my heart. It was from my soul. It was my story.
Today I continue to run, not with any marathon in mind, nor do I even set a distance goal. I run because I love it. I run to remind myself that I am blessed and gifted with all that the universe has to give me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Most importantly, I run to meet God out on the road. And till this day, he is still leading me to the perfect spot, at the perfect time, to capture his beauty. I found love in all things, but most importantly I found love in myself. “For what’s the point of living if we’re not living to love? Keep on running, trust me you’re worth it.”