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Writer's pictureJ. Faith Malicdem

The Cherry Poppers

Updated: Mar 4, 2020

Introduction

Welcome back to the Cherry Poppers, I'm your host Faith Malicdem! The Cherry Poppers is a show about comical misadventures in everything to do with love and romance—right here on WECB.fm, the underground sound of Emerson College! Now, you may be wondering, “why willingly expose your romantic misfortunes on air?” You see, we, the Cherry Poppers, aim to embrace the awkward-ness that comes with finding yourself through love, because we think there’s a real value in the romances that don’t necessarily work out (as cheesy as it sounds). Every week we’ll be highlighting a new issue and shared experience within the realm of romance, but today, this week’s guest host, [enter guest here] and I will be discussing [enter episode topic] and our experiences with it.


Logo designed by Nadezhda Ryan

Set the Scene

On a first date in the fall of last year, I found myself venting about a radio show idea to a lucky guy.


“You know, I figure I have so many comical and outrageous stories relating to everything within the realm of romance, I may as well start some sort of talk show about it.”


We were ten minutes into our twenty minute walk to the North End, when he raised an eyebrow and went “Outrageous stories?”


I proceeded to explain a few of my misadventures in love (if you can even call them that) while twisting the backings of my earrings. He’d toss his head back and laugh in a Jimmy Fallon-like manner, encouraging me to go for it. Little did he know he’d be featured on an episode of the show in a few months. An entertaining one, at that.


It was the beginning of spring semester when I found I hadn’t quite decided on whether I should execute the show. How did I feel about sharing these stories with the world in such a vulnerable manner? Would people think differently of me? Was I too young to tackle a full-fledged show about love and relationships? Will I get in trouble for talking about these very real experiences I encountered with very real people who could very well listen in and confront me about it??????


Nevertheless, I sat at my desk, collected a G-3 pen and college-ruled paper to muster up a sample outline of what the show would look like. I flipped the notion of romantic-misfortune-induced self-deprecation on its head. It dawned on me: I could aim the show toward embracing the unfortunate--but beneficial--learning experiences that can only be found in mismanaged romantic endeavors. I could even incorporate songs that have been recommended to myself and my friends by the potential/past/current “lovers” we were talking about on-air to better illustrate the stories we were narrating. I’d sprinkle in a few songs relating to the theme of each episode, too.


Then, I sent out a mass email to my friends containing a pre-planned schedule with columns dedicated to outlined episode topics, room for guest hosts to explain their narrative contributions to the episode and their thoughts on the topic in general, and the official sign-up for who wanted to discuss what, as well as when they wanted to do so.



It didn’t take long for the outline to grow and for new episode ideas to be shared amongst my circle of friends.


You should talk about this! I have so many fun stories I could share. Get one of your ex’s on the show!


Then, before I knew it, episode after episode, I had a different friend reigning the studio with me, engaging in discourse about beauty standards, first times, and online dating culture—anything we found relevant to our lives at the time. The hour flew while we were in there, and every single time, it felt as if we’d hadn’t even made a dent in what we initially wanted to discuss on-air. Going into it, I knew I had stories to share and issues within the realm of love to speak on, but I had no idea how massive love as an overarching theme really is.


Conclusion

This show opened up doors to new understandings of love and romance, not only for myself, but for those on the show, as well as those listening.


Whenever I go on a bad date, now I just think, “Cherry Poppers” content!


Romantic misfortunes aren’t frowned upon in my circle of friends anymore. They’re seen as material for the show. Which, yes, is problematic, but: in other words, whenever someone comes back home to me to vent about how their date went, they immediately resort to dissecting what they can learn from the experience, and how they’ll apply this experience to their understanding of love in the future.


In the photo above, you’ll see that I (mushily) wrote in a mission statement. It reads as follows:


The Cherry Poppers focuses on romantic experiences from the perspective of college-aged students. We hope to break the stigma surrounding romantic misfortunes and misadventures, and instead aim to embrace them.


And now that I’ve seen the show’s small—but mighty—impact on the perceptions of others, this mission statement is something I reflect back on to keep me going. It reaffirms my decision to give my show a shot in the first place.


Moving forward, I can’t wait to see what direction the show will go in, and I’m more than thrilled to watch the show’s impact grow (while watching myself, my friends, and listeners everywhere grow with it!). Be ready to have your cherries popped.


Listen live on Tuesdays at 7pm EST here. (Hit play!)

See more about the Cherry Poppers here.


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