http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2112960/90-students-Iraq-stoned-death-having-Emo-hair-tight-clothes.html#ixzz1osNbZMJb
Please read this. Take 10 minutes out of your day to remind yourself just how lucky you are to be able to wear or look like anything you want. Other teenagers around the world are being punished for expressing themselves and it’s absolutely disgusting in my eyes. Here in Canada, expressing ourselves is something that is often encouraged, and to see that just on the other side of the world people are dying for this very same thing is shocking and disturbing. Never take for granted how lucky you are for the freedom you have. Sometimes it’s hard to remember, but it’s important that we do.
We need to spread the word about Joseph Kony.
Please read the post below and watch the video. Life changing and inspiring.
Stop at nothing.
Make a change and stop Joesph Kony
Who is Joseph Kony?: http://vimeo.com/37119711Pledge Here: http://www.kony2012.com/
the deadline to stop Kony ends Dec. 31st 2012
If you don’t feel like watching the video, here’s a little summary:
Joseph Kony lives in Central Africa. What Joseph does is, he abducts African kids. He takes them and he keeps them. He makes the boys killers, usually they have to kill their families. When girls are abducted they are turned into sex slaves and are raped. There is no way out of his group: Lord’s Resistance Army, AKA the LRA. He has adbucted over 30,000 children and had made them child soldiers. he won’t stop what he is doing until he is caught, he found out that the US is now on a making to look for him making him harder to find. Right now, Kony is invisible because no one knows about him.. no one. Tell as many people about Kony as you can and make him visible and know. Donate money if you can. Make him visible. we need change, and we need difference. we need Kony to be famous so we can stop the harm of innocent children, this won’t hurt your blog.. just reblog it.
Just Fast has actually been moved to this Thursday/Friday! Sorry for the incorrect information from before!
St. Mike’s first ever semi was a huge success! Thanks to everyone’s co-operation, amazing behaviour, and help from teachers and student activities, the students at St. Michael’s were very fortunate to have such an amazing Semi Formal!
The evening took place at the Royal Ambassador where everyone showed up looking absolutely amazing! I’m so glad that we had a good time and that these will be the people graduating with me in 1 year and 4 months!
… Who’s stoked for Prom? Hahaha :)
Five… days… till… SEMI! WOOO!
Just Fast has been moved to MARCH 30th so hand in your pledges by then!
The France/Spain trip is in a week and a half!
And that’s all for tonight!
AnonymousThat’s such a good idea! I’ll suggest it and we’ll get started as soon as possible! Thank you :)
I don’t know about you but I am SO STOKED for tonight!
How amazing would an Oscars night at St. Mike’s be? If only George Clooney and the other amazing people would be there!
… Leo, come on over- we’ll give you an award for sure! <3 <3 <3
LAST WEEK, SHE WAS BULLIED
by Vanessa King
She had been invited to a show at NY Fashion Week – something she absolutely loves to do – and decided to class herself up a bit. Abandoning her daily skinny jean uniform, she opted for a tight black dress, black tights and her favorite pair of 3″ camel booties. After the show, she walked into a karaoke bar at 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon. Kids welcome. A family atmosphere. Perhaps a tad overdressed, she was meeting her favorite 7-year-old and she was thrilled to see her.
There were no families, but there was a posse performing a less than stellar rendition of a Lady Gaga song. But it was Karaoke. In Karaoke-friendly zones, there is automatic approval. If you can’t sing, nobody cares. We will unify and sing with you to help you get through the song. It’s not an every-singer-for-him/herself atmosphere. Karaoke is a symbol of unification: we’re all brave and we’re all in this together.
Like their party was interrupted, they momentarily paused their song to watch her walk across the floor. She could sense the weird tension, but regardless, she walked up to the cashier and for a brief moment discussed private room availability.
You know that moment when you can feel someone staring at you? That happened, and she made eye contact with one of the pack of somewhat-tone-deaf friends. She smiled that “hi, I don’t know you, but hello” somewhat-forced smile (after living in NYC for over a decade, she’s perfected that smile) and she turned back to the cashier.
Finally squared-away, she exited the bar to wait for her favorite 7-year-old to arrive. And then it happened: supremely sarcastic and out of nowhere, spoken into the mic and directed at her, a booming voice:
“No matter how tall your pretend to be in those heels, you’ll still be fat.”
It took a moment for her to realize that the amplified voice was actually talking to her.
And then came the laughter. Like it was all a big joke.
All in that moment, she was spun back in time to 6th, 7th, 8th grade(s) when she was teased for the way she walked, the way she weighed, the way she dressed, the way she studied, the way she socialized. It was as if someone ripped off a thousand Band-Aids. They were stuck to her skin like battle wounds – there, unrecognized, but a story to tell if someone had asked. After a two decades, she’d learned to love herself no matter how she walked, how she weighed, how she dressed, how she studied, how she socialized.
It did get better.
Her adult-brain told her to march right back inside and give them a piece of her mind or deliver some snappy come-back that would leave them speechless. That would be great. That would be ideal. Except she couldn’t. Instead, her childlike-heart broke. Her stomach sank. Her throat knotted. Her eyes welled. She felt like she was going to be sick.
In a family atmosphere, the girl with the snotty remark had just broken the number one rule of karaoke bars: acceptance.
Every ounce of self-esteem that she’d earned over the last two and a half decades was gone – just like that. She wanted to call her favorite 7-year-old and cancel, go home, dive into her pillow and cry like she did when she was a kid. In an instant, she suddenly looked forward to eating the entire carton of non-dairy coconut ice cream in her freezer.
It took every ounce of emotional strength to not want to run away. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. Her favorite 7-year-old was just stepping out of a cab running at her – full speed – for a gigantic hug. ”I missed you,” her favorite 7-year-old said. The words made her melt and she wanted to break down that very moment and tell her everything that had just happened inside. But she didn’t. You see, she was meeting her favorite 7-year-old that day to help the little girl take her mind off of recently being bullied because of her short hair. It was just days earlier that she’d told the little girl:
“It takes a pretty miserable person to make someone else miserable, but as long as you know there are people in your life who love you – no matter what – then the people who hurt you just don’t matter. It will always be painful. Their words will always sting and sometimes they even leave a scar, but there is always someone who will be waiting with a box of Band-Aids to help cover up your wound.”
There will always be someone who will take you to karaoke… where we’re all brave and we’re all in this together. And there will always be someone willing to jump out of a cab and run at you full speed for the chance at a hug.
(http://hellogiggles.com/last-week-she-was-bullied)
When I read this, my heart broke. Because there are so many people who feel this way, who build themselves up just to be torn down again. It’s important to know that there are people in this world who love you and will always be there for you. YOU MATTER. And don’t let anyone else make you believe any different.
-Cristina
LAST WEEK, SHE WAS BULLIED
by Vanessa King
She had been invited to a show at NY Fashion Week – something she absolutely loves to do – and decided to class herself up a bit. Abandoning her daily skinny jean uniform, she opted for a tight black dress, black tights and her favorite pair of 3″ camel booties. After the show, she walked into a karaoke bar at 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon. Kids welcome. A family atmosphere. Perhaps a tad overdressed, she was meeting her favorite 7-year-old and she was thrilled to see her.
There were no families, but there was a posse performing a less than stellar rendition of a Lady Gaga song. But it was Karaoke. In Karaoke-friendly zones, there is automatic approval. If you can’t sing, nobody cares. We will unify and sing with you to help you get through the song. It’s not an every-singer-for-him/herself atmosphere. Karaoke is a symbol of unification: we’re all brave and we’re all in this together.
Like their party was interrupted, they momentarily paused their song to watch her walk across the floor. She could sense the weird tension, but regardless, she walked up to the cashier and for a brief moment discussed private room availability.
You know that moment when you can feel someone staring at you? That happened, and she made eye contact with one of the pack of somewhat-tone-deaf friends. She smiled that “hi, I don’t know you, but hello” somewhat-forced smile (after living in NYC for over a decade, she’s perfected that smile) and she turned back to the cashier.
Finally squared-away, she exited the bar to wait for her favorite 7-year-old to arrive. And then it happened: supremely sarcastic and out of nowhere, spoken into the mic and directed at her, a booming voice:
“No matter how tall your pretend to be in those heels, you’ll still be fat.”
It took a moment for her to realize that the amplified voice was actually talking to her.
And then came the laughter. Like it was all a big joke.
All in that moment, she was spun back in time to 6th, 7th, 8th grade(s) when she was teased for the way she walked, the way she weighed, the way she dressed, the way she studied, the way she socialized. It was as if someone ripped off a thousand Band-Aids. They were stuck to her skin like battle wounds – there, unrecognized, but a story to tell if someone had asked. After a two decades, she’d learned to love herself no matter how she walked, how she weighed, how she dressed, how she studied, how she socialized.
It did get better.
Her adult-brain told her to march right back inside and give them a piece of her mind or deliver some snappy come-back that would leave them speechless. That would be great. That would be ideal. Except she couldn’t. Instead, her childlike-heart broke. Her stomach sank. Her throat knotted. Her eyes welled. She felt like she was going to be sick.
In a family atmosphere, the girl with the snotty remark had just broken the number one rule of karaoke bars: acceptance.
Every ounce of self-esteem that she’d earned over the last two and a half decades was gone – just like that. She wanted to call her favorite 7-year-old and cancel, go home, dive into her pillow and cry like she did when she was a kid. In an instant, she suddenly looked forward to eating the entire carton of non-dairy coconut ice cream in her freezer.
It took every ounce of emotional strength to not want to run away. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. Her favorite 7-year-old was just stepping out of a cab running at her – full speed – for a gigantic hug. ”I missed you,” her favorite 7-year-old said. The words made her melt and she wanted to break down that very moment and tell her everything that had just happened inside. But she didn’t. You see, she was meeting her favorite 7-year-old that day to help the little girl take her mind off of recently being bullied because of her short hair. It was just days earlier that she’d told the little girl:
“It takes a pretty miserable person to make someone else miserable, but as long as you know there are people in your life who love you – no matter what – then the people who hurt you just don’t matter. It will always be painful. Their words will always sting and sometimes they even leave a scar, but there is always someone who will be waiting with a box of Band-Aids to help cover up your wound.”
There will always be someone who will take you to karaoke… where we’re all brave and we’re all in this together. And there will always be someone willing to jump out of a cab and run at you full speed for the chance at a hug.
(http://hellogiggles.com/last-week-she-was-bullied)
When I read this, my heart broke. Because there are so many people who feel this way, who build themselves up just to be torn down again. It’s important to know that there are people in this world who love you and will always be there for you. YOU MATTER. And don’t let anyone else make you believe any different.
-Cristina
