Huron students await the chance to be on the MTV show MADE.

Ashley Weigel

Everyone has a dream. Everyone has a goal, something they want to achieve. And deep inside each and every one of us is a hidden desire, an unconventional wish contrary to who we are, a way of rebelling against the personality that we have used to define ourselves.

From athletes to artists, musicians to book worms, the auditorium was filled with an eclectic collection of students, each there for a chance to achieve their own individual dreams. We were all waiting, waiting for the chance to be on the MTV show MADE.

One by one, we entered the empty room to find ourselves facing an MTV representative, a laptop, and the eye of a video camera. As the lady peered at us from behind the laptop, asking us about our personality and ambitions, we answered straight to the video camera. I auditioned to be a poet; it would only be fair for me to give MTV a chance before really judging the MADE TV show.

But while everyone was getting hyped about the MADE auditions, no one bothered to remember Dylan Wood, the Huron graduate who was ‘made’ into a fashion designer as a freshman. And no one seemed to really think about how the experience of being ‘made’ actually is from the inside. According to Xavier Kimbrough's column in the Emery, Wood explained, “You eat, sleep, and breathe whatever it is that you’re being made into.”

Sure, MADE sounds good in theory, but it’s obvious that as a reality show, it can’t be as great as it seems. MADE is merely a business scheme, a way for MTV to make money by manipulating the innocent lives of the youth to amuse others.

I knew the minute I saw the application that MADE was exactly what I had thought it was; a plot to ambush the life of a teenager and turn it into a source of entertainment for others. “How do other people at your school view you?” “What clique or group do you belong to?” These may seem like innocent inquiries, but the show is merely looking for something to exaggerate and a way for them to target different segments of the teenage population.

Whenever anyone has an opportunity to be on TV even for a split second, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s no surprise that people would be exploding with enthusiasm when they can have an entire TV show dedicated to their life. But being on TV is not nearly as great as it sounds either.

I can’t stand reality TV. It kills me to watch people make fools of themselves on camera, especially when I know that a lot of the things people do and say have been staged, scripted and manipulated. To me, reality TV is the most ironic thing; it is almost everything but an accurate depiction of real life.

I love the hope that the concept of MADE inspires though. I wish that students, even I, had the courage and determination to go for those secret aspirations, regardless of how they may be out of character. No one should feel as though they need the help of a TV show to do what they want to do. But in all honesty, I know that I do not have enough motivation to dive into poetry on my own. So I have to admit, for some people, MADE can definitely prove to be a positive experience.

I felt like a complete idiot auditioning for MADE because honestly, I don’t like to admit that I need help at achieving my goals. But auditioning for MADE, although it confirmed my theories of the conspiracy of the show, made me realize that there are so many more things that people want to explore. I just wish that we all had the courage to reach for the stars without being flaunted in front of the world.

Trisha Paul is a senior at Huron High School and the co-editor-in-chief of The Emery.