Media Autobiography

Books: I've been reading since I was three years old. I love it! And the crazy part is, I read for fun. Unfortunately, I've been reading less and less books as life progresses. This is due to a few factors. One is that I read very quickly, so it doesn't take me long to go through books and therefore I would rather sit in a bookstore and read than actually buy some books to take home. Another thing to take into consideration is that I've been getting busier, and there has been less time to just sit and read. And finally, I must admit that I don't even know what kind of books I really enjoy. When I was younger, they were picked out for me. But now that I get to choose for myself, I don't know where to begin. All of the books I currently have are for younger readers, so the first step would be to find some for my age group.

Newspapers: To be honest, I've never read the newspaper. For my whole life up until a month ago, I lived at my mom's house and she did not subscribe to the newspaper. When I would visit my dad's house on Thursdays, he had a newspaper subscription and I always dove straight for the comics. Now that I live with my dad and have access to the Mercury News every day, I still go straight for the comics. I believe my dad mainly focuses on the sports section. I tried reading a few articles once, but I guess they just pale in comparison to the accessibility we have online these days. In regards to my high school newspaper, that was a joke. Most students didn't even know we had one, and only occasionally would a teacher pass a few copies out in class. And, like our yearbooks, they were full of short, choppy sentences and tons of misspellings that made me wonder if we even had an editor.

Magazines: Yuck. That's the first word that comes to my mind. A bit harsh, I know, but I've had limited experiences with magazines, and the ones I did grow up surrounded by were just . . . garbage, in my opinion. For example: People, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan. I'm trying my hardest right now to avoid turning this post into a rant, for I could go on and on and get completely off-topic. Between the overly-Photoshopped ads that take up most of the magazine, and the articles themselves ("10 Sexy Ways to Flirt with that Sizzlin' Summer Cutie!" "Oh My GOD Britney Spears Ordered A Pizza!" "Find Out Which Nose Hair Color Is Right For YOU!"), it's very hard to find something I'd consider caring about. I'm going to be blunt here: I really don't think it's worth knowing what certain famous people have or haven't done, or what fashions are "in". I've never gone for the whole "popular" spiel. But! To be fair! I have nothing against magazines that focus on home improvement (or decor), cooking, music, auto repair, floral arrangements, or anything else. It's just that I never was surrounded by those types of magazines throughout my life.

Movies: I like movies! They're a great form of entertainment, or good for getting a point across. A wonderful activity for yourself, or friends, or family. I used to go see movies in the theaters all the time, but now it's just too expensive for me, so I save my money for, example, a midnight showing that I have to go see. (like Pirates of the Caribbean or Harry Potter, yeah!) I don't take critics' reviews into much consideration, because they might give a movie one star but I might happen to love it. Or vice versa.

Recordings:

Radio: The radio was nice up until the invention of the iPod (or portable mp3 player, you get my point). Throughout my childhood (the 90's), I listened to one station: Mix 106.5. Now, many of those songs are on my iPod, and my friends are amused by my collection of "nineties music". The only downside to the radio was obviously the commercials, and, in my case, the talking part. Don't know what it's called. Now, I like to occasionally listen to different stations to try and find a new song I like, but mostly I listen to my iPod because there are no commercials, I like all the songs, and I can have instant gratification from choosing one particular song that's been in my head all day. The radio is great for being exposed to different things that maybe you've never experienced before.

Television: I've never watched much TV, but I do like it. I watched plenty of cartoons when I was younger, but now I watch shows with my dad that we've recorded so we can watch while we eat dinner. I only sit down and turn on the TV randomly if I want to waste time on purpose. And no, that's not me being bitter. TV is helpful to me if, say, I'm waiting for a friend to arrive, or I'm throwing a party and want 7:30 to get here faster. Just turn on the TV, and boom, instant time travel. Other than that, I like to try and find more productive things to do, such as  . . .

. . . internet! 1990 was a convenient time to be born. I love the internet, it has (maybe unfortunately) become my new addiction. There are infinite possibilities, with almost anything you could ever want. It has also made research a lot easier, if you can sort through all the sites to determine which is fact and which is fiction. The hardest part is walking away from the computer, especially if you find yourself trapped in a Wikipedian loop.