Portrait of Mikel Diarmuid McCormick : A Senior Profile Portrait by Sarah Weber (2011)

I'm Mikel Diarmuid McCormick, a low-middle class straight male who is 23 years old. The movie Trainspotting, by Danny Boyle, is about a young Scottish boy, Mark Renton, who struggles with his heroin addiction. I relate to Rennie because I too am Scottish, and I am struggling with my own addiction, but I'm not addicted to drugs. I'm addicted to the small screen. Television is my heroin. I attend the University of Saint Andrews with the hopes of becoming a Television Producer for the BBC. Class is the only reason I leave my house. My free time is spent watching TV; trust me television majors have a lot of free time. If I wasn't embarrassed about my addiction, I would tell you that I can quote every episode of Arrested Development, Doctor Who, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I've seen every episode at least 12 times; like I said, I have a lot of free time. This picture of me was taken, by my best friend and brother, Rory, (Television ruins my relationships). He caught me passed out by the television after my three-season marathon of Arrested Development. I had stayed up for two straight days, and was barely hanging on. I stayed up for two more days and watched four full seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They rushed me to the hospital, because I forgot to eat. Like my idol, Joss Whedon (Buffy's Producer), says ''Television keeps us alive. Television and food. Don't forget food. You can go a week without Television.'' Lately I've been forgetting this. In this photo I, Sarah Weber, depict Mikel's addiction through his position on the cardboard. He is passed out on the floor, with his arm extended under his head, as if he is shooting up TV, and the remote in his hand is the heroin needle. There is a blue cast extended over his face to represent the light from the TV. Behind him are multitudes of VHS tapes that he has recorded, of his favorite shows that he watches over and over again. They are all over the place because Mikel doesn't care. He is too mesmerized by the Television to notice what is going on around him.