Me vs the Media

Image from: http://www.dailydawdle.com/2011/06/no-you-make-me-sandwich-pic.html

My name is Diana... and I'm not exactly sure 'who' I am. I like to think that I'm a big collection of every person I've ever met. To clarify, I don't mean that I don't have my own identity, but rather that my identity is merely a reflection of who and what I've been exposed to. It's hard to answer this question directly because we all struggle with differentiating 'who we are' from who we're told we're 'supposed' to be.
To start off, I've always felt that my culture played a giant role in shaping who I am. I come from a family with very strong traditional values, but I was raised in a very liberal city. I always feel like I'm stuck in a catch 22 of culture clash. I don't want to stray away from my family, but I also don't want to miss out on 'social norms' on my journey through adulthood.
Because of my background, my philosophy on life is closest to cultural relativism. It's basically the idea that a person's morals are relative to their upbringing, thus it discourages people from judging and criticizing each other. I'm a very tolerant person, but I can only take so much. I really can't stand when people are so consumed with their beliefs that they impose their views on others. When looking at the media, I feel that it is subtle yet successful in telling their consumers what to be, how to be, and who to be.
Although mass media has its faults, we can still utilize it for its benefits. Some of my favorite bands I only discovered because their songs came from movie soundtracks or advertisements. I love Coldplay, Muse, Arctic Monkeys etc.; regardless of how "mainstream" they are. The media has also given aspiring filmmakers the chance to showcase their work on a national scale; such as Danny Boyle whose independent movie Slumdog Millionaire (one of my favorite movies!) became a worldwide success.
I never realized how big of an effect the media has on my life. Everything from how I look to how I think is largely due to watch I watch and listen to. Magazines tell you that "thin is in", but is thin healthy? After the VMA's everyone jumped on the bandwagon and started listening to Tyler, the Creator... but is his music really any good? Looking at myself now, I think I'm better at separating fact from fabrication. To sum up: sure, the media can (and does) give you suggestions on who to be, but it can't make you who you are.