Are you someone who listens to radio stations that repeat the same six songs over and over again? Do you only watch the big summer blockbuster movies that have million dollar advertising campaigns? Do you only read the books intentionally placed on the “Popular” table in the book store? Do you only watch the laugh track-driven sitcoms of the major networks?

Stop it.

If you fit this category of human being, you need to explore life. And I’m speaking solely from a media standpoint. I don’t know anything about “finding yourself” through meditation and yoga and tea drinking and veganism. I’m talking about music, movies, television, books, comics, websites, etc. Every young person goes through the phase of radio music, Hollywood blockbusters, and best-sellers; the problem is that some people never break through this phase. I’d actually say the majority of people don’t.

I’m not here to bash things you may enjoy. You can totally like the Transformers movies, Katy Perry, Twilight, Maroon 5, The Hunger Games, Two and A Half Men, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Flo Rida, and The Big Bang Theory. I’m just suggesting you expand your interests and explore the unknown.

Instead of listening to and watching and reading what’s shoved down your throat, look for something different.

Explore an era or movement of film you don’t know anything about. Read up on and watch the films of Classical Hollywood Cinema, silent slapstick comedies, and the French New Wave.

Find new and old bands you’ve never even heard of. Listen to Captain Beefheart, Baths, Seu Jorge, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Devendra Banhart, Do Make Say Think, Willis Earl Beal.

Look for TV shows you’ve never considered watching or didn’t even know exist. Watch Misfits, Red Dwarf, Party Down, Boardwalk Empire, Peep Show, Trailer Park Boys.

Discover and read books written by classic authors. (I’m still in the process of doing this, so I can’t fully make suggestions.) My “To Read” list includes some Hemingway, Kerouac, Twain, Shelley, Fitzgerald.

Personally, I’m only beginning to explore the media that has built up over the course of human history. I will be for the rest of my life. There’s a lot out in the world for us, almost too much. I’m nowhere near “cultured” and I barely know what I’m even talking about. All I’m saying is to find your own interests. Don’t conform to what’s expected. Become your own individual.