Tuesday, May 15, 2012

AVID 10 Year Anniversary Dinner

I just got back from the 10 year anniversary dinner for AVID and I had an amazing time. When I got there, I immediately saw my Avid sisters Bonita and Kendyl and we walked around looking at all the other school's representation boards. Eventually, Ms. Dauka came and she brought ours too. I thought it looked great. Afterwards, my mom and dad came and we sat at the table we were directed to. The set up of the room was beautiful and everything looked so well organized. Bonita sat at my table along with Sharee and her family. After what felt like a lifetime of speeches, the food finally arrived. Dinner was delicious, the meal consisted of baked chicken, stuffing, string beans, and hush puppies with strawberry shortcake for dessert. After eating, everyone from our school's class was called to take a group picture on the starewell. Afterwards, I took a few more pictures with my friends and laughed hysterically at a few kids from a different school having what looked to be a krumping (dance) off and then left. It was a very memorable night and I had a lot of fun. :)


Me and the lovely Dona


Themis sisters for life!


:)


Me, Jamilla, & Bonita 


Me standing in front of our school presentation board.


Me and my mom


:D


Me and my dad

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Dance Like Nobody's Watching

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers of the world! First, I wanted to give a quick shout out to my mom who has encouraged me to keep up with my blog ever since I learned of this assignment. Without her, I would have several days of missing blogs and the quality of my daily reflections would not be where it is today. I started off the day by teaming up with my sister to give my mom breakfast in bed and a card from the both of us. After we all had breakfast, my mom, sister, and I headed out to Centennial Park to meet up with my mom's friend Michele and her daughter Laurie. They are like a second family to me because her kids and I grew up together (from the time I moved to Maryland in the first grade) and Michele is always so supportive and upbeat. My final photography project is called the 'Swan Song' and the idea is to take one last picture of how we want to be remembered by NTHS. I want to be remembered by someone who was free and followed their dreams. The name of my series is 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching' because I wanted to interpret Laurie's dance skills with the care free nature of dancing in public out in the open. Here a few of my favorite shots.. Enjoy :)






Thursday, May 10, 2012

My Avid Senior Farewell

The day has come.. It's hard to believe that after three years of sitting in the audience it was actually our turn to be on stage for our Senior Farewell. The night started with the screening of our (Themis') house video, I wish I could have played a bigger part in it but over all it was pretty good. I can at least say that I came up with the concept of it. Afterwards, we got up and took a bow and then sat down to receive our awards. This is how the rest of the night went, we would watch a video, take a bow, and receive our awards in groups. I won The Iman Oscar of Poise and Decorum. Ms. Casale, my guidance counselor, sponsored me but unfortunately she was not there that night so Ms. Cathirell read the speech she wrote about me for her. I could tell it was very heartfelt and sincere, which I really appreciated it. Afterwards, we got a few words of advice from the Avid site team. The most memorable of them for me was what Dona said about breaking the cycle of teen pregnancy because it is not an easy thing to deal with.Afterwards, we learned who won the competition and surprisingly, not be a long shot, it was Atlas. Prometheus was a close second with Themis in third and Hyperion finishing last. After the ceremony ended and I got home, I look through my Avid gift bag that I got along with my Oscar. There were a lot of cool things inside but the most meaningful of them all was our box of 'fortunes' from everyone in my Avid class. I got so many kind and encouraging messages, a lot of them from people I never would have expected. It really made my night :)

Me receiving my Iman Oscar :)


AVID Seniors Class of 2012!


My mom and I 


My dad and I

Monday, April 30, 2012

The Champ Is Here!

Today my sisters team was competing in the final match of the championships. Lady Tigers vs. The Stars; this game would decide who would win first place and win the State Championships for AAU. Before my sisters game started, the older Lady Tigers team was competing against the older Stars team and the Tigers won. My sister's team was happy but at the same time, they had some big shoes to fill. It was a very close and intense game with the score going back and forth but in the end the Tigers won! At the end of the game, the announcer recognized all of the players and awarded them with their trophy. Everyone was overjoyed and afterwards we went out to dinner to celebrate.

My dad and sister posing with the trophy.





Saturday, April 21, 2012

No Mercy

Today my mom, family friend Michele, and I went to go support my little sister's basketball game with her team the Lady Tigers. It was very fun to watch but it was clear to see that the Tigers had an edge over the other team. The score was a blow out, with the Tigers winning 56-9. Michele was astounded by how well they played seeing as she has never seen my sister or her team play and it was funny seeing her reactions. Meanwhile, her daughter Michaela, almost one year old, tried to steal the show (and other people's food) by just being flat out adorable. It was a great game but hopefully the next one will be more of a challenge, as those are the more entertaining ones. :)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

I Have Proof

Today, even though it was a B day, I went to school to print out my scholarship proof for Avid. We had to have them in our college folder by today and I'm very relieved I got that out of the way. With that complete, I am confident that I will once again get straight A's for third quarter like I did in first quarter. :)


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Avid Egg Hunt

Today in Avid we had our annual egg hunt outside at school. It was pretty fun. At first I only found one egg but I actually found a second one just walking back to the "cornucopia", the line we had to stand in after finding two eggs in order from the first person back to the last. Maurice had the 'grenade' egg so that means one person from Hyperion had to be cut from the games. When we went back inside we opened our eggs, each of them containing a random act of kindness that we are required to complete. Mine were to show up to class early for the rest of the day and ask how I can help and also appreciate my health and do some type of excercise. We also learned that we only have to do one blog a week for fourth quarter so that we can concentrate more on getting ready for our AP tests :)

Monday, April 9, 2012

Frankenstein

Today I read chapters one through five of Frankenstein and it's actually more interesting than I thought it would be. It can get very confusing at times though because there are several stories within the story. To sum it up it is about the story of scientist Robert Walton who finds Victor Frankenstein during his journey to Antarctica and he later learns that Frankenstein is on a mission to destroy his creation, the monster, that he regretfully created.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everyone. Thinking back on the holiday, it's always much more fun when you're a child because you go out Easter egg hunting, eat lots of candy, get dressed up, and have a big party with family and friends. Now since my sister and I are older, we don't really do those things anymore. So here's the most festive thing I've done today: decorate this picture with a dotted nose and whiskers and yes, cat ears. There was an option to use bunny ears but they wouldn't fit all the way in the picture so I just used these. Lol!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

I'm Coming Home ♫

Today I came home from spending my spring break in New York. It was such a blast but I was ready to come home and just have my own space and be with my family again. The only problem was that I was so tired from staying up all night watching movies with Seraphina and Josh that I was too tired to get up! When I finally did and was finished getting ready, I went out for breakfast and then came back to the apartment until noon when I left for my bus. Thankfully, it was on time and we didn't run into traffic and I was home by 4:30. Home sweet home. :)

Me and Nia.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Covergirl

Today I had a casting for Covergirl Cosmetics for a chance to be the face (or should I say lips) of their newest lipstick. I was so excited, I've always dreamed of modeling for Covergirl, especially because beauty is one of my strong suits. The casting went by very quickly but I left my best impression on them while I was there. Fingers crossed!

Covergirl material right here! 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Exploring The Concrete Jungle

Today was a free day for me so since the weather had warmed up and it was nice and sunny I decided to walk around and sight see for the day. Manhattan is such an amazing place with wonderful areas like Central Park, Time Square, SoHo, Garment District, and many more. I think everyone should visit at least once in their life time. It's a very inspiring and fun place to be. Here's a video of some of the top models in the fashion lip synching to Jay Z's 'Empire State of Mind. I love this :)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Spring Inspired

Today I shot with photographer Rachel B. for a girly, outdoor, Teen Vogue inspired shoot. When I arrived on set I noticed that she was an artist from her many paintings on the walls. Aside from being an amazing artist, she's also very multi-talented and did the hair and make up as well. I have only worked with two other people that can do that (but she is the first one that was a woman) and it takes a lot of work and skill to master so I definitely admire that. I had a lot of fun shooting around Straus Park and now I can't wait to see the pictures. :)

A collage with a picture of me after hair and make up and Rachel's paintings

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

★ macy*s

Today I went on a casting for Macy's. The wait was quite long but I passed the time by talking to some of the other models and eventually my roommate from the apartment, Seraphina, showed up at the casting as well and joined us. Before I knew it, it was my turn to meet the panel of casting directors and give them my all. I felt pretty good about the casting and hope to work with them again soon.


Monday, April 2, 2012

Blogging, Germany Style

Right now I'm blogging from my roomate Seraphina's computer. Since she is from Germany, her computer is programmed in German too so it's very different than what I'm used to. The keyboard is in a different order and everything is in German. Right now it's telling me that everything I'm typing is wrong because the spellcheck doesn't recognize English. On the plus side, I am learning a little bit of German from doing this.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Next Day

When we woke up this morning Amber's mom made us bacon, eggs, and croissants for breakfast, which was great. After breakfast we continued to watch movies and then afterwards Amber and her friends accompanied me to get my hair done at a nearby salon. Once that was done we went back to Amber's house and hung out for a little while longer and then I decided to go home. I was quite tired and once I got back to the apartment I stayed up for about 20 minutes to hang out with Josh and Seraphina (my roomate) and then went to bed.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Amber's Sweet Sixteen

Today I went to my cousin Amber's sweet sixteen birthday party. Her mom picked me up around 5:30 and then we drove to Sylvia's resteraunt where I would be meeting up with Amber. I didn't tell her I was coming so it was a complete surprise and when she saw me she ran to me (almost knocking me over) and gave me a hug. When we went inside I met two of her friends, Jenna and Ebony, and we talked while we were waiting for our table. The wait was almost two hours but when we were finally seated, I realized why. The food was incredible! After dinner, the waiters brought out Amber's birthday cake and we all sung happy birthday. After everyone was finished eating we headed to Amber's house where her friends and I would be spending the night. We watched lots of scary movies (I was the only one who wasn't afraid) until we all fell asleep.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Dresses Galore

I had a casting this afternoon for Paco Rabanne, a well known fashion designer known for his costume designs and flamboyant taste. Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, and many more have all been spotted wearing his designs. When I arrived at the casting, I tried on an amazing bluish-turquoise dress and saw for myself why such iconic figures love his clothing. If I could have kept that dress, I definitely would have! After the casting, I went to the office where I met with my agents and they showed me a few dresses to choose from that they would let me have for prom. The first dress I tried on was too small but the second dress (a long, off the shoulder black gown) fit just right and I really liked it. :)

The exact dress I tried on at Paco Rabanne

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Crazy Trip

I arrived in New York last night and the trip was crazy. First, the bus arrived an hour late, then the bathroom on the bus stopped working so we had to make a stop at a rest stop, then we got into traffic and arrived in New York an hour late! It was very hectic but when I got to the apartment I was very relieved because it was clean and there were only two other girls (and one was leaving in the morning) and I got the bottom bunkbed in the room and lots of cabinet space for my things. One misconception a lot of people have is that models stay in these really huge, luxurious places like they show on America's Next Top Model but in reality (when you're just starting out) models stay in small apartments with up to six or seven girls living in it at one time. However, I am very fortunate because from what I've heard from other models, the apartment I stay in is much nicer that most.

Someday though..

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring Break

Today I finished packing my bags to spend Spring Break in New York. I'm excited to be going and I hope to be busy with plenty of photoshoots, castings, and jobs. The only inconvience about me leaving is that I have a casting Friday afternoon and since my dad has something to do around that time I will have to leave tonight, so now I won't be able to do the Junior Achievement event (Sorry Alyssa). :P

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Junior Achievement

Today in Avid we learned that we would be doing the Junior Achievement activity. We did it last year and it was a very unique experience and it made me understand what teachers go through everyday. This year I got partnered with Alyssa and we are assigned to a kindergarten class. I actually wanted to do a younger group this year because they seem like they would be more enthusiastic that the older kids (last year I was assigned to fourth grade). Even though I don't have school on the day the Junior Achievement takes place, I would still be more than happy to do it anyway

Monday, March 26, 2012

Prepping for Prom

Today I was looking through prom dress catalogs and I saw so many dresses I liked. At first I was convinced that I wanted a short dress and not a long dress but with me being so tall, I think a short dress would look even shorter than normal on me. Im not sure what color I want but I do know that for the hair and make up, I'm going to hire a hair stylist and make up artist that I've worked with on my photoshoots. It's going to be great, I can't wait until I have everything all together.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Hot Skates

Today me and my family went to the Hot Skates roller skating rink in support of my sister's basketball fundraiser. I was a little nervous because I hadn't gone roller skating in a long time and I always start off really bad before I can find my balance and skate without falling. When I was in the rink I was very wobbly at first and I fell a few times but eventually I got the hang of it again. It was a lot of fun and I hope we can do this again some other time. :)

Saturday, March 24, 2012

My Grandparents

Today my grandparents came over to visit. My grandmother comes over the most but my grandfather works a lot so I'm really glad when he has the chance to come visit. When they came over they bought lunch and after eating we just hung out around the house. It's always nice to hang out with them.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Field Trip!

Today was a really fun day. We had our mock interviews during English class and I was told I did really well. I wasn't nervous at all, I just treated it like the kind of interviews I go on when I'm at a modeling casting. After that, me and my friends headed for the bus to get on our way to the movies to see The Hunger Games. I was so excited, I had been looking forward to this movie ever since I finished the book and the series. In the theater, I sat next to my friends Kalyn, Yemi, and Agyness. After the movie, I was actually disappointed because I thought the movie would be better. It seems like everything was very rushed and they didn't pay attention to detail during parts that should have been more important. I hope that the next movie is better. Besides that it was good, I can't really dislike it since it's based off of my favorite book.


These Hunger Games cookies are making me hungry! They look too good to eat! :)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Barnes & Noble Fundraiser

Today I went to the Barnes & Noble fundraiser with my mom. When we got there we immediately saw Dona and Mr. Carney at a table and they told us that if we buy something with a minimum of $10, we can be entered in the raffle to win a brand new Nook. After that, I began looking around to see what I wanted to buy. First I looked through the 'Teen Best Seller' section but there were no books that really caught my attention besides The Hunger Games series, which I've already read, so i just went over to the magazine section. Of course, I chose two fashion magazines but I decided to get two new magazines that I've never read before. One was called Nylon and the other was called Zink. After purchasing them, I went back to Dona and Mr. Carney to show them my receipt and they entered my name in the raffle. After about ten minutes of waiting, Dona drew the winner and I think everyone was shocked when it turned out to be some woman that looked to be in her late 50's who obviously wasn't a student in Avid and not even a parent of any of the Avid students. I think that was really unfair and if Dona decides to do this fundraiser again, the names of Avid students should be the Only ones in consideration!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Hoopin'

Today in Avid, we had another event in our Hunger Games. We went to the gym and played Pig, a basketball game where you take turns taking shots and you lose if you spell out the word pig by missing after another person makes it. It was very fun to watch and root on the tributes from my house and amazingly, no one from Themis was eliminated. I'm really glad we got to do this, it was a much needed break from the usual, tedious school day.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

FastWeb

Today I found more scholarships that matched my capabilities and interests with FastWeb. I've found this site to be really useful and unlike other scholarship websites. All you have to do is answer a few questions and they send you scholarships that match you and they don't bombard you with junk mail. I've found 10 scholarships and I've done two so far but I know I have to hurry because the quarter is close to being over.

Monday, March 19, 2012

First Hunger Games Event

Today in Avid, we had the first game of our Hunger Games. I had to pair up with Sharee because she filled in as a tribute since Jordan was absent today. This game was a mental challenge with a riddle. The riddle went something like 'A plane starts off in New York state and crashes around Canada. Where are the survivors buried?'. A lot of people answered either the U.S. or Canada but when we read the last sentence of the riddle over again we realized that the answer wouldn't be either of those places because survivors don't get buried. After we realized that there was just a big 'Ohhhhh' moment and everyone understood. Haha. Aside from this, we are planning to go see The Hunger Games movie this Friday, I can't wait. I've been waiting for this movie to come out for what seems like forever!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

More Scholarships

Today I continued to work on more scholarships. Some are very easy and some require more work. The most interesting ones in my opinion are the "Science of Black Hair" Scholarship, Battle of the Bands Scholarship, and the Healthy Lifestyle Scholarship. All of these I can be very personable and creative with so they are fun instead of tedious.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Ian Berry

Today I did some research on my mentor photographer, Ian Berry, in order to come up with more ideas for my photojournalistic concentration. Berry was born in Lancashire, England. In his early twenties, he moved to South Africa, where he was exposed to a great deal of political turmoil, starting with the Sharpeville massacre in March, 1960. His assignments have since taken him around the world, bringing light to the poverty and social problems on almost every continent. I chose him to be my mentor photographer because his work can bring an emotional response to its viewers and emphasize important problems going on that many people overlook.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Watered Down

Today I finished my self portrait for art class and I am really happy with it. I payed a lot more attention to details, shading, and highlighting which made this drawing the most realistic I've ever done. Since I used watercolor colored pencil, I went over the finished drawing using a dampened paintbrush and it made it look like a painting which I thought was really cool. :)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

I'm A Sponsor!

Today in Avid we found out that we will be having our own version of The Hunger Games at the end of the year. Each house would have three tributes and a sponsor for each. My house tributes are Jordan, Alyssa, and Nick and I am Jordan's sponsor. After we found out who would be taking what role, as a sponsor, I had to come up with a poster that would convince others to invest in Jordan. Immediately, I thought of his last name and how creative I could get by using that in the poster. When I was done, I showed Dona and Mr. Carney and they loved it. I showed it to Jordan as well, hoping it would help cheer him up since it seemed like he was having a bad day. He said he liked it but was still pretty gloomy. I don't know what was wrong but I hope he feels better soon.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Target Casting

Today I went on a casting for Target. I had to wake up very early, at 5:30am to be exact, because my bus left at 6:30am. I got into New York City around 9:45 and waited at the agency for Josh so that he could take me on my casting. While I was there I talked to my agents and everyone was saying they loved my outfit and my shoes. When Josh finally arrived, the girls that were currently staying in the apartment came with them and we introduced ourselves to each other. Everyone was very nice. A few minutes later my mom said she wanted me to find my way to the casting on my own since I will be old enough to travel alone soon and I actually found the place pretty easily. The casting went by very fast and I did my best to stand out. After that I had lunch and went to the bus stop to catch the next bus home. Over all, I had a very fun day. :)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Colored Pencil Portraits

Today in Art class we started working on our final self portraits. Instead of working in pencil like I normally do, I decided to switch it up and do my portrait in colored pencil. Since I'm new at drawing and shading with colored pencil, I decided to do some practice sketches to warm up. It's a little harder since you can't erase but it is more fun getting to use color. I believe my final drawing will come out really well.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Day Off

I have had a very busy weekend so I'm glad I didn't have school today. I let myself sleep in and just relax. I'm really excited to see the pictures when they come out. At my shoot from yesterday, they painted my nails a very pretty, medium brown color and I think I will get them done this way again. Not only does it look good but it will also keep me from biting my nails because I want to grow them out.