Growing up, I remember a TV always being on somewhere in the house, even if nobody was paying attention to it. Getting home from elementary school, I would watch hours upon hours of television, and I would even wake up early on weekends to watch all my favorite cartoons. My favorite shows were the ones with strong female protagonists. As a young girl, I wished to emulate them, and if their love lives were also involved, or if the show was really emotional, I would easily be moved to tears or joy.
Nevertheless, if I had to choose a specific genre, I would say that I enjoy shows with a supernatural aspect most. Not surprisingly, as a 12 year old I was heavily invested in “Charmed,” a show about three sister witches living in San Francisco, battling evil, and trying to find the value of happiness in their personal lives. But in 2006, when it ended, as all good shows tend to do, I didn’t really have a solid replacement. There were no new TV drama series that I could brand “Lili-worthy,” so I expanded my viewing tastes to include horror films, sci-fi movies, and absolutely everything with Brad Pitt. Out of the blue came “The Vampire Diaries,” and once again I could happily live vicariously through the adventures of inspiring, powerful women.
Today, television continues to be a vibrant presence in my life. Indeed, I’m part of a development program at a national cable news network. Since joining I’ve successfully pitched stories, like one on the presidential elections, that made air, and I have also submitted dozens of video footages, sound bites, and images (of riots, vigils, criminal manhunts, and war). In short, hard-hitting news has become a huge part of my relationship with TV. And yet at heart, I’m still just a WB11 fan girl.