allie po is my (nick)name

I often find it slightly disconcerting to have to “toot my own horn” or describe myself. I am simply me, one being in a tapestry much greater than anything I have ever known to be. But putting all of my bashful nature aside, I will say: I am a student of life. I am a lover of all things art and music. I am interested in human expression, and the nature of existence. I am a traveler. I am a lover, a fighter, an optimist (which I am truly just beginning to realize), and above all, a truth seeker. I live in a physical and mental nomadic state, reminding myself to surrender to the flow.

I have never really taken the time to think about how media has affected my life - I kind of go on believing that it doesn't, even though that is the farthest thing from the truth. Thinking back, I recall times when it had a very personal affect on my life. The first thing that came to mind was when I was a senior in high school, and I wrote a story about a Thanksgiving experience, which was then published in the local newspaper. This may seem trivial, but I had family and friends calling me and complimenting me about how my work had stirred them. It felt good - it fed my creativity - it made the artist want to burn the midnight oil just a little longer. I would chalk this all up to simply be: media can be an inspiration.

The second thing that came to mind when thinking about how media has affected my life, was a period of time when my father was placed on trial for some "white-collar crimes"... A New York transplant in Florida, for only a brief stint, I felt somewhat out of place in my new high school, yet always tried to make the best of it. During this time of my father's trial, he was constantly in the news - namely television and newspapers. I never watched the news, nor read the paper, yet everyday I'd go to school and either a teacher or student would say to me, "Oh, I saw your dad on the news last night!" As if that was supposed to be something we had in common - but it's interesting, because that's kind of what media does - it creates a sense of participation, even though people are usually just stuck in their own bubbles.

The media has changed my life in the sense that it has shown me great splendor, and great gore. Joy and pain. Love and hate. "The good, the bad, and the ugly," to sound cliche. It has given me strength, knowledge, and solace, mostly through books and music. It has turned me off, through tabloids and the stars in Us Weekly, but it has turned me on, through sharing creativity and ideas. I, myself, do not take in too much news - I am really trying to improve on this, but I find a lot of it boring and trivial... and depressing. I don't own a TV, and that is by choice. That alone, makes me feel a bit more disconnected from the news. I do play a (very) small role in media. I currently create and send out a monthly newsletter for a small yoga company based around NYC. It is a fun creative outlet for me, and I enjoy the rewards of completing a project that more than just I can benefit from.