99% of people who read this sentence will stop reading this paragraph before it ends. I admit that statistic is likely exaggerated heavily, but it doesn't stop me from using it. I know if the person reading this is anything like me, their attention span is fried beyond repair. I'll try my best to keep things interesting, but I can't promise that I'm very entertaining. Now that I'm sure I have your attention, Professor, I'll move on to the meat of this assignment. I enrolled in BA223 not only because it's a prerequisite and required for my degree, but because I enjoy a good advertisement and I want to know why that is. As I’ve said previously, most of my generation has the attention span of a squirrel in an acorn famine. So we need advertisements that jump out at us, maybe even literally, if they want to retain the viewer's attention.

If you were to look at me for any amount of time, I think you'd have a hard time believing that I am planning to major in business or accounting. I am definitely not your typical businessman. You might be wondering why I said "planning to major in" rather than "am majoring in," and that’s because my plan is to transfer to the University of Oregon after two years of studying at Linn-Benton. To do that, my major is considered an AAOT degree, meaning an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree. I have never been the most diligent or dedicated student in the past, but to put my plan into motion, I will need my GPA to be at least 3.0. That being said, it's high time I kick myself into gear and do what needs to be done despite my past shortcomings.

I have always had an interest in marketing, specifically advertisements. What most interests me about them is the "why." Why do people find themselves so drawn to certain advertisements while showing absolutely no interest in others? The answer might seem as simple as being drawn to ads that include targeted interests. However, I know I've found myself watching a fair share of ads that have nothing to do with my interests. For example, ads for a mechanic shop despite the fact that I don't own a vehicle or even have a driver's license, or ads for a culinary school that I have never considered joining. Yet, I find ads about computer parts and video game programs a snooze fest. It is fascinating how advertisements can either draw you in completely to the point that you might not even remember you were supposed to be watching a TED Talk for your BA223 class, or make 30 seconds feel like an eternity.

Outside of school, I'm really just your average guy who enjoys average guy things... sort of. You see, I enjoy sports and video games, and I dabble in a bit of exercise, but I have a few unhealthy fixations. Once I grow to enjoy learning about something, I immerse myself in that subject. Take mythology, for example. I have a vested interest in the subject for no other reason than I enjoy the media inspired by the tall tales. It isn't a specific mythology either—I enjoy all of them, though not equally. I have a particular interest in Greek myths, especially, with Nordic myths being a close second. Perhaps the advertisements for the games and shows are what kickstarted my obsession. That leads me to a video game I spend a lot of time playing: Cyberpunk 2077. Mike Pondsmith is the original writer for the universe of Cyberpunk, and he started back in the '80s with tabletop games. It gained a lot of traction and was made into a video game, and a short while later, an anime. I haven’t found the time to invest myself in the tabletop games, but I have watched the anime and spent more hours than I’d like to admit playing the video game.

Unfortunately, the laptop I'm typing this on is brand spanking new, so I really don't have any photos for you to see, which is quite disappointing. I would have loved to share all 356 photos of my cat with you. She isn’t very nice, but damn, is she cute. Perhaps I'll update this blog later to include a few photos of my cat, and in that case, this entire paragraph I’ve spent the better half of 10 minutes typing out becomes entirely unnecessary. Until then, it stays.