AP English Language, Block E

Acosta 1

Ilyse Acosta

Mrs. Crawford

14 January 2008

Media Montage

“We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?” An angelic voice religiously sounds from my television set at nine o’clock on a Thursday evening.The wise words of “Grey’s Anatomy’s” narrator, MeredithGrey, alwaysguide me through a stressful week at school. The passionate love affairs and intense medicalprocedures keep me anxiously waiting for that one night a week in which I can live vicariously through Seattle Grace’s talented doctors, who happen to have fabulouslydramatic lives. On those other non-climactic four nights of the school week I am usually furiously multitasking: approximately every four to five minutes I jump from my APCalculus homework to instant message chatting with three friends at once to commenting on an out-of-towner’s Facebook page to reading Ella Minnow Pea. While most students mightfind these habits distracting or unproductive, I like to live on the edge. I keep my school nights interesting: who knows what will come next—could be something as crazy asbreak/snack time (which tends to occur about seven times per night), could be something as monotonous as thirty consecutive U.S. History “Guided Reading Questions.” So that is a typical mediated night in the life of Ilyse Acosta, but what are her mornings like, you ask? After stumbling out of bed and brushing my teeth, I make it to the kitchen. I turn onNews Channel 9 to check for the day’s upcoming forecast. Now comes time for an extremely thrilling part of the day: “Saved by the Bell!” Funny story actually: I have onlyhappened to see the first fifteen minutes of every “Saved by the Bell” episode. From the time I was a second-grader, I have unfortunately had to leave the house for school at approximately 7:15 AM. As terrible luck has it, “Saved by the Bell” runs from 7:00 AM until 7:30 AM—I am sadly graced with only a half-serving of Zach Morris’s pearly whites and cheesy pick-up-lines each morning. NextI jump in my grandmother’s old 1993 Lexus for my therapeutic drive to school. I listen to my abundant assortment ofmix-tapes largely created by Page Price. No worries—I have a CD to suit each of my numerous moods: if I feel like relaxing, I have “Ilyse’s Chill Mix;” if I’m in the mood toparty, I have “Ilyse’s Pump-Up Mix.” I soon arrive at school, but do not be fooled, for the fun has just begun. After making it to my first-period class, I pop open my IBM laptop tofind yet another inspiring quote from Mrs. Timothy. Next comes time to enter the intense Microsoft Outlook emailing network—and once you are in, you are in for good; forgetanalyzing hundreds of paintings in Cultural History. First I delete ten chain-emails that my classmates have mercilessly sent to the entire upper division. Then Dean Pisano harshly reprimands the sophomores and juniors for parking in the senior lot. Finally I find an email concerning a status update from one of the twelve colleges I applied to. I open it, holding my breath and anticipating a decision. Unfortunately I merely find a thank-you-for-applying email—the excitement is gone. When lunch finally rolls around, I faithfullydrive to Starbucks and either Pita’s or Firehouse Subs with a few girls. We eat inside the restaurant, desperately seeking an escape from the crowded mall of Berkeley. A fewhours later, I arrive at home and go for a restorative run around the neighborhood. Now it is back to multitasking—after watching my tivoed “Gossip Girl,” of course.