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.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Washington Life Magazine

Today I went to Virginia to shoot for a spread in Washington Life Magazine. When I woke up, I was still tired from getting home so late last night and working all day yesterday but the excitement of getting to do another magazine shoot gave me just the energy I needed. When we arrived on set, I was greeted by a huge team. There was a stylist, make up artist, hair stylist, jewelry designer, videographers, several photographers, and even the editor of the magazine himself. Rarely is the editor actually on set of the shoot. After meeting everyone, I got my hair and make up done and started trying on the outfits I would be wearing. The wardrobe was absolutely amazing and probably the best I've ever had. There was everything from Prada purses to Chanel high heels and Dolce & Gabbana shirts and much, much more. There were about 9 different outfits I was shooting in and everyone was saying how great I was in front of the camera, they're even trying to get me on the cover! I had a great time and can't wait to see the issue when it comes out in May. :)



Saturday, March 10, 2012

Styleology Magazine

Today I shot with Styleology magazine. The call time in my e-mail said to meet up at the location at 9:30am but when I got there and no one was there, I found out that the call time had been moved to 10:30am so I had some time to go back to the apartment and warm up. When I went back the second time, everyone was there and I started getting ready in hair and make up and put on my first outfit. We were shooting outside all day and it was very cold outside and to make it worse, I was in spring clothes! However, I knew I had to be professional and work through the cold in order to get good pictures so that's what I did. Everyone was very nice and after we were done we went out for pizza. It was a very fun day. :)

The make up artist on my left, photographer on my right, and stylist in the front. Lol :)



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Friday, March 9, 2012

A Distraught Dona

Something very shocking happened in the Avid family today. Dona didn't come to teach today because she was too distraught because someone stole $5 from her desk, her son's iPod touch, and her new iPad. I was so shocked that someone would do this to her. She invests in each of us so much and does so many things to help us and stealing from her is not a good way to repay her. I really hope that Dona comes back soon and that her things are retrieved. I can't imagine what our Avid program would be without her.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Kony 2012

Today I was just browsing around on youtube watching various videos by my favorite youtubers when I saw something that stood out. In the comments of practically every video I watched, everyone was talking about this video called 'Kony 2012'. I thought it was just spam so I ignored it at first but my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to search it and check it out. The video was about a man named Kony Joseph, who is the leader of a rebel group in Uganda and who has kidnapped tens of thousands of children only to turn young boys into child soldiers and young girls into child prostitutes for the sole purpose of gaining power. I was very surprised that this has been going on for almost 30 years and this man has not been stopped. I think everyone should see this video and become more aware and help the cause as much as they can. I know if it was America in this situation, we would want someone to come to our rescue just as much.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It's a Tie..

Today in AVID we watched the videos we made about how government abuse in The Hunger Games compares to government abuse in the real world. It was a bit embarrassing for me because I forgot one of my lines in the video. We were under so much stress because class had ended and we were running into time for our fourth period class so we had to hurry. Also, everyone didn't know what to say because a lot of people where talking while me and Tezerea were discussing our strategy for the video. In the end, there was a tie breaker but we don't know between which houses so we had to write an essay as the tiebreaker. We'll see who wins next class..

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

ANTM

Today I watched the season premier of America's Next Top Model. This season is called the British invasion because it is the show's first international competition with seven American models against seven British models. Just by seeing the commercial I was a little skeptical of what to think and then once the actual show was over, I realized how much it's turning into reality tv. I used to look up to the show for advice but now it's like there's so many theatrics that it's barely about modeling anymore.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Pictures, Pictures Everywhere!

Today at school we took a senior class picture outside after first period. It was cold but huddling up with my friends and doing crazy poses for the camera made it fun and worth the time. After that, there was a guy with a camera following everyone around through every single one of my classes, including lunch! It's like we couldn't get any privacy at all. I just hope he doesn't choose any embarrassing pictures for the yearbook. I also payed my senior dues today, which is a relief. :P

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Back To Baltimore

Today I went to Baltimore City again to take some pictures for my AP Photography concentration. I wanted to leave around 1 but my dad and sister wanted to watch the rest of a basketball game so we didn't end up leaving until 3:45. I was already losing light since the sun goes down around six so we had to leave fast. When we arrived in the city, I took pictures of many abandoned buildings and graffiti stricken walls. I didn't get as many shots of actual people today but I still got a lot of really strong pictures. :)

Saturday, March 3, 2012

No More Procrastination

Today, I'm finally all caught up on my blog. I'm not going to get behind on it anymore. It's exhausting and extremely time consuming having to make up for 10 to 20 blogs at at time when it only takes 10 minutes or so to blog about your day, ON that day. I'm glad I got this done so I can give more of my time to other assignments that are do.



Friday, March 2, 2012

Done With February

I am almost done catching up on my blogs! I just caught up on all of February and now I have four more dates in January to do left. After that I just have to add pictures to any posts that don't have any. Looks like it's going to be a long night of taking pictures on photobooth! :P


Thursday, March 1, 2012

March Madness

Today is the first day of March and the first day associated with the months of spring. Since it is getting warmer, I think it's safe to say we didn't have much of a winter this year, which is fine with me because I dread the cold. However, it kind of makes me wonder if that is a bad thing or not what with global warming being an issue. Aside from that, today was a very productive day at school. In art class we talked more in depthly about portraits and we learned about an artist named Kehlinde Wiley, who sparked change in today's art world by painting modern day, African American figures in a Renaissance fashion. His art work is really different and unique, which is hard to do nowadays when it seems like everything there is to do has already been done. In AVID, I got a lot more progress done with my doodle for google image. I decided to change my theme to 'If I could go back in time, I'd visit the 1960's because it was a revolutionary time period of change for women, art, and modern beliefs that changed the way we view the world today.' In photography, I edited the pictures I took during the weekend with photoshop and realized that certain pictures make a bigger impact in black and white than they do color. Over all, I feel like I got to be very creative today. :)