Why I Heart My Media

I believe this poem expresses great similarity to how being apart of media can feel like:

You’re still here,

in this goddamn forsaken city.

And you’re still walking,

breathing, and living,

no matter how much

it hurts inside.

You’re still you.

You’re still trying fighting,

trying to maintain-

waking up each day

and telling yourself

it’s okay,

because it is.

You’re still recovering.

You’re still realizing your worth-

no matter how many times

you’ve been let down.

YOU’RE STILL HERE, GODDAMN IT !

Young and beautiful.

Full of pain

and full of laughter.

Cold and broken

but never alone.

The struggle is real.

You are real.

What you feel is real.

– STILL HERE

Falling Toward the Moon

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Every step I have taken since I was born was documented by media.

Whether it was willingly,

 in the form of home videos my parents took of me dancing,

or unwillingly,

like gaming servers taking use of and saving my unknowing, 9-year-old self’s data.

This thought, of always being monitored, can cause fear.

I for myself, think that it can also be empowering.

Living in the age of media, we and our actions will be monitored, whether we want that or not.

So why not try to use that for our advantage?

When you know that everything you do, tweet, text someone or post

can always be traced back to you, it might inspire you to be a better person.

A person that makes wiser choices, treats the people surrounding them

better and tries to become the best version of themselves.

When you are completely aware of that, reflecting on yourself becomes easier.

Reflecting on the person you are and the person you are becoming.

Me being able to use media with that knowledge makes me heart media,

because it empowers me and makes me brave,

because I understand the person that I am better, by documenting myself and my actions,

because I would have never had the courage to speak

because I want to be proud of the actions and the parts of me that get documented by media.

Student ID: 13924451

You might say that loving media is vain. Loving media just removes the love you could give in real life situations. Loving media is a waste of time. I might have thought this once but not now. Not ever again. Especially not after experiencing loss of someone that had gone before their time.

My friend was 17 and so was I. As of now almost 3 years have passed and I have entered my 20s in a country far away from where we met. Far away from where our friendship blossomed and ended before it truly began. Far away from any place that could trigger a series of happy and nostalgic memories.

It seems that now more than ever the only way I can remind myself of times long gone is the media my friend left behind. Their undeleted Instagram profile opens up to show pictures from adventures we had together, their captions remind me of inside jokes we shared. When feeling lonely with a few clicks I open up my messages and see our chats, the ridiculous memes they shared, the school work they copied from me, the sweet messages we exchanged, the music my friend shared with me. I still see their Spotify, all of the playlists made, those they passionately told me about. One of them I like to think was possibly made for me or at least influenced by me. But the chance to tell me about it never came.

Although the pain has passed, my heart still bears a hole in a shape of a friend that can never be replaced. That’s why I have media. That’s why I love media.

Media has a power to remind me of memories and feelings that sometimes seem forgotten but that never truly are.

It’s easy for me to say that I love my media. It allows me to talk to anyone, be entertained, learn and teach others. Saying I love it is simple, and straightforward.

How I really feel about media is grateful. Grateful for everything it made me learn about myself, and all I gained from that.

Media gave me the opportunities to meet people who influenced my life through love and opportunities.
Media gave me a feeling of comfort; when feeling overwhelmed with the world, it allows me to find my niche, and learn how to cope with my own thoughts, worries, and fears.
Media helped me find my own passion in life, helped me build a goal I am motivated to work towards, due to endless possibilities they create.
Media are making me think, analyse and learn constantly, which in result, made me a better person.

I owe who I am to media.

Student ID: 13596667

Ever since I was little, I have used many forms of media.

From video games to YouTube to Instagram ect… It’s always been a part of what I have done with my day to day. A lot of it helped shape who I am today and the interests that I have, it’s help me meet people and form friendships. It’s been there to help me at my lowest and helped define some of the better days. If it wasn’t for media surely I would have become a very different person and to say if that is a good or bad thing, that’s always the question.

Overall, I’m not sure what much else I’d being doing with my life if media didn’t play a large role in my life and I’m grateful for that. And then to go on to study the things I’ve been doing nearly everyday since I was young is the little cherry on top.

student id: 13220802

I love media, because it’s a great way to learn things. Most of what I know about making media, I learned from platforms like YouTube where I found hours of tutorials on how to set up a camera with all the different settings, and how to produce videos. Nowadays YouTube is filled with different tutorials about filmmaking, so you don’t need film school anymore which is a great opportunity for people that won’t get accepted or don’t have the money for it. 

Student ID: 12873330

I grew up on a small island. Though I was very privileged, I quickly realised that most people didn’t think like me. I always had such a bold view of the world; I loved my country but I had this thirst for adventure that extended far beyond it. However, I found myself being surrounded by people who could only see within the 617 km² of our island. There were two occasions where I felt like I actually fit in. First, when I would travel and could explore the world, different cultures and people. The other way, which was more accessible, is when I used media. I was able to connect with kindred spirits; people with the same dreams, values and challenges as me. I watched others who also felt like they stood out make their place in the world and become successful. It kept me going, and assured me that no matter how alone I felt, there were others like me. If it wasn’t for media, I probably would have dimmed myself to fit in with those physically around me.

In short, I love Media, because Media made me who I am, and will continue to shape me into who I’m meant to be.

Student ID : 13598457 

Throughout history, the world has always been immersed in media. Whether it be prehistoric cave paintings or Instagram, we have lived alongside and within media for a long time. Afterall, media is anything that communicates a message therefore, by this definition, everything can be regarded as media. This means that humans have gotten acquainted with media rather well and have developed a love for it. Without delving into too much detail regarding the intricate psychological mechanisms of media, it is clear that it creates a wide range of emotions. Through this blog post I will explore the various reasons for which I love media and how it affects me.

An immense passion of mine that comes under the vast category of media, is music. My days are in a constant melange of music ranging from Robert Johnson’s delta blues to a more modern Loyle Carner. When asked the question; “What music do you listen to?”, many if not most people would answer, “A bit of everything”. It is an easy way out of a difficult question, however in mine and most people’s cases it is true. The wonderful thing about music is that it can take up an infinite amount of forms and convey an infinite amount of messages, all within a mixture of sounds and instruments. An interesting side of media is how it can portray different cultures within it and what better form of media to do this than music. 

Like all forms of media, cultural context is a key component. What i love about the cultural context within music is how it can be displayed through a sound. An example would be the classic blues riff that can be heard in so many songs such as ‘Mannish Boy’ by muddy waters, ‘No money down’ by Chuck Berry and perhaps a more famous reinterpretation in ‘Bad to the bone’ by george Thorogood. This riff is deep in the foundations of blues and it can be heard being repeated within so many classic blues songs. However, blues originated from African-American work songs developed through slavery between the seventeenth and nineteenth century. This means that many of the rhythms and beats heard in the early and modern forms of blues music originate back all the way to African music and culture. This evolution of sound through various genres of music is what makes me love it (and media in general). The simple fact that centuries of history can be told through the medium of music is astonishing. 

Student number: 13990810

i love media. it makes my life easy. simple. i can do anything with it. talk to anyone, anytime. i can watch an infinite amount of movies. listen to all kinds of music. i love it so much, i’ve almost become one with it. i rely on it for nearly everything.

its gr8 i ❤ it

BUT I H8 MEDIA. CUZ MEDIA EXPOSES US TO EVERYTHING. I FEEL SO PRESSURED TO POST A STORY ON INSTAGRAM, BUT ONCE I DO THAT EVERYONE SUDDENLY KNOWS WHAT IM DOING. IM ABSORBED BY MEDIA. MEDIA KNOWS ME BETTER THAN ANY HUMAN KNOWS ME AND MEDIA COULD DESTROY ME. BUT MEDIA DON’T LEAVE ME CUS I NEED U MEDIA 😦

Media has always been part of my life. Without even realising it, media has made me grow and shaped the person I am today. This is how important and integrated to society media is. The place media takes in my life is exponential and I love the fact it has on my life. Media connects me to people, it distracts me, informs me, teaches me all kind of things. In a few words, media makes my life better and easier.

More recently, what I particularly appreciate about media is the capacity it has to connect people. As a foreign student living in Amsterdam, I do miss my friends and family from home. Media permits me to be in permanent contact with them. It permits me to communicate, share things with them. All this is possible because of media. Bringing people closer together, even when they are physically far away from each other, is what media does. I am thankful to media for bringing my family closer together even though we are far away from each other.

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