A
Day in the
Life
What Influences me the Most.
My life has been influenced by a pleothera of events and moments. It took me until last year to realize that a sunny-side up egg makes a hamburger magnificent. I learned how to moonwalk by watching a "how-to" collection of gifs on Tumblr. I've recently had to grudgingly accept the fact that I am a hipster. In any case, I am constantly being molded into a new person, and as time passes I hope that it is for the better. The items listed below have affected me personally one way or another in my life, and I will do my best to explain how.
Forrest Gump
In my objective opinion, Forrest Gump is the greatest movie ever made. It’s not because nearly every line from the movie is quotable, and it’s not even because Tom Hanks is the main character. The thing that draws me in so completely is the editing involved in the movie. It’s one thing to have the character be involved in some of the pivotal moments in American history, but it’s another thing entirely when actual footage of people who were a part of the moments are combined flawlessly with the fictional stories. The scene in which JFK shakes Forrest’s hand and talks to him looks like they are actually having a conversation; the lips line up perfectly with what they are saying and there is no visible break in the spliced footage. I don’t have the slightest idea how the movie makers were able to pull off such editing feats—and this movie was released only a year after I was born! This movie is so powerful in the fact that the main character is mentally disabled and yet is able to not only take care of himself throughout his life but also care for others and influence history. I know that the movie is fiction, but I can’t help to feel as if there is some truth to it.
Plus, we can’t forget that Bubba Gump is an actual thing.
I grew up with the show Avatar. It originally aired when I was in seventh grade, and had a total of three seasons. Then, a sequel series, called Legend of Korra, was first aired during my first year at college. I know that the show is a cartoon, but it has a special place in my heart. Not only was the story so well written, but the style of the cartoon was unlike anything I had seen before. The creators borrowed heavily from Buddhism to create the customs of the Avatar world, and all of the bending that is used is rooted in different styles of martial arts. For example, the style of moments for airbending was inspired by Northern Shaolin kung-fu. Toph—the blind earthbender—has a fighting style all of her own, rooted in Praying Mantis. The amount of detail and research that was put into the making of this show is phenomenal, and it doesn’t stop there. Legend of Korra (the sequel series) broke new ground for children’s television. Not only was it so much darker than the original Avatar—the target audience was now no longer children but the young adults who were children when Avatar aired—but for the finale, it is revealed that two of the main characters are bisexual. This representation is so important today, especially because it has never been done before. In the past it has always been love triangles or a continual pining of one character for another. For Korra, this is not the case. All of the rules of animated children’s shows were shattered, and it was fantastic.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Buddhism
I have always had a fascination with religions. Born into a Christian Baptist family, I didn’t get really any exposure to other religions until high school, and now as a college student not only am I minoring in religion but I try to take as many religion courses as I can. Last semester, fall 2014, I took a course on Buddhism. Before going into the course I knew very little about the religion besides what I had seen incorporated into Avatar: The Last Airbender (mostly stuff about chakras and reincarnation), but by the end of the semester I learned so much about the religion that I would be willing to take many more courses and research Buddhist practices on my own. That is not to say that I converted, I still don’t believe in reincarnation or the six different realms of existence, but there was so much that I could take from Buddhism to apply to my own life. I now practice yoga whenever I get the chance, and the idea of karma is useful when making decisions. Not because of what I might get out of it later, but simply remembering to be kind to others and since everything in the world is ephemeral there isn’t any reason to become so attached to physical possessions. I think everyone could learn at least a little something from Buddhism.
I am a very big fan of science fiction. I grew up watching the Star Wars movies and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Almost all the books are science fiction and fantasy related. My favorite television shows have sci-fi related aspects. I own a piggy bank in the shape of Darth Vader’s mask. Science fiction has helped mold me into the person that I am today; even a lot of my writing is science fiction based. So, when it comes to things that have influenced me, I am obligated to give tribute to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Frankenstein was the first science fiction novel ever published. It paved the way for everything that I love now—Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who…everything. I don’t even care for the original Frankenstein novel that much (between that and Dracula, I would choose Dracula), but there are so many spin offs and an entirely category of fiction based off the novel that I am compelled to respect Frankenstein. Live long and prosper.
Frankenstein
