Reflection Post

It is crazy to think how fast this semester has passed. I'm writing my last media blog?? EVER?? This is crazy.

Media blogs have allowed me to created, I think, a healthy understanding of the world that surrounds me day to day. Much of that understanding is learning it in class, but media blogs have definitely contributed this thought. They are like the field work of critical thinking--it's our data.

I have noticed throughout this semester when collecting my "data," I realized this bond and new connection with media was forming. I felt incredibly proud of myself, not only for 1) recognizing this bond, but also 2) even creating this bond. It created this feeling like, "I have now developed the same tools that analysts use everyday when analyzing the media. This is cool." I liked feeling this new bond over media, as if I had conquered something, as if I finally found the "true meaning." Writing this blog now, I know I haven't ascended to new heights with my media blogs or transcended this earth with my amazing critical thinking skills. But I believe media blogs have definitely allowed me to create a new outlet, a new perspective.

Before media blogs, I consumed a lot of data. After media blogs, I still consume a lot of data. However, just because my consumption hasn't changed, that doesn't mean my awareness has either. My peers and friends and I have definitely become more aware. On the way to and from San Francisco, we were bombarded with billboards, so why not call out advertising techniques. When I'm out with friends and we see a really horribly obvious ad, we'll point it out. Just through scrolling Instagram, I can point out little things here and there. I think my media literacy has definitely gone from 0 to proficient. I actually think my classmates and I can say our media literacy improved. No one in that class came in knowing the subject matter (I mean unless someone did, you rock dude).

Even though media blogs may have been a pain in the butt sometimes, I'm really glad we had this assignment. It has allowed me to create a new outlook on our hectic, media-filled life, and even though we live in a world where media influences everything we do, there's not another world I'd rather live in.

PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUT