Let me start off by saying that I had a great childhood. My mother reared me well, and my family was always a joy to be around. Even at present day, I seek out things that remind me of my childhood. Not that I am unhappy now, I just love memories. Triggering childhood memories is definitely one of my favorite random treasures in life. As I think back, I am able to see how I was shaped as an individual. Many factors presented themselves as tools for forming me as a person, and since I was born in the 1980's, the television was a powerful factor.
Television brought forth so much of life that I would have never been able to experience at my young age. One aspect of life that shot straight to the top was violence. Violence is a harsh word, but it covers a lot. The violence I am talking about came in the form of professional wrestling. Every Saturday afternoon, after cartoons, I took over the television and changed it to the professional wrestling program. This is where I learned new ways to combat against my two brothers. Since all I had was brothers, fighting and wrestling was commonplace. Professional wrestling helped to show me new was to inflict pain and submit my brothers to defeat. Using violence as a mean of getting what I want sounds bad, but with two brothers, sometimes it is the only tool I have.
Violence is a tool that can get out of control. However, within the same wrestling show that I learned the power of violence, I learned self control. My favorite wrestler was the world champion, The Immortal Hulk Hogan. He was tall, massive, built with muscles on muscles, and used the power of violence to crush all of his opponents. He was nearly unstoppable, and that made me an avid follower of his. Yet the one thing that really made me admire him was his heroic nature. He knew the power that surged through his veins, and was smart enough to only use it to thwart evil doers. He used his power not for pain and suffering, but for the greater good of man. This automatically made me want to do the same. I wanted to gain power for heroic purposes.
Speaking of heroes, I had 4 others that appeared on the television to shape my life. These four were short, green, lived in the sewers, practiced ninjutsu, and had an overgrown rat for a sensei (master). These four heroes of mine were known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I watched them intently as they studied martial arts and disciplined themselves. Often they would get into squabbles with bad guys. During this time, all of their hard work paid off, and they were always able to defeat their enemies.
I often imitated the four "ninja-turtles" by gathering friends and pretending to be a ninja. This had lead to new friendship and a lot of outdoor physical activity. Plus, during times of distress, I would remember my heroes and pull through any situation. For example, if I had a lot of homework, I sometimes would not want to do it. However, I thought to myself, the "ninja-turtles" would work hard and get their studies done. That pushed me to better myself in more ways than one.
The influence of television to better myself has not stopped since I was a child. At present day, I find myself having fictional role models that guide me down a good path in life. In a show that a currently watch called, Dr. Who, I am amazed by the fictional protagonist called, The Doctor. He tells no one his name, and hardly anyone knows of him. He travels through time fixing problems and righting wrongs. The only way he can achieve all this is by being super intelligent and absolutely brilliant. From him I see a way of living that is phenomenal. I strive for more knowledge, because of him. I want to fix all my problems with the power of my mind!
I guess I have come a long way since my great childhood. Back then shows of violent nature intrigued and influenced me greatly. Today, I find myself favoring and being influenced by programs that present the power of the mind. I have to admit, violent programming is still a part of my viewing schedule, but I am more aware of how much more powerful the mind is over the body. This awareness has come with the great help of television, past and present.
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