Cherry Girl for Greener World

I grew up in the '80s and used to watch MTV a lot. You know, when they actually played music videos. No, really, MTV used to play music. But now, MTV is about shows like 16 and Pregnant and Paris Hilton's My New BFF. Oh, and a show I just learned about called Bully Beat Down, where bullies are challenged to an MMA bout for the chance to win $10,000. Really, MTV? You call yourself music television and you play music videos, what, every third Tuesday at 3:00 a.m.?

Now that I've got that rant of my chest, as per this press release, I learn about a character called "Cherry Girl." Who is this person? Until today, had I been told Cherry Girl was on MTV, I would've assumed she was a singer, one of Paris Hilton's BFFs or the name of a new animated show. Instead, from what I can tell, she's 18, likes eating cherries, MTV announced her to the world on Earth Day and she's out "creating mischief with a positive twist." Okay. But there's got to more to this, right?

Apparently, yes, there is. She's part of MTV Switch, which is MTV Networks International's climate change campaign. She blogs, Tweets, is on Facebook and on Flickr, so she's got social media covered. And she's currently running a contest where people are supposed to send her a video, story or image that shows her "an effort you have made to improve the environment around you." The winner will get a Gibson guitar (one of only 25 ever made) that's been signed by artists like John Legend, Metallica and Spinal Tap.

MTV and I may have had a falling out, but I can get behind them having someone try to inspire young people to do good. You can find out more information about the Gibson contest here.