Making a good short film is harder than it sounds. You have to tell a story that should be as effective as watching a feature, only with a tenth of the running time (ideally speaking, 7-12 minutes). Within the first few seconds, you have to capture the audience's attention, or else they'll check out. What usually makes or breaks a short is the script. You can have the best production value and cinematography ever, but if your script sucks, no bells and whistles can hide that.
In this case, "I Had a Heart Once" has an interesting premise, but it plays out in a heavy-handed and uninteresting way. You've seen it before: Struggling protagonist goes off on a monologue about life, which gets intercut with shots of him in his new lifestyle, topped off with a melodramatic soundtrack in the background. It's been done before, and the performance by lead Rohan Mead isn't particularly convincing or moving to pull off the film's emotional angle. I'm not saying this to be harsh. As a film student myself, I understand how difficult it is to make a good short, but I would be lying if I said this was refreshing, new, and bold.
Director Josh Lewis obviously put his time and effort into the film - the cinematography is especially nice - but I can't quite say the film worked. However, that's perfectly fine. Lewis still has many years to learn his craft and to improve as a director.