The Reason Behind the Show

Today in class we discussed a variety of theories and the ways they look at forms of media. Specifically the outcomes of what media can have on a person or society and what hidden reasoning lies beneath the surface. One of the theories is called Uses and Gratifications. Basically, you watch a television show or movie because you are trying to fill a need that you have for yourself. It can either be to hide behind a relationship with someone in the show, or to deal with some traumatic emotional situation.

This really got me thinking about why I find myself so hooked and obsessing over certain TV series or being in the mood to watch a specific chick-flick. There have been times in my life where the dating game has not gone too well, and instead of dealing with the "real life boys," I focus in on a relationship that is developing between characters somewhere else. There's always the classic Nicholas Sparks movies that we are all dying to watch when we want to see the sappy (and predictable) love between a couple. And when you just can't seem to find the perfect man, we resort to watching Pride & Prejudice, and fall back in love with Darcy. A problem that comes from this sort of "obsession" with finding fictitious love in media, is that we then get an unrealistic view of how it is in real life. And yet, we still fill our time with searching for romance inside the media. The media industry has gotten their hands wrapped around the emotions of women, and quite frankly its difficult to fight against them.

Media Fast Fail

For our class we were challenged to go 24 hours without media. That means no computer, cellphone, television, music, etc. I figured it would be easy enough to try it out. Boy was I wrong. For two days I was going to start the morning good and make it through with no form of media. However, the rest of either day did not go as planned. Things came up that resulted in me using my phone or computer. And driving up to Ogden was going to be a very boring ride without music.

I was thinking about this and how difficult it has become to "survive" without some form of media. It is becoming extremely easy to allow it to overtake our lives. In class yesterday we did a little self-survey to see how much media we actually use throughout our days. Yeah....my hours were higher than I wanted them to be. It can be hard to fight the use of media. So instead, my goal for this semester is to try and use media more for good. I'm going to find ways where I feel like I'm benefiting from using media and not just wasting my time away. We'll see how it goes.

Blogging is back!

It's been a little while since I've posted anything on my blog. 2 years is a long time, but better late than never right? Having a smart phone, it just seems easier to use Instagram instead of taking time getting onto a computer. However, I'm taking a media class at school this semester and we get to blog about thoughts, experiences, interactions, etc. that we have with media. So for the time being, this blog will take a break from the normal daily activities of my life, and focus more on the media that sadly takes up a lot of my time :).

I did it!

I have successfully completed a 5K. Nicole and I had been wanting to do one, but it was getting hard to work around schedules. So we decided to put on our own with Jeffery's family. And some of our family came as well. It was so much fun, and felt great. Let's just say, now Nicole and I are for sure going to do another one, and one day we shall work towards a marathon or half marathon.......one day.

P.S. I had my 21st Birthday last week. *gasp*

Warm Weather = Forgetful Brain

So, I've been meaning to update this thing, but the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. 60s and 70s! Which leads me to play outside and enjoy the sun, leaving me to forgetting to get on and put up some pictures. But now the time has come. As usual, most these pictures below will consist of my darling little niece, but that's okay, because pictures of her are way more fun to look at than of me.
This little girl has started eating solids
My Uncle Marcus got married this weekend, wahoo! It was such a beautiful day for a wedding!

The End of Another Year

Wow; a whole month has flown by since my last post. December was packed full of things happening; both good and bad.

-I survived my first semester at BYU, and actually did alright.

-My family and I had to make an unexpected trip to Seattle the week before Christmas to attend my Grandpa's funeral (a cough that he had turned out to be a lung disease, and after a week in the hospital he passed away. But we're making it through).

-Brandon and Diana surprised the family and showed up for Christmas.

-Grandma Horne fell on Christmas Eve and broke her hip. So we spent some time visiting her in the hospital; and now in a physical therapy rehab center up in Bountiful.

-I spent New Year's Eve with Nicole, Jeffery, Kate, and some friends.

-I spend lots of time in Bountiful with a handful of my favorite people ;). (Kate is so adorable and we are discovering that she has such a fun personality. While in Seattle she began talking to herself, all the time, its awesome. I love her.)

-Did some wedding luncheon fun with Marcus and Janalyn.

-Work, work, and more work.

-And I have now begun Winter semester; so I might disappear from the world again...

But for pure enjoyment, pictures from this past month:

This pretty much sums up exactly how we are at 6 o'clock in the morning; the missionaries are still surprised we are this awake...

The fantastic quilt that I made Kate for Christmas. (Ignore the bad quality of the picture; it is from my old phone)

Merry Christmas to you from baby Kate.

She began holding on to her toys.

Kate learned how to drive on her way to Seattle?

Kate did awesome for the car ride. Towards the end she started getting a little fussy; we discovered that the TV calms her down, hmmm.

My old stomping grounds. Good old Everett.

Dad with all his girls.

I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause.

Kate got a visit from Santa.

Her face is priceless.

Smiley girl.

Growing up way too fast.

Pro.

Happy New Year to all!

Happy Thursday!

What made this Thursday such a happy one? Brandon had a layover in Salt Lake, so we went up and visited him after having dinner with the Keller clan. I miss Brandon and Diana. Looks like there is a much needed trip to San Fransisco :).

So happy!