I really cherish the time I’ve spent in Media, Self, and Society, even though it’s been an unorthodox three semesters to say the least. Even in the short time I’ve been in the scholars program, I think I’ve changed quite a bit. Firstly, I’ve become a more informed media consumer. Before being in MSS, I didn’t really think much about media theory and didn’t really bother to analyze it. MSS has taught me that it’s important that we really take the time to understand the media, especially as citizens of a democratic society. It can help lead to positive change in all facets of society. On a more personal note, I’d say I’ve just grown more confident throughout my time in media – I’ve gone from an intimidated freshman to someone who is confident and truly feels like a college student.
The parts of the course that resonated the most with me were when we talked about current day events, the state of journalism, or when we had guest speakers. I think it’s just really cool to have a class where there’s a great focus on what’s going on in the world today – you just don’t really get that in your other academic classes. So in that sense, MSS was always a nice change of pace from my other classes. I also liked when we talked specifically about journalism, and its changing state. I originally came to UMD as a Journalism major, and though I ended up dropping it, I still have a passion for it. I think breaking down and analyzing the way certain stories are covered like we did is really fascinating, and it’s something that average citizens should do as well, just to stay informed. Finally, any class where we had a guest speaker was great! No matter who they were or what their job was, it was just cool to hear from the perspective of a successful person in their field. Again, that’s not something I really get in my other classes, but frankly, it should be a more common thing because it’s such a useful activity.
As of right now, I’m planning to go to law school after college and then, of course, pursue a career in the law. I’m not sure what field of law exactly, but regardless, the media and the law are certainly intertwined (as we saw in the many trials we studied, such as Rittenhouse, or the Supreme Court cases we looked at, such as the Mississippi abortion law). I think lessons I learned in MSS, such as being a critical consumer of media, will carry me well beyond the class. After all, being a critical consumer or a critical thinker can be applied beyond the media. I think it’s a good thing in general to not just quickly accept things or make rash decisions without taking some time to think and analyze, and certainly these are skills that MSS has taught me.
I’m very happy with the time I got to spend in MSS. It’s too bad it couldn’t have been completely “normal.” We didn’t quite get the same living-learning experience that I’m sure previous years of Media Scholars got. As a result, I maybe didn’t get to know my classmates quite as well as I would’ve liked. Therefore, I’m not sure how much my learning was aided by interacting with classmates outside of class, just because things were so different and it was harder to do it.
But overall, despite the crazy times, MSS was an overwhelmingly positive experience. I’m glad I get to say I was a part of it.
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