um...

why did mtv make a tv show about my life eight years too late?

my head almost just exploded because i just watched this show on mtv that was very similar to something i lived when i was 17.

the show, called the paper, follows the day to day experiences of a high school newspaper. i just watched the first episode, which followed four high school juniors (two girls, two boys) as they duke it out for editor-in-chief of the paper, which they affectionately refer to as "in chief." the paper has a staff of 50, and has won "almost every journalism award there is." the most divisive of the four, amanda, is awarded the position. the other candidates receive equally important positions but vow to not listen or respect amanda. chaos and crying is sure to ensue. and they undoubtedly do not end the year as friends.

my junior year of high school, i was one of four candidates (two girls, two boys) for the editor-in-chief position at my high school newspaper, which had a staff of more than 50 people and had won almost every journalism award. i was "hired" for the position, which we affectionately called "eic," and although i went into it with those three competitors as my friends and managing editors, by the end of the year i had very few friends on that staff. it is hard for 17 and 18 year olds to understand power and responsibility, not to mention what it takes to motivate people and keep them happy. i have found that you just end up coming off as superior, bossy and bitchy. i was not a very good manager, i'm sure of it, but some how, we got through eight issues (or nine? i forget) of that paper. (to all who dealt with me during that year, i am so sorry) and, miraculously, old wounds heal eventually, even if it took me years to repair those bruised egos and damaged friendships. but, i'm sure it would have made for good tv.

i want to watch this show...but i also just can't handle it. i lived it. i don't need to see what i happens. i know. trust, me, amanda, you may think that becoming "in chief" of your school paper will put you on the fast track to becoming anna wintour or the president, but the only thing it will get you in a stressful senior year and possibly an ulcer. or, in the case of my friends, a brain tumor, heart condition and ovarian cyst.

see? it would have been great tv.