This year I've come to the surprising resolution that I enjoy media that blow my mind. Things like The Stranger and Memento force my brain to think about all of the infinite possibilities that the earth has to offer. Honestly, pieces like this make me have a mini existential crisis every time I read them, but it's like a good existential crisis, the kind that makes me what to turn my whole life around and be a better, more spontaneous person. I would have never realized the significance that this type of literature would have on me if I was not exposed to it through this course. This has caused me to seek out more self aware literature like poetry, I've even gotten to the point of buying poetry books that make me feel seen, heard, and understood in a way that no person ever has. This change in digestion of material also made me more aware of my identity as a reader and what I inherently reach out to because of my reader identity. I need to relate to characters, not on the bias of race or gender, but experiences. And while shared experiences might just be a fancy term for shared trauma, it helps me understand myself more when I read things from people who have gone through the same, or similar, thing. Since I am not a very open person, most people don't get the confrontation of my past or deepest inner thoughts. In place of these interactions, I turn to poets and novelist who can speak as if they were in my head, feeling my feelings, and thinking my thoughts. And while I have now gotten far away from my original topic or whatever I was talking about, I just want to express how important it is for media to be produced where people feel understood. Sometimes, words on a piece of paper written by someone an ocean away can mean more to someone than a lifetime of surface level, meaningful conversations.
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