The Media That Made Me

Everyone has that one show, movie, book or game that becomes a part of them as a person.  Well, I have a whole couple of them.  This will be my last "official" blog post for the writing competition, and I couldn't think of a better time to write this.  So, join me as I share with you the media that made me.  

Vinland Saga

Now, some of these I have already written posts about so some may be shorter than others.  I watched Vinland Saga at the perfect time of my life.  Seeing the journey Thorfinn went on (physically, spiritually and mentally) was incredibly inspiring.  Vinland Saga is so full of amazing life lessons, the most important being that nobody has enemies and that no one deserves to get hurt.  

Throughout his journey, Thorfinn always thought that that philosophy was for weak people, but later on he realized that only truly strong people can be kind in a world full of cruelty.  The show is also full of Christian references, because of Jesus's pacifistic philosophy.  It's also full of morally-gray characters, like Askeladd and Thorkell, who you can both love and despise.  

Vinland Saga made a huge impact on my life this year and it will always have a special place in my heart.  It taught me to not carry hatred in my heart and to just let go, because being kind means being stronger.  

Dead Poet Society

Dead Poet Society follows an English teacher who teaches his class of boys, but he does so in a very unconventional, yet effective way.  He also doesn't just teach them English, he teaches them how to live. 

He teaches them to seize the day, and to always follow your dreams.  There's a great quote in the movie when the teacher, John Keating, is talking with other teachers and quotes a poem: "But only in their hearts can a man truly be free, always was, and always will be."  The movie is filled with these beautiful quotes about poetry and writing.  

This movie taught me to always follow my dreams and seize the day.  It also taught me to never feel embarrassed about writing, even if I only do it for my enjoyment.  The last scene in the movie is also incredibly impactful, when all the students stand up in support of their teacher.  

So before I move on, I just want to say: Oh Captain, my captain!

The Book of Ecclesiastes 

I don't really know if I can call a Bible book a piece of media, but I really want to write about Ecclesiastes.  I also want to mention that I don't have a theology degree or anything, I'm just a guy who likes to write.  This book was written by King Solomon, now in his old age.  To understand the book, you need to understand that Solomon was the wisest and riches man of his time.  

He built vineyards, undertook massive construction projects and denied himself nothing that he desired.  He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, thousands of people under his command and sat on a throne of gold - yet in the end he called everything meaningless.  

He wrote that everything under the sun is meaningless and that worldly things are like smoke in the wind.  The whole point of the book is to give an answer to the question "what happens when a Proverbs-worldview fails."  You can't have tov without hevel.  

The book taught me how to live and what things in life to prioritize, like fearing God and honoring Him.  It also taught me to enjoy life more and everything I have, because God created life and he wants us to enjoy it.  

Great Teacher Onizuka

Me watching this anime was such a stroke of luck.  I just decided one evening that it looked cool and if it didn't hit, I would just move on.  The first episode wasn't that great, but I decided to push through and wow, I'm so glad I did.  

The story follows Eikichi Onizuka, a 22 year old ex-gangster who decides to become a teacher.  He is tasked to teach a class of students who has driven away every other substitute teacher they have had since their permanent one left.  They also try to play their tricks on Onizuka, but he outsmarts them every time. 

Onizuka is one of the most inspirational characters I have ever seen, because he is unapologetically himself.  Onizuka isn't a great person (not even close to it), but he is so confident in himself that you can't help but love him.  He also treats his students like he would an old friends - even when they treat him horribly.  I still want to write a post about GTO in the future, so I won't elaborate on the story much further.   

GTO, or more so Onizuka himself, taught me to always be myself and to never try and be something or someone I'm not.  I also started to take gym much more seriously when I watched GTO, so the show also motivated me to keep pushing and to never give up. 

The Book Of James

The Book Of James was written to give us (and the people who got the letter) a framework of how to live a life in Christ.  It is also a type of wisdom book like Ecclesiastes and Job, because it consists of shorter phrases and practical advice for daily living.  

Some of the topics handled in James is faith and works, the unity of a community of Christ-followers, the responsibility of wealth and concern for the poor.  The book is fairly short, only consisting of five chapters, but it is one that should not be skipped.

My faith is a big part of who I am.  The Book of James gave me a good outline of how to live a better life and how to follow Christ's teachings more closely.  It taught me too many lessons to mention, so if you ever get the chance, please go read The Book of James.  

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

BOTW was the first open world game I ever played... and it was amazing.  The freedom the game gives you is incredible, because everything in the game is optional - if you want to go and kill Ganondorf in the first hour you can; there really is no restrictions.

Just to explain how good this game is, I thought the tutorial area (the great plateau) was the entire map, so imagine my surprise when I got to paraglide off of it into the massive map that is Hyrule.  The game rewards exploration, because there is something hidden around every nick and corner - be it a shrine or a chest.  

BOTW taught me that games can have beautiful open worlds while not being barren and empty.  It taught me that adventure, while difficult and time-consuming, can be extremely satisfying.  Playing this game for the first time is like a spiritual experience, and I wish that I could do it again for the first time.  

Gravity Falls

Gravity Falls is where my lore started.  This show had such a creative story, atmosphere and characters that I still struggle to find a "kids" show that is as good as Gravity Falls was.  The story follows Dipper and Mabel Pines who is sent to live with their great uncle Stan who runs a tourist-attraction shop called The Mystery Shack.  

In the show Dipper finds a journal that belonged to his other great uncle, where he chronicled all of the creatures and cryptids he found in their area.  The journal is also full of cryptic messages and symbols, one recurring symbol being of a triangular creature with one eye and a top hat (aka Bill Cypher).  

I watched Gravity Falls at the perfect time of my life.  I watched it while being stuck at home during Covid-19, and I had all the time in the world to research and watch every YouTube video about every mystery and fan theory there was around the show (and this is also where I started watching Game Theory and lots of other YouTubers).  

As I said, Gravity Falls is where my lore started.  This show had me in a chokehold for so long, and I still love it to this day.  It introduced me to other urban legends, cryptids and internet horror (thanks to Game Theory and the Infographics Show).  So, Gravity Falls didn't really teach me anything, it more so began my everlasting interest in anything and everything macabre and spooky.  

In conclusion...

All of these pieces of media has and always will have a special place in my heart.  I still want to write full posts about some of the entries here someday, especially about GTO and Breath of the Wild.  I might also write another one of these in the future. 

Thank you so much for reading this post to the end, if you enjoyed it please consider following my blog so that you can be notified whenever I upload a new one.  This is also my last "official" blog post for the competition, so I just want to say that if I win or not doesn't matter, because I genuinely enjoyed writing these posts each month.  So until we meet again, Carpe Diem!