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This I Believe: The Power of Television

As a young kid, my father was out of the picture. My mother had two jobs in order to support three kids. I grew up in a rough neighborhood, and so I never played with the neighborhood kids. We didn’t have board games or video games, but luckily we had television. 

We lived in a small apartment; my mother would often be asleep or at work because of the rigorous schedule she had. I was not old enough to be in school. At home, I would use television to provide my education and entertainment during my childhood. Generally, parents are often teaching kids at a young age their numbers, shapes and colors. As for my mother, she was often unable to teach me before elementary school because she needed to work to support our family. 

While at home, I would often watch educational videos that were aired on television. I lived in an apartment where only Spanish was spoken, so English would become my second language. I was unable to read or write, but I was hooked on the educational programs that were aired. It was very repetitive, so it made it easy to understand. The audio-visuals on the shows made education programs made it very interesting. Watching short cartoons expanded my English vocabulary.

My mother would often take us to a babysitter because she worked nights or on the weekends. Weekends at the babysitter’s, she often would play educational games with me, but this was only when my siblings were asleep because they were very young. Living in a rough neighborhood, my mother would not allow me to go outside so television had been my entertainment option at the time. Once I enrolled into elementary school, I was better prepared than if I didn’t watch the educational program that were aired. Television had a big impact on my childhood because of how it provided education and entertainment for me.

Television allowed me to ignore my childhood struggles and try to make the best out of them. Having my mother working all the time, made my education process difficult, but with the help of the television, it happened. Television was my only option for my entertainment. Television made me for who I am today. This, I believe.

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