Our culture is one of consumption. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if you do not agree with this statement, just look up some pictures from any Black Friday “door buster” sale. Just try to not see those images as perfect examples of how we act when it comes to consuming all forms of media.

I had a revelation a few months ago when I was at a lunch talk put on for one of my college’s only alumna (Wabash is all male for those who don’t know). The talk was very powerful and it not only gave me a totally new view of the Trans Rights movement in the United States, but it also really got me inspired to start writing again in my free time.

The speaker mentioned at one point that the only way to get where you want to be is to do the dirty ground work. I have heard this sentiment many times in my life from many people, but this speaker put it in a way that I related with. She said something along the lines of, “You will never get published if you never write.” While this may sound very obvious, it really spoke to me. I have always had lofty dreams of becoming an author, but I always put off writing more than a few ideas. This got me to start creating in my spare time, instead of simply consuming more and more. This was the start of my new outlook on the consumption of media.

Because we consume so much media in our daily lives, we should try to create something for fun in our leisure time as well. Just think about it for a second. Instead of watching four hours of Netflix at night (a rough estimate based off of my roommate’s watching habits), just watch one or two hours and spend the other hours making something cool and unique! Write a short story or a poem, take up photography (not including selfies or pictures of food), learn to cook, build something, or sculpt something out of clay. Just make something. That way, when you lay down at the end of the day, you can say “that’s mine.” You might not be the best, I know that I’m not, but at least you made something!

If that’s not enough, just think of what anyone who partakes in a solo Netflix binge has to show for it at the end. Consuming is just absorbing a story or something else that someone else created. While the consumption of other people’s ideas and creations keeps ideas flowing, there needs to be new creative stuff pumped into this flow. With today’s connectivity, anybody can do this far more easy than any other generation!

I would just like to end with saying that nothing is wrong with consuming, let that be clear. I consume just as much media as my peers. However, replacing some of my consumption time with time to create has led to me taking steps to realize some of my personal goals and I am sure that this could help others.