In the Movie

This weekend I was able to go back home for my family's annual Halloween weekend. Every year around Halloween time, my siblings and I all travel home to have a family fun filled weekend. Every year we go to Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights. Now, this is in California and if you don't know what it is, basically you pay to go to a theme park at night to walk through themed mazes to have people scare you. It is truly the scariest thing ever because it feels like you are actually in a scary movie and things jump out at you. Every year I ask myself why I do it and every year, I have the most fun because there is not only a thrill about getting scared but there is so much fun in watching people get scared. As I was walking around getting scared, I realized the tremendous effect that movies have had. I mean, here I am walking through this "Stranger Things" maze where it looks exactly like the house and I'm getting scared by the actual scary creatures from the show. I mean there is a whole night dedicated to scaring people from people in movies or TV shows. This made me realize how much  movies can effect us and people. Movies have a power to make us feel things or see things differently and I think that it is important to notice these influences and try to be more observant and involved consumers of media and think about how movies influence us in good or bad ways because there are always both types of influences. I think there is such a power in media and we have to acknowledge it.

FaceTime

I absolutely love Face Time. In reality, I don't love looking at my own face or having to hold a camera so close to it, but I do love the faces on the other side of the screen. Every Sunday it is tradition in my family to FaceTime. I love FaceTime so much because while I talk to these family members more than just once a week through calling or texting, I always love at least one time to see them. I feel that it really makes a difference to be able to see peoples faces and be able to connect with them even when you are far apart from them. While being at school, I always feel closer to my parents after our FaceTime calls because I feel that I have a more honest and intimate conversation with them. Also, I feel like FaceTime allows us to be more vulnerable or more open to conversations and I feel that whether I am actually venting or just talking to them, I always feel better after these calls. How amazing is technology that we are now able to do this on a device that we can carry around with us at all times. It is amazing how much the cell phone has changed in my lifetime and to be honest, I don't feel that I am as appreciative as I should be. So, I just wanted to say how appreciative I am for this technology and how much it really has made a difference in my life.

My Background Noise

This week was a crazy busy week. With midterms starting and papers being due what feels like every other day, I feel bombarded and overwhelmed with all that I have to get done. This past week I feel like I have done nothing but go to class and do homework- it has been quite a week. Amongst all my studying, I'm the kind of person who likes background noise (except for when I'm reading) when I'm doing work. Like I've mentioned before, I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to silence when I could have music or the TV on. This week ,TV has been my background noise and primarily they have been reality shows or one other show: The Office. There are a couple shows that I watch at night with my husband but when I need some background noise- The Office is where it is at. Now I have watched this show so many times but I just never get tired of it! It still makes me laugh and I still get the same happy feeling when Jim and Pam finally get together and cringe whenever Michael says something that is just hard to hear. But I love it. This has made me reflect on how TV shows can really impact our lives. My first memories of The Office are when I was younger and actually watched it with my family as the episodes came out on TV. Another memory is when I watched the whole thing on Netflix during the summertime. Another is when I watched it with my cousins for their first time. And now I'm watching it again as a senior in college. I feel like I have grown up with The Office and it is amazing how much media, especially TV shows can go with us through life. This is an amazing realization I had this week that sometimes it is in the things we watch that can trace back to wonderful memories. There are so many positives to media and I'm grateful for The Office and how I've been able to have it with me as I've grown up.