Growing up my parents never really allowed me to interact with the media. I was always making up imaginary storylines and playing with my friends. My parents would take me and my sister camping, hiking, and put us in every sport imaginable. The only form of digital media I had was a DS (I love my DS and still use it today) which I could only use on long plane/car rides or at my sister’s gymnastics meets. This never bothered me though. I was a crazy energetic girl who just wanted to dance and run around. I had no time to sit and stare at a screen… But then I entered middle school and got my first phone and digital media entered my life.
Media has been so useful and amazing in my life. The first reason why I love the media is because I love food. I use my phone everyday to look up recipes and my love for baking was heavily influenced by Food Network/YouTube. My endless scrolling through baking tutorials and online blogs has helped me develop new skills and has helped create some of the most mouthwatering desserts. Not only has media inspired me in the kitchen, but media has also enabled me to learn so much more about the world and other cultures and I am so thankful for that. I grew up in a tiny town which was pretty conservative. With the use of my phone/media I was able to branch out of my tiny town and explore other places. I was also able to find communities online that were way more accepting then the people I was surrounded by in my town. Along with learning about other places and finding new communities, I was able to use my media to meet so many new friends. For example before coming here to Amsterdam, I used my media to reach out to people and make friends who were also coming to Amsterdam. This made my journey here so much less stressful knowing I would have friends here already and it made me excited to come and meet my friends in real life. Digital media also allows me to stay in contact with family. My sister is in Hungary, my parents in America, I am in Amsterdam, and the rest of my family are scattered everywhere in between. With the use of FaceTime we never feel too far away. I mean it is not the same as seeing each other in person, it is still so amazing to be able to see my parents from across the globe. So I guess what I am trying to say is that I love media and I am so happy it is in my life.
-Alexa Baksay (13752847)
Why I Heart My Media 