Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What am I passionate about?

This is a question I'm still asking myself.  When I was in high school, I had a passion for skateboarding.  If I think about my biggest interests right now, I think of my vinyl record collection, comic books as literature, and English education (which ties into my interest in comics).
I'm not sure how many records I own so far, but they take up about three feet of shelf space.  I alphabetized them all, and I clean them as needed.  I love to visit yard sales, flea markets, and antique shops looking for cool records in good condition.
In my 11th grade English class, I had to do a research project on a subject of my choosing, and then give a presentation to my class, so I chose records and record players (aka turntables).  The science behind how records work is pretty crazy!  The grooves of a record have tiny grooves in them; the needle drags through the grooves and vibrates, sending the vibrations as a digital signal to the speakers which interpret the signal and reproduce the music.  Here's an up-close picture of the grooves in a record:

My next interest is comics.  When I say "comics," you probably think of Batman or Spiderman, but it's important to remember that superheroes are only one type of comic.  Comics are a medium, not a genre.  Like books, comics can be about anything.  Comics are usually called "graphic novels" when they are longer than the typical comic book, and when they're not part of a long series.  There are some truly amazing graphic novels that we can learn from.  Here are some of my favorites:



If you're interested in understanding comics as literature, try reading Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud.

Perhaps reading good literature is my passion right now.  I love to chat with friends about good books we've read, and why we like them.
I'll stop there because that's a lot for now.

No comments:

Post a Comment