Who's ready to binge on Netflix?

Alright everyone, it is almost the end of the semester! Traditionally at the end of each semester, my husband and I sit around for a couple days and binge on Netflix. It is very great to be able to sit, do nothing, and especially not think about anything. My husband would argue that it is the best way to unwind and recuperate from the semester. While I agree, I do think it gives you that empty feeling after not doing anything productive (I have probably mentioned this in a previous post). However, I will still engage in the Netflix bingeing! :)

Any suggestions of what shows to watch?

Cell Phone Over the Years

I find it very interesting to reflect on what my cell phone is to me now compared to when I was in high school. 

In high school, my phone was really important in terms of being social. I would always be calling or texting. It helped me stay in the loop and close to my best friends. 

Now days, my cell phone is more about a means to an end in terms of communication. I don't text or call people often, perhaps only if I am texting to find out where my husband is, or calling to catch up with my family, since I moved far away from home. I now use it more for other things like the Internet, apps, or directions for when I am traveling. 

As my priorities changed, so did my cell phone habits. I would definitely say that I am not as attached to my cell phone as I was in high school. However, I would say that my cell phone is more interwoven into my life. 

My cell phone has interwoven into my life in two main ways. The first being, it is one of the primary ways I communicate with my family, and second, that it holds apps that I use daily like my Alarm, Mint, Fitbit, Email, and Google Calendar. 

Even though I don't feel anxious if I am not on my cell phone, I would say I would feel lost if I didn't have it. After reflection, I am surprised how dependent I have become to my cell phone, since I thought I had become more independent of it. It's crazy to think how my cell phone habits have evolved and how it continues to be an important part of my life. 

Easter #Hallelujah

It is that time of year again! I love to color eggs, and I have fond memories of participating in easter egg hunts with my family. As I have gotten older though, I have realized that easter is not all about the Easter Bunny. This is a time of the year that we can reflect on our Savior and be more aware of his sacrifice for each and everyone of us. Since I am not very elegant with words, here is the Mormon Message for this Easter because they know how to exactly what to say to make you feel the spirit. :)   

I am so grateful for the media and for the messages that can be conveyed through it. 

Happy Easter Everyone!  #Hallelujah

Redbox Adventures

Over this weekend I convinced my husband to get a Redbox, whoohoo! Since we have Netflix, he doesn't think we should rent movies because we have tons of options on Netflix...Which I mean it does, but it doesn't have many new movies. So I got him to splurge and get a Redbox with me. :)

I picked out The Scorch Trials. 

I picked this out because we had watched the first movie about a year ago, and we liked it, so we should like the sequel right? 

So with no background knowledge of what it is about, we rented it. Then we find out, it is pretty much a zombie movie...

At first I thought no big deal, but as the night went on, I realized my husband and I were really sensitive to this zombie thing.

I grew up watching scary stuff and being exposed to this type of stuff in the media. However, the last four years I mostly cut out scary movies from my life and definitely haven't watched or been a part of this zombie phase that has come about. There is zombie phase right now, right? Like Walking Dead and Warm Bodies? Well at least I think there is, haha, if not I am way out of the loop! 

Back to my point, I was really surprised by the feelings I had when watching this. I was definitely senstive to the concept and it made me feel uncomfortable. That being said, I learned my lesson and I will start looking up movies before I rent them blindly! 

Cute and Funny Videos to Help You Get Through the Week

This week was pretty crazy for me. I did a lot of studying this week, and also a lot of "Facebook" breaks. When I am studying, sometimes I just hop over to Facebook for a few minutes to clear my head and give myself a breather from studying. Here are some cute and funny videos that I came across:

This is probably my favorite, watch it! :) --> https://www.facebook.com/redfmindia/videos/1025916024140329/

So I obviously got a soft spot for animals, but it definitely cheered me up when I was bogged down from studying. Hope they bring a little joy into your lives!

Thoughts on Miss Representation

After watching Miss Representation it got my wheels turning and it reminded me of this video:

The documentary and video opened my eyes to the messages people in our society are sending, without even realizing it. It is something that is so ingrained into our lives and that seems normal and not wrong. I will definitely be more conscious of what I say and I hope that I can teach my future children that they are not confined to what society subliminally teaches them.

Violence in Vampire Diaries and The Originals

I am a Vampire Diaries Fan, so I thought I would try out watching The Originals, a spin off series. I would definitely say that Vampire Diaries is violent, but having not seen it for a while, especially not since we covered violence in our media class, I don't think I understood the depth of how violent it really was.

I just started to watch The Originals this week, which I would say is very similar to Vampire Diaries, and I was very surprised how violent it really is! I have only watched 4 episodes and I have seen numerous murders, and of lot of violence between characters.

Granted it is a TV show about vampires, so these things should be expected. However, I am really glad that I am more aware of the violence and that I am more of an active watcher. Becoming an active watcher has helped me become not as desensitized to violence as I used to be.

Why do we Lurk?

Last week I was able to attend the Marion K. Underwood Lecture. One of the topics that was brought up was lurking, or in other words, checking your social media. Underwood said that lurking leads to social comparison, which is basically only seeing the good things happening in other peoples live's, and then feeling that your life isn't as great. The problem with this is that people don't tend to post what is really going on in their lives, especially the bad stuff. I think this is very true, but I also thought about how 3/4th of the posts I see on my own social media are usually more annoying than anything else. Which reminded me of a great Studio C video:

After thinking about this video, I thought about my own lurking habits. Why do I lurk? Especially if most of the people I see on social media are annoying? I definitely going to cut down on my lurking because it is pointless to waste time and be annoyed while doing it. 

Lift

I have been racking my brain all week to figure out what to post about this week, which you wouldn't think would be so hard considering I'm surrounded by media. After thinking for a while, I remembered a mormon message that I watched for a class last semester. I felt prompted to re-watch it and share it on this blog.

It is a message about service, and what it means to serve someone. It shows no only how service impacts those who receive it, but those that give it. This video made me think of the scripture Mosiah 2:17 :

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

When we are serving others, we are serving our Heavenly Father. We are here on this Earth to do the Lord's will. We are here to be His hands and help His children who are in need. I am grateful for this video and the reminder it gives me of how important it is to serve our brothers and sisters.

Blessings of Media

So last night I watched The Fault in Our Stars for the first time! I know I am way late on the band wagon. However, it was a really great and a bittersweet movie. Definitely recommend if you haven't seen it. :)

It got me thinking about my own family and how cancer has affected us.

My dad passed away from cancer close to 5 months ago.

 But I am so grateful for all the memories that I have of him. Especially the recorded ones! 

We had almost a year and a half with my dad from the time he was diagnosed. Not thinking we get that much time, my husband started recording important events. My husband recorded my father's testimony, family discussions, and other special moments. I found these recordings to be such a blessing! 

I am also grateful for phones and Facetime, so I could communicate and see my dad when I couldn't be home. 

I am grateful that my dad always left messages on my voicemail, and that I have those to go back and listen to. 

I am grateful for the build-a-bear he made me and the recording he put inside of it, with his last message to me. 

I am grateful for the family friends that recorded the funeral, so I can go back and listen to those who spoke about the wonderful things my dad did during his life. 

I am especially grateful for the video he made before he passed away. I am grateful that he was able to talk about his life history, about his children and family, and about his testimony of the gospel.

Media has blessed my life, and like I have said, I am extremely grateful for it. The media will help me to remember my dad and have a different opportunity, than we have had in the past, to teach my future children about their grandpa.

Media Can Bring Us Together

As many of you might know, on February 17th a police officer, Scott Barney, was shot and killed in Holladay, Utah when responding to a traffic accident. This past week was his funeral and they had a procession line from Holladay to Orem where he was to be buried.

My husband and I saw many videos and post on Instagram about people's gratitude for this man for protecting their city and neighborhood. We also saw many videos of the procession line and the community that came together to celebrate the Officer Barney and his service.

We both were taken back after seeing these videos and posts. Often we feel that media talks negatively about cops and what they have done wrong. We were very happily surprised to see this community rise together and support him and his family.

My husband, being from Holladay, felt like the media that was posted about the occasion, allowed us to be a part of this event. This is the power of media, and I am grateful for the it's ability to bring us all together.

To see videos or learn more about what happened, check out these links:

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=38264978&nid=148&title=thousands-gather-for-funeral-of-slain-officer-barney&fm=home_page&s_cid=topstory

 https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/officerbarney/

Netflix Binges

I am Sara, and I am a Netflix binger.

My husband and I are are so bad about watching new TV shows on Netflix. Whenever we have spare time we are watching our new favorite show on Netflix. Currently we have been watching NCIS, and with this past long weekend, we got a lot of watching in! We love to sit back and not have to think about anything. With school and work taking up so much time and draining us of energy, we end up sitting back and zoning out during our free time with Netflix. 

Even though I love it during the moment, after binge watching TV I feel really empty and not productive with my life. The content of the show isn't bad, but I would say that it is bad due to the amount that was watched in a short time.

So I have decided to limit my intake. I am going to try to watch only 1 or 2 shows a day. I am hoping that this will allow me more time during my week to do more important things. I will follow up next week with the results! 

Why do I always turn back to Gilmore Girls?

It is the beginning of a new semester, and the start of new classes. One of my new classes is Media, Family and Human Development. For this class we been asked to keep a weekly blog of our media experiences. I always wanted to start a blog so this will be a nice push to start! 

In class this past Monday, a great question was asked:

Why do you watch what you do and why do you go back to it?

I immediately thought of my favorite TV show Gilmore Girls. While I have many favorites, this is one of the only TV shows that I continue to go back to and watch. 

What about it draws me in? Why do I watch it? Why do I continue to rewatch the series? Why was I sad at the end of series? Why I am super stoked for the revival of the show? 

One reason why I like this class already is because it has got my wheels to start turning. I am excited to open up my eyes and start to analyze media, especially the media I surround myself with. 

So let the analyzing begin!

What about it draws me in?

I really love the mother daughter relationship between Rory and Lorelai. I also love Rory's character and felt like I could relate to her personality. The the small town setting it was based in as well as the family and social dynamics also drew me into the show

Why do I watch it? 

I think the reasons why I have watched the show have progressed and changed. I began watching it because it was entertaining. After getting to know the show better I also watched it because I could relate to the situations and characters. Now days, I watch this show because it is a show I can turn on and zone out. 

Why do I continue to re watch the series? 

I continue to watch this show because it has become a classic to me. The story lines don’t become old and I still enjoy the show. The show has become like an old best friend that you can fall back on. I also continue to watch because I can turn it on at anytime and anywhere. It is a show you can pick up wherever. This is definitely nice when I am in school because it helps me to not binge watch new shows. Since I know what is going to happen, I don’t have to fall into the cycle of starting the next episode to find out what happens and getting sucked in for another episode! 

Why was I sad at the end of series? Why I am super stoked for the revival of the show? 

As crazy as it seems, I became attached! I was attached to the story and characters. It was hard to see it end because you just want to continue a long side the story to see what happens to the character’s lives. I am so excited for the revival because I want to see what happened to our long lost friends! I want to see how the Gilmore girls ended up and see how their lives have changed and progressed. 

In the end it's interesting to reflect and analyze the media we surround ourselves with because it can open our eyes and help us understand ourselves better.