My Media Diet

The media I mostly rely on stories, music, and YouTube. Music influences my mood which affects the way I see the world. If I am in a bad mood, I am less open to what is around me; I focus more on myself rather than others or what is going on around me. However, If I listen to an upbeat song, I will become happier and see the world as a brighter place; I will not be as closed off and will seem more inviting to others, as well as feel more inviting. There are also emotional songs that will affect my mood and will put me in between a bad mood and a happy one. These songs usually calm me, not just make me happy. The calmer I am the less judgy I am (which usually is not much) and the more I am willing to do. In doing more, I am opening the possibilities to who I meet, what will happen (the outcome), and new things. One recent example of how music affected my mood is when my family made me upset. I went up to my room and started listening to music that was both emotional and upbeat to calm my self (distract me from thinking about it) and make me happier. Before listening to the songs, I did not want to do anything at all; however, afterwards, I was more interested in doing things with my friends instead of laying in bed bed all day on my phone.

On YouTube, I generally listen to music or watch funny videos. As said before, the music affects my mood and my outlook on the world. Funny videos do this too. Just like anyone else, they make me laugh which makes me happier. For example, recently I have been watching ‘Fluffy’ Gabriel Iglesias videos. The jokes Fluffy makes are true stories and he delivers them perfectly. He also adds sound effects (he does himself, no equipment) that enhance his performance.I think this is one of the main things that stands out about him. Out of the videos I have seen of comedians, not many do these sounds effects and I can not compare anyone to Fluffy. I also watched a video where a group of men were ‘synchronized swimming’ on a stage instead of in water. I think what stands out in this video, besides it being funny, it that it is relatable. I personally have never participated in synchronized swimming, but I can imagine myself doing it which can be just as important to an audience as having experienced it first hand.

Over the years, I have begun to read more and more stories. I first started out with books like The Uglies Series: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras, The Flawed Series: Flawed, Perfect, and To Kill a Mockingbird. After, I found Episode and Wattpad where I would read stories about romance in gangs, fan-fictions, and fantasy stories about werewolves and vampires. What draws me to these are the fact that I have an interest in the topics. The Uglies and Flawed series both have female protagonists that have to stand up against society for what they believe in. Both series are based in a dystopian society. On the other hand, I have always loved fantasy since I was little and that love stayed with me as I grew older. It could also be the romance aspect to them. Most vampire and werewolf stories nowadays have at least a little aspect of romance to them. This would also tie in what attracts me to stories about romance in gangs. As for fan-fictions, they are taking characters I already know and love and continuing their story. Fan-fictions are also often crossovers; so more characters that I love get to meet each other and I get to see how they interact with one another. When reading a story, I also love when the author includes comedy.