About Me
Introduction
Hello, I’m Jackson Hirshberg, a college student at the University of Utah. I started Portable Companions for two reasons, one because I wanted to create a website for my web design class, and two because I wanted a place to share my favorite ways and some options to get away from the phone when waiting around or traveling. I’ve always been a fan of gaming, books, and creative outlets so this seemed like a great place to share my thoughts and recommendations for others who have also wanted ideas of things to get away from their phones.
Why I Made the Website
The main idea for this site came from me having to travel and wait around a lot for things to start, and the want to get away from constantly being on my phone. Between school and work, I travel and have to wait around a decent bit, and filling up the time with looking at social media started to make me feel emotionally drained. So, I had the idea to start bringing around small devices, books, and notebooks that made those in-between moments more enjoyable. Things like my DS helped me connect to entertainment that feels actually fun, books let me find enjoyable worlds and ideas to explore, and notebooks let me sketch out ideas and write out my thoughts when I had something I wanted to get out. The website was made to give others with the same issues as me some form of enjoyment that they can bring with them on their daily travels.
What the Site is About & What Visitors Will Find
On each page of the website I aimed to share recommendations and ideas for portable devices, creative tools, and any other daily carry items I could think of that can help visitors stay entertained, inspired, or reflective without them having to always be on their phones. Whether you’re into video games, journaling, or just want to be less attached to your phone, I hope this site helps you find something you will love to bring along on your travels.
Fun Facts
Favorite games to bring with me
- Mega Man Battle Network, a fun action RPG that has a very Saturday morning cartoon vibe that I love.
- Mega Man Zero/ZX: an action based platformer that can get quite challenging
- Castlevania Series: Great exploration based games with fun combat
- Pokemon series: Great team builder games that are pretty low stress
- Picross games: Puzzle games that can get decently challenging
- Tetris: can never go wrong with a game of tetris every now and then
- Dragon Quest: Classic RPG’s that have fun fantastical settings
- Super Mario Bros: never can go wrong with pretty much any Mario game
Favorite Books
- The Phantom Tollbooth: an easy to read fantasy book that has a very hopeful message
- Mistborn: For those who want something fantasy but has a little more grit, mistborn is perfect for you
- Piranesi: A mindbending fantasy novel, that keeps you wondering what will happen next
- Fullmetal Alchemist: A surprisingly dark fantasy story about war and the repercussions of going against that laws of life
- Dorohedoro: A very weird tale of a man with a lizard head hunting wizards.
When I’m not busy, I love replaying and finding new DS & GBA games and reading fantasy books as you probably can tell from my favorites lists. I could definitely recommend my favorites but some of them are definitely not for everybody, but I do think it’s fun to see what others enjoy. I hope that if this is the first page you came to that you’ll enjoy the rest of the website and recommendations, or if this is one of the last pages you came to that you found something that you wanted to learn about and maybe add to your setup. Overall, thank you for coming to Portable Companions.
Contact
If you want to reach out, talk about your own personal daily carry, or have any suggestions to add to the website feel free to message me on the contact page.