Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

I turn over as Crazy Town’s “Butterfly” blares out of my cell phone and I turn off the alarm that wakes me every day of the week. I turn on my computer as I am waking up, getting dressed, and putting books in my bag for class. I check multiple sites on the internet including myUMBC, Yahoo! e-mail, Facebook, and MySpace. I attend my classes where I talk to my friends and professors. As I walk back to my dorm from my classes I call someone on my cell phone, usually my mom or my boyfriend. After getting home, I turn on my television and Xbox 360. On the video game console I connect to Xbox Live which allows me to exchange text, voice, and picture messages to other gamers all over the world. I talk to my boyfriend over the Xbox using a private chat feature while I play Two Worlds. Later, I go to dinner in the dining hall with my roommate where I pick up an edition of the New York Times. After dinner, my suitemates and a few friends from my floor watch a DVD, Scary Movie 4. As I work on some reading and homework for Biology, I also talk to my boyfriend over the Xbox again. I fall asleep with my microphone and controller right next to me.

In a typical day, as described above, I use many different forms of media everyday. When I was six years old, the variety of media I used was much different. At six years old, I didn’t have a cell phone, and I hardly ever used the internet. I have evolved my use of media greatly as I have grown up. I watch more than just sitcoms and CSI- type shows, now I watch the news. My change in media habits has definitely been affected by many people.

My mother and father obviously affected my habits by buying me a cell phone and also by encouraging me to watch something with substance, like the news. Others, such as my friends, furthered my love of video games, which led me to get an Xbox 360. Other people have influenced my media habits in smaller, less significant ways.

I try very hard to not have personal media biases, however I know it’s almost impossible to not have them. While I will watch both Fox News and CNN, I find sometimes I will skew my opinion of what is reported based on who is reporting it. I know Fox is more conservative whereas CNN is more liberal, so I always have that in mind while analyzing the news.

In the future, I don’t think video games will be as important to me, and I feel that the technology of cell phones, internet, and TV is still evolving and will change how everyone utilizes media. Right now though, my media habits are mostly revolving around my entertainment and education.

All About Me

My name is April Armstrong and I am a freshman at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I am currently undecided on my major, but I am considering a focus on Psychology. I graduated early from Joppatowne High School, and I took a semester of classes at Harford Community College. I now live on campus here at UMBC, and I am very excited to be here.

I have wanted to attend UMBC since I visited the university in fourth grade on a field trip with a school club. I returned to the college when my sister decided to enroll at UMBC, and I realized it was the school for me. After being accepted into three different schools, I chose this university.

I signed up for the Introduction to Media Studies class to fulfill a culture credit, and also it seemed to be a very interesting subject. I love the modern forms of media, such as television, movies, video games, and music, so the class greatly appealed to my interests. Even though the class seems quite intensive, it also captures my attention. I hope to have a great deal of fun and I hope to learn numerous new thoughts and ideas. When I finish this class, and ultimately when I graduate, my goal is to be qualified to obtain a superior career. I hope this class makes me appreciate the media more, and understand the difference between what has bad bias and what is acceptable.

Ever since January of 2007, I have worked at Hollywood Video in Bel Air, MD. I chose to work there because of my obsession with movies and games. I not only get to talk about films as part of my job, but I get free rentals on everything in the store. I always thought I watched a lot of movies, but I recently realized there are still so many I should see. Some of my favorites are Kill Bill Volumes 1 &2, Moulin Rouge, and The Princess Bride. Most people think girls don’t play video games, but I am practically a “video game goddess.” I have the Xbox 360, Playstation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube. Gaming is actually an enormous part of my life.

I have some other interests besides movies and games; I enjoy traveling, reading, and drawing. I have traveled to many of the states in America, and I have also visited Canada. Some of my favorite places are California, North Carolina, and Florida – probably because I find the ocean to be one of my favorite places to be. I hope to eventually travel to Europe and Asia. I am fascinated by the art from Italy and France and intrigued by the culture of Japan. In fact, I especially am interested in manga, Japanese comics, and I even attempt to draw some myself. One day I hope to voyage across the world and see many sites.

As Porky the Pig says, “That’s all folks!”