Two Sundays ago, I woke up to the horrid feeling of urine being pressed up against every wall of my bladder. I tried to convince myself that if I didn’t open my eyes, I’d be able to trick myself back to sleep. I don’t know at what point in my existence I became so lazy that I would rather lay in pain than get up to pee, but it was about twenty more minutes before I acknowledged that I was, in fact, awake, and got up to use the bathroom.
When I rose, I found myself trapped in what felt like a constant state of the first second of a brain freeze. Just as I suspected, I was wearing the dress I’d gone out in the night before and a pair of high school field hockey sweatpants I’d never returned to a sister after passing out in them on her couch. I grabbed a water from the fridge, made some coffee, took some medicine for my headache, set myself up with the Korean barbecue I hadn’t finished eating the night before, turned on the TV, and started my day. I had big plans to spend the day recuperating from the weekend and catching up on some of my favorite reality shows.
Halfway through the first commercial, I grabbed my phone to check Twitter for the second time since I’d woken up. No one had interacted with me since I’d checked five minutes prior, so I sent a tweet beckoning fast food chains to consider serving breakfast all day on Sundays to garner some attention for my deprived ego. I perused Instagram to see if my idiot best friend had once again uploaded a horrible photo of me, because she insists on using filters that only flatter those who are pale and blonde (i.e. her), leaving the rest of us (i.e. me) looking washed out and embarrassed, when I noticed a great deal of photos from 1996 that people had uploaded of themselves with their dads. It was Father’s Day. I quickly got on Facebook in pursuit of a photograph of me with the man I shame every weekend, unbeknownst to him.
Between checking up on the success of my latest tweet, deciding between Mayfair and Inkwell, and finding this gem of a girl prompting YouTube commenters to tell her that her horrible singing was mind-blowing, I didn’t even realize that my show had returned five minutes prior. I rewound to catch myself up, but not a moment later, I was back on my phone to see if that girl really could sing. In fact, I wanted to see if more self-important 14 year olds couldn’t sing. I tried to resist the urge, but I’d surrendered my Sunday to my phone. At one point, I had even turned down the sound on my television, so I could watch one of the reality star’s Keeks. I repeat, I turned down said celebrity on my TV, so I could watch her on my phone.
And just like that, internet killed the video star.
It seems we are in a digital age, where the youngest generation increasingly prefers speed to detail, and smartphones to TV. We’ve grown up in a world where information and entertainment are available to us instantly. We prefer to multitask when it comes to our entertainment, cruising the internet, participating in social media, and trying desperately to beat level 33 in Candy Crush (to no avail) while we watch our favorite shows, and we don’t have patience for commercial breaks. It’s an evolution, of sorts — a cultural shift, to say the least. More and more of my friends are opting out of purchasing cable packages, because TV just isn’t the preference anymore. It seems bizarre in theory, but it’s unfolding this way before our eyes, and society, with all its new preferences, is going to need to be accommodated.
A solution is underway. Last week, a new reality series called @SummerBreak was launched. I’M ALREADY ADDICTED. It’s an experimental, multimedia series that allows you to follow all the drama as it happens. You can even watch it on your phone!
The series will follow a group of high school kids throughout their last summer in LA before college. As is true with any traditional series, there’s an outrageous cast, comprised of four beautiful girls and five gorgeous guys, and we can expect tons of the drama we’ve always craved. Set out to make the most of the best summer of their lives, there will undoubtedly be crazy days on the California beaches, romance at sunset, and most importantly wild, summer nights. I’ve checked out the first episode, and it actually looks pretty awesome.
I am literally obsessed with Lena and Clara right now. First of all, they’re gorgeous and I’m desperately hoping that in some strange twist of fate one of them becomes my great great great great grandlittle, because they’d be perfect additions to the fam. They’re always done up and they’re a pure embodiment of best friendship. Besides, based on some casual gossip and a word or two from the flirtatious Nia, I can already tell that I’m proud of the female members of this cast. They are way TSTC about the guys who adore them.
While the other ladies know that girls just want to have fun, no one knows it better than Alex. She’s an absolute blast, boasting “I’m the first one to crawl in and the last one to pass out.” Future social chair anyone?
Surprisingly, more of the drama is actually unfolding with the guys. Zaq likes Clara who’s best friends with Connor, who I’m guessing might actually have a little crush on her too, considering he didn’t invite his competition to his summer kickoff barbecue. While Zaq and Connor are after one girl, Ray and Kostas are after a lot of girls and by the looks of them, they’re probably going to get what they want — hashtag suave.
Another exciting thing about the @SummerBreak experience is the set-up of it all. It’s designed to be real drama in real time. Short video clips will be filmed by a crew and released on YouTube in real time. This leaves no time to edit in drama or create fake storylines for effect. Everything you see will be exactly as it played out. A comprehensive recap will air on Sundays. The most important part of the unique experience that the producers are trying to create for us, however, is the use of social media. Following @SummerBreak and its cast (Clara, Alex, Nia, Lena, Kostas, Zaq, Ray, and Connor) is not a supplement to the series, but a part of it. We’ll have clips to watch, but the majority of our entertainment will be provided to us as it unfolds, over social media, in real-time, which is how we prefer it.
Follow the incredible experience now on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, acquaint yourself with the mischievous cast, and tune in now to become a part of entertainment history in the making.
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Veronica Ruckh
Veronica (@VeronicaRuckh) is the Director of Total Sorority Move for Grandex, Inc. After having spent her undergraduate years drinking $4 double LITs on a patio and drunk texting away potential suitors, she managed to graduate with an impressive GPA and an unimpressive engagement ring -- so unimpressive, in fact, some might say it's not there at all. Veronica has since been fulfilling her duties as "America's big," a title she gave to herself with the help of her giant ego. She has recently switched from vodka to wine on weekdays. Email her at [email protected]
@VeronicaRuckh
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