Thoughts: The Worlds We Live In

 

I wanted to write a bit about certain thoughts I've been having recently.

We live in a world that has a lot of output, and there is so much to choose from, isn't it? Just take television alone. When I was growing up (in the 80s), I could never imagine to have SO many shows about the things that I liked! 

I remember when the X-Men movies came out. Back then, very few people knew who the X-Men were. They knew Superman and Batman, but the X-Men? I felt like the X-Men movie was the best thing that happened to me! I did! I had read the comics (lots of them), and I knew all the back stories. I even felt like I was superior to most people because they only got what was in the movies, but I knew much more. I was the queen! LOL (yeah, I wasn't that smart back then).

And look at the superhero universe right now. It has exploded, hasn't it?

Well, following that train of thought, I began to think that there is so much to choose from and not enough time. TV shows and movies are enough to make your head spin. But there is so much more.

Let me stop to say, that I do have a full time job. I wake up at 5:45am, and arrive at work after dropping off my daughter at school at 7am. Then I work until 3:30pm. I am a teacher in a public school,  saying that I work until 3:30pm is a fallacy. I do work after school (sometimes at school and sometimes at home) and then during the weekend (perhaps a total of 10 extra hours).

Yes, it's tough, but I like my job, and I also get long periods off—Thanksgiving break, Winter Break, Spring Break, and 10 blessed weeks off during the summer. So I work hard during the school year in order to enjoy my breaks guilt free.

Still, there are so many things I want to do. So much to learn and enjoy. And so many people creating wonderful things. Interesting, exciting, beautiful.

This is what this post is all about. 

What people create is divided into what I will call: fandoms.

People are different and they enjoy different things. 

Since I'm writing this post, I will talk about the things that interest me too. If you would like to add a few of your own, I'd be more than happy to read and reply to them in the comments below.

I will begin.

1. TV and Movies:

I already began to talk about this. But there is much more than interests me than superheroes. There are a of shows that I enjoy and that almost seem tailor to the things that I like. Now, my husband and I have different tastes, and he too has limited time. We each choose to use our time in different ways, and he definitely watches more TV than I do. He also enjoys different shows/movies to watch. Where he enjoys light comedy and procedural show, I like thrillers, fantasy, and dark humor. We still get to watch a few series and movies together—because there is so much to choose from!

2. Books:

I remember when I was growing up and visiting those small libraries, remember? Like Waldenbooks. There wouldn't be enough books (or not those I wanted). Back then, I remember searching for the Anne Rice books tirelessly. So much that I read her books in disorder. I read Queen of the Damned before I read Vampire Lestat. Eep! But that's because there wasn't any Amazon available, where I can look online and then order with one click. Two days later? Bam! The books arrives in less than two days!

Back then, even Barnes and Noble didn't have all the books. In fact, I went to Barnes and Noble during the summer and looking for Project: Hail Mary. They didn't have it. It was on back order! And I had to order it online if I wanted it. Back then I would have needed to order it and then pick it up at the store. Now, all I have to do is go to Amazon.

There are great books out there, and more so now that people are self-publishing. The more the merrier.

I now can add me to the list of self-published authors. It's like a drug. I need to write and write. But now I get to publish, too. It's a bit expensive (with covers, editors, etc), but so worth it. I love going to Amazon and seeing all the books I published there. It's really great.

3. Art:

Let's talk about art now. There are so many new tools to draw and so many people creating their own art and publishing it every where. It's so beautiful you just want to buy it all and hang it all over the house—too bad I don't have space for it. But now that comic book characters have gone viral, the comic book conventions have grown. The best part for me when I go to a comic con is the artist halls. I love bringing my comic books to sign by the artists I grew up knowing as the comic book illustrators. I love meeting them and buying even more of their art. 

And that's not all. Media accounts like Instagram allow me to watch people who are great artists publish comic strips or just their original art. And did I mention all those wonderful art tutorials? It's never ending. I wish I had more time to sit down and learn how to use Procreate.

I remember I learned how to use vectors in Illustrator watching videos on youtube about fifteen years ago, but I should really dig in deeper with newer technologies to see what else I can do. I enjoy drawing and illustrating for picture books and for my own teaching materials. 

That's another world I'm into. Creating teaching materials.

4. Videogames:

Ah, the wonderful world of gaming. I was born in 1976, which means I grew up in the 80s. I remember getting our first Atari. My brother and I would take turns on play Mario Bros. together. And then came Nintendo, and Super Nintendo for us. Before going our separate ways, we owned a Play Station. 

My favorite games are role playing. I love those. And I'm a fan of the Zelda Franchise (even if I never played Zelda 1 and 2—or did, but never finished them). Look at how the Zelda games have evolved. I am marveled at Breath of the Wild and have dedicated hundreds of hours to it (twice). After playing the Zelda games (those after Ocarina of Time) several times, I finally branched out and tried Skyrim. I hated it at first because it felt clunky, but I got used to it and I played for hundreds of hours, too. I have followed the Final Fantasy series, too. I started with FF IV, then I played V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2 and XV. 

It didn't end there. Now I've played Witcher 3 (possibly the best game after Breath of the Wild for me), and Horizon Zero Dawn, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and so much more. There is so much more that I haven't played and I want to play. But there are so many other things out there that I have to be careful with how I distribute my time and which game I choose to play.

5. Theater, Broadway, Dance:

There is so much entertainment out there. I wanted to include the performing arts, those that disappeared when covid began. There are so many plays I want to see, and musicals. I love going to the ballet, too. I used to take ballet classes, but haven't found the time to continue them. I am also older and heavier, which makes it a difficult art to perform, but I can still do most steps. It's a bit like riding a bike. I love to sing and sing-along those musicals. I am not a big fan of musical movies, but I sometimes watch them anyway.

And have you gone to see Harry Potter and thenCursed Child? Wow! I got to watch it a year before the pandemic began. So much fun.

6. Fandoms:

I finally want to talk about fandoms, and how you get to know certain things so well and you join in the communities that enjoy those same things. Here are some honorable mentions:

* All things Disney (Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond)

* Harry Potter

* Star Wars and Star Trek

* Comic Books in all media

* Vampires and the supernatural

* Nightwish (symphonic metal band)

* Anime

I'll add Minecraft and moding only because it's popular at home, but I don't much care for either. It still deserves to be named in this post.

Then there are those things I'm involved in and have learned a bit about:

* Writing and publishing

* Teachers Pay Teacher (teacher resources)

* Blogging (still learning)

Phew! There is so much, isn't it?

I will end up this long blog post by saying that, the one thing I collect is everything that has to do with cows. Yep, cows. Cows rule.

Now, I know there is much, much, more. You probably have your own. Let me know in the comics.

Thanks for reading... Cheers!