I am more than certain that everybody has done it: stayed up all night without batting his or her eyelashes once. Pulled an all-nighter while working hard, or hardly working, because they were simply tossing and turning in bed and then the sun was peering through their window. The past few weeks I have been lucky enough to collaborate with two of my current classmates, Ryan Dalpiaz and Cassie Teevan, and together we conquered our goal. It was our job to produce a radio show for our “New Media Literacy and ELA” class, better known as ENG 307. 
At first glance I was mortified by the uniqueness and depth of this task, especially since it involved working with two of my classmates whom I knew little about. Before my eyes, in a matter of minutes, my attitude shifted. Working with my ‘co-hosts’ was not only a beneficial experience, but it was an all around good time. After our first meeting, where we got together to discuss the theme and structure of our show, and assigned a workflow for the upcoming meetings, I was eager to get started, since I had an alarmingly upbeat reaction to what the future held for the three of us.
Our first obstacle hit rather quickly, since none of us had previously worked on a podcast, or used the audio program, Garageband that we were expected to work so closely with. After watching a thirty minute tutorial that demonstrated the majestic features of Garageband, we directed our attention to our audience. We 
searched near and far to find a topic that would interest us, and be easy to relate to for all of you! We brainstormed for about fifteen minutes, sharing ideas and bouncing potential topics off of each other.
Some time during this process, the light bulb turned on, and this one carried some intricate enlightenment. We highlighted our own lives, and realized that together we had more than enough experience to masterfully create a twenty minute radio show. We yearned to share some terrifying experiences with late night homework assignments, and took on the stereotypical role of a relaxed student, in comparison to a rather stressed out perfectionist. This topic was
sincere to us, and allowed each one of us to speak from our own experiences. Regardless of whether we spoke from first hand experience, where we faced up against the clock, and spent all night completing an assignment, heard a story about how a friend handled a situation similar to this, or just took part in a restless night, we knew this would transform into a comedic yet worthwhile show if we simply spoke to this. We decided to artistically craft some homemade radio personalities to fill these roles, and once we did this we wanted to ensure the flow was similar to a radio show. We turned these personalities into ‘callers’ who wanted to share their stories on the air, as they participated in our rather unique “My Favorite Caller” challenge, that was taking place right on our show!
This competition allowed us to incorporate a plethora of voices, which kept things interesting, as well as a wide range of creative commercials depending on what each caller seemed to need. For example a stressed out caller, who was up all night doing homework encouraged us to include a commercial on “Rejuvenating Shampoo”. Our show was dedicated to those who were up all night, for any reason. We wanted to let viewers know they were not alone, and provide a safe haven for our fellow insomniacs. Our show turned out great, and we were able to mix and match our narration with some really attractive music. Some
sections of this project were quite gruesome, especially becoming accustomed to the technological aspects, but once we managed to work out the kinks we thrived vastly. The skills learned in the process will remain with me, and I am sure that they will be incredibly useful. I had a tremendous amount of unanticipated fun, and collaborating with two remarkable people made the whole process rather exhilarating. I am proud of our final production, and encourage everyone to check out “What The FM I Still Doing Up Radio!?”
Grey Matter 