who do you think you are ?

I'm Lara Berlyne. I am someone who doesn’t like defining themselves.  I am sickeningly predictable, a little set in my ways, and a bit of an airhead. (I did miss the first day of class not because of indifference to my education, but because I was mislead by a post on CUNYfirst that I didn’t read thoroughly enough.) I was born and raised in Forest Hills, Queens and am “nearly 20 years old!” as my Grandpa and younger siblings love to remind me on a daily basis. I’m the oldest of three, and have always associated a lot of pressure with that role. I am like the experiment child, I do everything first and my brother and sister benefit from my mistakes.

I spend way too much time on social media, everyone says “Facebook is dead” but I am having more fun than I should have in my private groups and chats with my friends. I have spent my summer not only working on my tan or at American Apparel, but binge watching almost 9 consecutive seasons of The Office as well as some favorite movies Donnie Darko and The Graduate. I am obsessed with the Sims franchise and have played that game since middle school. 

I also find myself drawn to older media, my favorite childhood book my mom used to read to me was from the 1930s, and I shared a passion for vintage Archie comics (more particularly frenemies Betty and Veronica) with my Grandpa and still read and hoard them to this day. I also love Barbie dolls, one of my favorite memories was coming home to a Barbie kitchen complete with a jar of miniature pickles and a wrapped loaf of tiny wonderbread! Today, I enjoy reading debates on how Betty,Veronica, and Barbie have changed over the years,how they present(ed) women and effected young girls.

This past semester I did produce some media on photoshop and illustrator that I was especially proud of for someone who never used such programs before. http://fmundergrad.hunter.cuny.edu/~berlynel/med150/ I also work for Hunter’s Cult. Magazine collaborating on photoshoots and writing articles, I was also printed numerous times in the Opinion section of the Envoy.

Very excited to take this course! Have been trying for two years to get into it!