These last three semesters have been a very positive experience for me. From doing my entire first semester at home in Connecticut to now having lived in College Park for two semesters, I feel like I have come a long way academically, socially, and emotionally. That first semester where COVID overtook our lives and all classes were remote, I was not in a very good emotional state. Most of my friends had at least a couple in person classes, so they were living in their new dorms while I was stuck at home. I also felt like I was missing out on making new friends at my new school because some people had still decided to live on campus despite not having in person classes. It was a very lonely semester where I really confided in my family because I was with them all the time. Now, on the other hand, I am very happy to say that I do not feel lonesome at all anymore. I go to classes in person and make connections with my classmates. I love being able to actually speak to my professors face to face. I also live in a fraternity house with 23 of my closest friends who never fail to make me feel like I belong. 

In terms of my Scholars experience, that has improved greatly as well. During the first semester of my freshman year, it was very hard to feel connected and together with my scholars community because I was 300 miles away from the University and had never met anyone else in person. Second semester was a little better because I moved onto campus and met some of my peers, but it still felt disconnected because restrictions were high and we still could not have regular meetings. Fast forward to now, where I look forward every Tuesday and Thursday to meeting with my class and professors at ESJ, working in groups, and collaborating with my peers. One thing that did not change through my Scholars experience is the importance of the guest speakers. Hearing from experienced guest speakers has consistently been the most influential aspect of the program for me. Particularly as an undecided business major, I still do not know exactly what I want to do with my life after college. By hearing from professionals in the media industry, it has helped me narrow down my interests and showed me a good example of what careers in media can offer - in addition to being extremely interesting speakers. Particularly Mark Feldstein’s guest speaking opportunity was highly interesting to me because I had never heard the first hand experience of an investigative journalist before and it reminded me of why I have always had a slight interest in journalism. 

After three semesters in Media, Self, and Society, I see media as playing a very large role in both my life and in society. When talking about either entertainment media or news media, both are largely responsible for the general knowledge of the public on current events. This means that the people involved in the largest media corporations hold a great deal of power in what they can present to the public. The media entirely influences the public opinion which I see as mostly a bad thing. As of recent years, the popular news media has become widely biased and has drawn away from its roots of simply being a source of information. Opinionated news media, in my opinion, are the greatest enemy to this country because that is what fuels the extremists on both sides of the spectrum. This is why for my personal life, I try to make sure that the media plays a less significant role in my life. I do my best to find the most impartial sources and let myself draw my own opinion on the information that is presented to me. I think that if most people thought this way, there would be way more moderate viewpoints and way less extremism and hatred.

After being in the media program for three semesters, I have learned some connections between media and business, my intended career field. First of all, I have learned that media is a business. Although their mission is to inform the public or provide entertainment, all private media corporations have the underlying goal of making a profit. On television, they try to maintain your attention between the advertisements that they make money on. On the internet and social media, they try to grab your attention through clicks and scrolls. In the reverse way, businesses use media to boost the success of their businesses again through advertising. Businesses gain popularity by displaying their brand on media outlets because all people in some way give some of their attention to the media.