Children's Books

I know I talked about books in my last post but I really wanted to share this experience with you all. For one of the online classes I am taking I have been volunteering at a retirement home for the past several months. This last weekend, during my volunteer hour, I brought some award winning Children's Books and poetry to read to the residents. I happened to be volunteering right during the BYU football game and lets just say I learned very quickly that the elderly are as energetic about sports as anyone I know. However, there was one resident named Marg that was much more interested in the books I brought to read than the game. She and I found a quiet place and I read to her for about an hour. We enjoyed looking and the pictures and talking about the stories. This experience reminded me of how grateful I am for media's ability to bring people together.  

Harry Potter

I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series again recently and I am just LOVING it!!! I'm on book 5 right now, The Order of the Phoenix. I have always loved books, they are one of my very favorite forms of media. I tend to read when I want a fully immersive experience that will pull my mind away from the world around me so completely that I forget my worries. I think books do this better then any other type of media because they require active brain power because you have to actually read the story and require complete utilization of your imagination. There is not any space left in your mind to think or worry about anything else. Although I much prefer the Harry Potter books to the movies, I have definitely seen all of the movies several times. This experience is interesting because as I am reading the books I can hear the voices of the actors from the movie in my mind and see their faces. This creates an interesting blend of media that often leaves me reading and thinking in a British accent for hours after I put down the book.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I recently have started watching the T.V. show Friends. I had an extremely stressful week and spent a couple of hours watching the show as an escape from my stressors. I find that media often serves as a distraction from difficult or stressful situations. Friends is a funny show without a lot of stressful or emotionally intense content which makes it perfect for decompressing at the end of a stressful day.