Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Alyssa Mason. As you may have guessed from the title, I am a millennial teacher. Born in the 90s, I am someone who grew up consuming media primarily via Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and MTV. As I got older (and technology became more accessible), my taste for culture expanded to the world wide web in the form of Buzznet, Myspace, and Facebook (and yes, in that exact order). When I wasn't at school or hanging out with my friends, I was tucked away in the corner of my family's apartment, hunched up in a peeling, leather office chair (you know the type) on a Gateway desktop, learning basic code and writing fanfiction that centered around the bands I devoted my ears to at the time (primarily Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy) while listening to these same bands on my iPod shuffle. As an aside, have you heard about the girl who went viral for using iPod shuffles as hair clips?

Flash forward to today: streaming giants, like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime are what I use to watch my favorite shows and movies. Any time of day, I can curl up on my couch with my cat or my fiance (or both) to watch what I want without the annoyance of commercials (unless we are watching Hulu) or having to wait until a certain time of day.** Like Tivo, but better. Similar to my TV watching habits, my online presence has also shifted. Instead of curling up at a desk when I want to engage in my favorite online spaces, (mainly Instagram nowadays, although I do still keep my Facebook app updated), I can curl up on my couch, in the car, at a cafe, at a bar, or even in my bed (usually when it's past my bedtime) to read, watch, listen to, and write content. Despite the many hours I devoted to my family's desktop computer screen, I think it's safe to say that I spend way more time online than I ever did before (especially when you calculate the amount of time I spend on a laptop or a chromebook during the school day). 

And yet, even though I may have just presented myself as this evolved tech-addict, I do still find time for other things that do not require apps or screens: running, yoga, hiking, biking, baking, and attempting DIY garden and home projects. But don't get me wrong, like any good participant of an online community, the things I do well get posted on my story (because that's the new norm, right?). So, here's yet another place for me to engage in an online community, albeit for academic purposes. This blog is here to document my learnings as I participate in a two week course. Feel free to learn along with me and leave a comment when you like (or dislike) something I write.

** Looking for a list of TV show recommendations by streaming service? Check out my post on the RIWP blog.