"Media, Self, and Society." When deciding between scholars courses, I was definitely the most intrigued by this title, mostly because I was unsure as to what it meant. Naturally, I assumed that this course title was just one of those fancy titles that the university used, but I could not have been further from the truth. I understood that we would be learning about the role of media in our lives, but I most definitely did not understand that I would be learning the importance of each of these three words, and how they would all contribute so immensely to my college experience, not to mention my growth over the past year and a half. Between our in-class (and zoom) discussions, watching the news recap each class, guest speakers, and countless activities that allowed us to analyze our relationship with media, I have learned that media is most literally the fuel to the fire that is my life. At first, I learned more about "Media." This was more in-depth than what I had known about social media, the news, the internet, so on and so forth, but the lessons on media came pretty easily to me, in comparison to both "Self," and "Society." Sometimes, we fail to realize how much of an impact something may have on our lives until we take a step back and take a deeper look. These past three semesters as a member of the Media, Self, and Society program have essentially been my "step back," and I now have a deeper appreciation (sometimes a distaste as well) for how much media truly influences my life. I believe that this analysis definitely encompasses the "Self" in the title of the course because I have not only learned about media but understood its personal impact. "Society" came to me at the latest. For the past semester and a half, we have learned how to adapt to life during a pandemic, in which a sense of community was all we longed for. The focus of class definitely shifted to better understanding how media can bring society together, just as well as how it could tear one apart. I feel so lucky to know that I was a part of this program and that we were able to keep each other semi-sane during these difficult times. On a bit more literal of a level, this program has taught me to be more aware of my surroundings and to critically analyze how the world around me is perceived through media. I had never realized how detrimental fake news can be society. I have a very strong memory of my second semester, in CPMS 101, learning about the COVID-19 virus. We learned that countless news sources were reporting incorrect information, about death and survival rates, as well as how the virus itself is spread. This taught me to always fact-check my sources, and make sure that I have been fully informed before spreading any type of information. This ended up coming in way more handy than I had predicted, as the coronavirus quickly took over our lives, and every news source had different information about the country’s next steps. This leads me to the point that media itself can be extremely harmful. As destructive as fake news can be to the general public, social media can be just as harmful to any single person or specific group of people. This past June, an instagram trend, #blackouttuesday, took over the platform, in which we were all instructed to post a black square on our personal pages, with the associated hashtag, to stand in solidarity with the Black community. This proved to be counterproductive, as the point was actually to not post anything at all on social media, so that Black voices could be heard rather than silenced. By the same token, social media can be helpful and productive. Right after blackout tuesday, I designed a shirt in which 100% of the proceeds would be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. I was able to use my platform to donate a total of over $6,000 to these organizations, which allowed for me and my instagram followers to show our support in a better way than clouding our Instagram feeds with counterproductive black boxes. As much as I knew social media was relevant in my life before media scholars, I hadn’t realized how much of a critical consumer and producer of media I was. To me, this means being active on both sides of the media. I am certainly not passive on social media, as I am constantly interacting with others’ posts, as well as receiving some large levels of engagement on my personal posts. I have learned that social media can most literally dictate our lives, and has a decent amount of control on our lives. Just as well, we have the power to dictate social media rather than letting it have an upper hand on our lives, which was wild to discover. During my time as a media scholar, I have certainly been challenged, by both myself and others. After most of our lectures and discussions, I found myself reflecting on my own beliefs, and sometimes modifying them as well. A memory that sticks out in particular is when we began discussing the 2020 election. While I was confident in my political beliefs, I had never really taken the time to break down my beliefs, and understand why I was compelled to feel the way I did about certain issues. Being a member of the scholars community opened my eyes to diving deeper into my own thoughts and opinions, not necessarily changing them, but certainly understanding them on a more profound level. Now, three semesters later, I find myself thoroughly analyzing myself on decisions and beliefs on the daily, without being prompted by someone else. One really special aspect of being a member of the Scholars community is that we get to spend our first year in a living-learning environment. During Scholars orientation, I became friends with five other members of the program, all of whom are still my best friends to this day. Not to mention that we have gone on to form a solid and larger group of friends as we each met more members of College Park Scholars. I am so thankful that we were able to all live and learn together, and that I was able to make real and authentic friendships as a Media Scholar, rather than just becoming acquainted with my classmates. Without a doubt, my learning was aided by these friendships. I was able to work on countless group projects with my friends who were in the Media program, and would have amazing and meaningful conversations about what I learned in class with members of other Scholars programs, where I would also learn what they had discussed in class. The living-learning community of Scholars is the most amazing benefit of becoming a member of this program, without a doubt. I consider myself extremely lucky to say that I feel I have made a contribution to the Media, Self, and Society Program. Each and every class, I have tried to add my opinions into the discussion, and have tried my best to lift up other members of the community, which I feel is extremely important in the Scholars environment. Of course, if the last semester and a half were in person, I hope I would have been able to make a greater contribution. However, I am still proud to say that my voice has helped to impact the community, among the voices of my classmates as well. As my time as a Media Scholar comes to an end, I know that I will use what I have learned both in class, and outside of the classroom within my community, to further my education, and advance both my professional and personal lives. I have learned how we can use the media to our advantage, to improve our lives, and how we can prevent the media from destroying us and our society. I plan to use these lessons in my daily life, so that they stick with me. I would never want to forget the meaningful lessons I have learned as a scholar, not to mention what my peers have taught me. I believe that the biggest lesson I have learned, is that being a part of a community is one of the best opportunities one can have, and that any time I have a chance to do so, or to form my own community, I should take advantage of the opportunity. Being a Marketing major, with a hopeful minor in innovation and entrepreneurship, I know that community will be my greatest advantage, because you never know what you can learn from others. I am so thankful for these past three semesters, and I can’t wait to see where the connections and lessons I have made and learned will take me.
MOVING INTO MY FRESHMAN YEAR DORM!
SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS AND I IN DC FOR THE SCHOLARS TRIP TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
MY BEST FRIENDS (WHO I MET AND SCHOLARS ORIENTATION) AND I SAYING GOODBYE BEFORE WINTER BREAK