The Media

A fire in a dense forest spreads faster. This is the main principle of gossip in such a small academic institution as Polytechnic School. It appears that if Yale or Harvard decline our pleas, each one of us is already well trained in diplomacy. We are all, as I sometimes joke, Ministers of Propaganda and Enlightenment.

My friend Anna has stated that she wishes to avoid the limelight, but it has gracefully managed to find her in every uncomfortable niche of shadows the school can offer. Ironically (I do acting and generally strange activities), I feel the same way. Many people often try to find me, but I'm usually hiding, not from social interaction (haha, if you get that), but from the drama. It's useless, really. We live in the age of media. The gods Facebook, Skype, and Twitter have dropped their wrath on me already.

You cannot hide from the media any more. My reputation is greatly diminished by recent events, things I don't think I should be blamed for. My trust is everywhere, exploded, dripping from the walls and ceiling. The conspirators have moved on to their pedestals. Apparently, it's my fault for caring, for suffering. I was the lamb on the altar. Still it surprises me that they broke up after a week and that I seem so shallow to the world. Would it make sense that I'm so shallow if I really suffered this much? It's because I'm not. But that's not what high school wants. It wants an image.

Learn this lesson. There is no escaping the media. Those in power must learn to wield it. As a resident of Hong Kong and Los Angeles, I understand its application in the world today. If a terrorist attack gets through, few really care that much about how fast or effective the response is, but instead the number of tweets about it. The age of media has brought an age of terrorism and scandal. It's a game of hot potato.