Quick Introduction

Hi, my name is Paul Smith and I am from Utica, New York. I attended a ski academy in east Burke, Vermont my last few years of high school, and now Burlington has been my home the past three years.
One interesting media experience I had over break involved watching an abundance of Anti-drug advertisements on television while in Quebec. Nearly every other commercial was sponsored by the Canadian government who used very strong images to get the message across. I normally do not watch much television but the string of ads in Canada definitely attracted my attention and made me compare it to government ads in the United States. It is always fun to view media in different countries and gain perspective on culture and language.
21st century media has certainly created an ease in which to gain information and transfer ideas. I like how technology has helped with access to media, particularly access to the internet, and newspapers and text being transferred online. While I enjoy reading news online, I realize there is an aspect of media slowly being fazed out such as newsprint. One thing I do not like about 21st century media is the ability to have a cultural influence on so many, particularly children. Between the corporate advertisements, and the technological materialism these influences are creating an unsustainable culture which is harmful to the environment in many ways.
I am not sure about my future, I hope to graduate in a year in a half with a degree in geography and environmental studies. From there the list is long and vague, a career in sustainable development maybe? Architecture? Or maybe even ski coaching.