Visual symbols affect my life greatly on a daily basis. I wake up and
go to check my email, and there is some forward from my sister with hilarious pictures to accompany a funny, yet fictitious, story. I go to check my Facebook, and one of my friends has posted recent pictures of her trip over seas. I go to watch some news and I’m bombarded not only with what I intentionally tuned in to, but commercial after commercial trying to sell me anything from lotion to a brand new iPhone. Visuals that are out there solely to catch my attention and make me think, “Yeah! I want that!” Next, I pick up a book for class or for enjoyment, and the visual symbols that are the English language jump out at me, as do any illustrations or diagrams that assist in
my understanding of what I'm reading.
Then I go to class, and I’m faced with what I would consider another genre of visuals, ones that enhance my education. While I learn from what I have already witnessed before this point in the day, somehow it’s very different. I’m not trying to ignore the commercial with the stunning visuals and catch song, but am tuned in to what the teacher and other students have to say, what is in my book that can reinforce each idea, and what is on display during class. I have had very few classes in my college career that didn’t include a Powerpoint or video almost every time we would meet. And I have to admit – classes without some sort of visual symbols to assist in my learning were classes that I left feeling like I didn’t learn anything and just wasted an hour of my life.
Visual symbols help me work my way through life and clarify my understanding of the world.
Photographs from my personal collection.
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