If you aren’t old enough to vote, you may not care about the next election. You should, but sometimes it’s hard to get excited about something that affects you so greatly and yet, you have no say in. I would, however, urge all of you to share your opinions and thoughts about the election with the adults in your family and in your lives who are old enough to vote. Who knows? Your opinion may change (or help someone else figure out) the way they think and plan to vote.
So, while you may not watch the next presidential debate (I watched the first one with my 14-year-old nephew, so who knows), here’s one thing you should know about/reason why you should care ~ there will be a woman moderating the debate, thanks, in part, to three New Jersey high school students who petitioned for there to be one.
Basics- so the presidential debate has the two candidates (President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney) face off in a live televised discussion about the issues/where they stand/what their plan is for America. They are basically trying to convince those people who are undecided that they are the best person for the job and get the people who’ve already decided excited about showing up at the polls on November 6th. The debate is moderated by a journalist who puts on his/her impartiality fairness hat and tries to ask the questions that the American public wants to know and keep them each from talking over each other and going over their allotted response time. This happens to varying degrees of success.
The first debate, earlier this month, was moderated by Jim Lehrer and, if you’re interested, you can google what most people thought of it. (Basically, the president lamed out, Romney did his thing and the moderator didn’t moderate). The vice-presidential debate, held last week, was much better and an actual debate. (Vice President Biden got all in Congressman Paul Ryan’s specifics, Ryan made some pointed jabs and the moderator ~ O.G. journalist Martha Raddatz ~ held it down.
The debate tonight is going to be the final presidential debate, where the president and Mitt Romney face off again. And it’s really important for both to do well. The point of all of this that may matter to you is that CNN reporter Candy Crowley is moderating it ~ this is he first time a woman has done so in 20 years and is partly due to the petition started by Emma Axelrod, Elena Tsemberis and Sammi Siegel. After learning in their high school civics class that the last woman to moderate a presidential debate was in 1992 (!), they stated a petition at change.org. The petition was a huge success, garnered over 118,000 signatures and lots of support from public figures for their call for a woman moderator. And, well, they got their wish.
“It’s important for teenage girls to see women with political power,” Elena Tsemberis told MassLive.com. “The more we only see men in positions of authority, the more girls teach themselves to believe we’re not as worthy or important or capable as men.” Source
Side note: If you have an issue you’re really passionate about, you might want to consider starting a change.org petition. Some of them really take off and who knows, once people know what you’re fighting for/against, additional help may come pouring in.
In October 2008, Alexa Brunetti was crowned Miss New Jersey Teen 2009. It was a fairy tale ending—complete with a beautiful gown and a crown—for the shy teen that hoped she could.
Late last month, during the final days of her reign, she spoke with Homegirlmagazine about her experiences.
Alexa, now 19, grew up on the island of Brigantine, New Jersey, located right next to Atlantic City. “It’s really homey, there are a lot of houses, not really much to do, but in the summer it’s gorgeous,” Alexa said. “We have beautiful beaches and I’m a surfer so I absolutely love it. It’s a great island,” she said. So how did this surfer start competing in beauty pageants? Well, it happened almost by accident.
Her First Pageant
When Alexa was four, she began taking jazz and tap dance classes. That year, her dance teacher told the class about a beauty pageant for girls their age. Alexa went home and begged her mother to let her enter. Her mother said no, worrying that the competition would be too much for her shy daughter, but Alexa was persistent. When her mother finally caved in, Alexa told her, “Mommy, I’m going to win.” And she did.
But the learning curve was steep. Alexa wore a flower girl dress from a wedding, the other girls wore gowns; Alexa did have that much make-up on, the other girls did; Alexa wore her hair in loose curls, the other girls didn’t. “We didn’t know anything about pageants but we just went and winged it,” she said. “I happened to win.”
The Spotlight
Alexa also gained confidence on stage. “I was really really really shy as a little girl, like I wouldn’t even say my own name,” Alexa recalls. “But when I went on stage, I still remember, they actually couldn’t get me off stage,” she said. “It was funny.”
After her first beauty pageant, Alexa was hooked. “I just loved going on stage,” she said, “It’s like when I go onstage, a switch turns on.” And the shy girl, literally, lights up. So Alexa continued to compete and she continued to win. “I’ve competed in a ton of pageants ever since then and I’ve won every single one I’ve entered except for one,” she said.
Then, when she was eight years old, she stopped. “It got big into the fake teeth, the tan,” Alexa said. “It was just really craziness and the money was insane.” Apparently it’s also really expensive to compete in pageants- the gowns, the make-up, and the hair.
Alexa began to explore other interests like cheerleading and sports. She wouldn’t compete again until she was 17.
Showstopper
When Alexa was in high school, she wanted to get into modeling, so she started to compete in pageants again. She entered a “practice pageant” and had fun, so she entered a few more. Then, there was the pageant that almost ended her career.
“I did the pageant my senior year. I had a bf at the time and I gained a lot of weight— for me,” she said. “The pageant was around April and we didn’t think anything of it.” That is, until she came in last place. Alexa was so embarrassed by the loss that when she got the letter about competing in Miss New Jersey Teen USA, she almost didn’t enter. “I was like, ‘No mom, I’m not in shape and it was really embarrassing that I came out on stage like that,” she recalls. “I want to retire, I don’t want to do this anymore.” Her mother convinced her that this would be great exposure and a good career move, so she reconsidered.
Miss New Jersey Teen 2009
Entering Miss New Jersey Teen would require a big commitment and Alexa’s mother reminded her of that. “She said, ‘Alexa, you have to really be serious if you want to win or want to do well.” That meant she had to lose the weight, spend less time going out with her friends and going out to eat, and spend more time studying questions and working on the pageant. She would have to sacrifice. “At first I was like, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’” Alexa said, “And then, I don’t know, I got this fire in my belly. I worked out everyday, I studied questions every single day and I was really focused on the pageant.” She lost the weight, dedicated the time and even got her friends to help quiz her on pageant questions. “It was a really big accomplishment,” she said. And it paid off; Alexa won.
“On my website there’s a clipping of when I got crowned,” Alexa said. “It’s so amazing.”
“When the MCs asked me, ‘how do you feel right now,’ I could not talk,” she said. “It felt like my brain fell out, but it was just incredible!”
“I never worked so hard for anything and it was just incredible. It was my first time, so if I was in the top 15, I would have been so thankful and grateful and proud of myself, but I actually came out winning,” she said, “It was such an amazing feeling.”
As Miss New Jersey Teen 2009, what did you win, besides the title and the crown?
You win $30,000 in cash and prizes. You do a year’s worth of reign, meaning you go to different places, you volunteer, you help, and you get to travel.
Do you pick your own community service projects or does the pageant choose them for you?
Well, it’s kind of half and half. They provide you two appearances every month and once you complete those two, you can reach out and do other things as well, if you want.
What was your first appearance?
I did the Snowflake Awards, in North Jersey, for underprivileged children. I got to help judge a tree-decorating contest, take pictures, and sign autographs for little kids.
Did you do any community service projects on your own?
I did a lot. I volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and that was my choice. The Ronald McDonald House lets families of sick children stay there if a child is getting surgery, is very ill or has cancer. It’s a good price for them in difficult times. We go in and make them dinner or breakfast. The first time I went, I burned the eggs, it was very embarrassing, but thank God we had leftovers. But after that I definitely got better, ever since I was going there.
Miss Teen USA 2009
As the winner of Miss New Jersey Teen USA, Alexa automatically qualified to compete in the Miss Teen USA pageant, held in Las Vegas earlier this year. The Miss Teen USA pageant was a three-day competition where the winners of all the teen state pageants met and competed for the title of Miss Teen USA.
“The Miss USA organization is so much fun,” Alexa said. There is a dance on Saturday where all the girls get to mingle and they share rooms for the entire weekend. “That was actually my first time getting to room with another girl, like a stranger, because I didn’t go off to college,” Alexa said. “That was very interesting, she and I get along, and we still talk today. It’s just a great time.”
Competition
But the beauty pageant wasn’t all fun and games; after all, it was still a competition. So just how competitive did it get? Are some of the girls really as catty and vicious as they appear on some T.V. shows? “It tends to get very competitive,” Alexa said. “Of course I’ve run into that. But you just have to stay positive and stick with people who are positive.”
“I’ve never been like that because I want to be a good sport and play fair,” Alexa said. But the intense competition, at the national level, can bring out the worst in some people’s personalities. “You definitely see some of the girls, their true colors come out,” she said. “I’m not trying to talk down to any of the girls, they’re all wonderful, but you see how they are during pressure.”
Spoken like a true winner.
What attracts you to beauty pageants?
The opportunity. I love working with people, I love helping people and doing the charity work, but also I got to go to Vegas in April and if I hadn’t won, I would never probably have gone out there. I went to the Bahamas; it was my first time out of the country.
If you do get into a good pageant system, doors will open for you.
And what draws me in, definitely, is some of the girls, too; you know, meeting new people. I know a girl from every state! It’s so cool to say and I still keep in contact with some of the girlfriends from my state pageant. It’s so much fun, really it is, I love it!
What was your most memorable experience?
There are so many! I would definitely have to say two things, three things-
The Ronald McDonald House, going to Vegas for the first time with my mom and meeting all the girls for the first time, and Virginia. I’d never ridden a horse before or ride on a staple and do the lasso and. I just did so much that I never ever would think I would ever do. I’ve been to places in New Jersey that I probably never ever would have been to. I didn’t know that North Jersey is mountainous. So when I went there about two weeks ago, I was like omg are we still in New Jersey? I was driving down a mountain and bear ran across my car. I was like, wow, we are not in South Jersey anymore, because South Jersey is very flat and farmland and North Jersey is mountainous, has hills and is definitely above sea level. It’s very interesting.
What was the most difficult part of being Miss New Jersey Teen 2009?
There really wasn’t a difficult part. It was a little challenging being in school at the same time. But since I was in community college, I got to communicate with my professors and get the work I was missing. Dealing with some of the people was rough sometimes but, other than that, it’s been so positive and enjoyable.
When you aren’t modeling or competing in pageants, what do you do for fun?
I surf. I like to do mixed martial arts. I like to swim and I like to ice skate for fun. I’ve also write poetry although I haven’t done it since I got out of high school. I did happen to get one of my poems published. It was pretty cool, actually, to open a magazine and see my poem was in there, it was really, I would never think of that- that it would happen, but it did and it was really awesome to see that.
So, your reign ended on October 18th of this year. What’s next for you?
Well, my last appearance of the year was participating in the Columbus Day Parade. It was a lot of emotion, but I didn’t want to get too upset because I had to grasp everything. I was very blessed to have this opportunity in my life, so I just got to take it all in and just be excited for the new 2010 Miss Jersey Teen USA.
I actually am planning on going to the New York Film Academy next year, if I get accepted. I definitely want to do sports announcing, broadcast journalism, or some type of producing.
Your favorite quote is “be the change you want to see in the world,” what does it mean to you?
When I think of that quote I think, if you want to see the world get better, be a better place, it starts from you—just to help out a little bit, just to chip in every once in a while. Some people are like, “I want to see change,” but it starts from you helping out.
Do the skills you’ve learned participating in beauty pageants apply elsewhere?
Yes, definitely. If you’re a pageant girl, you do an interview with the judges and it’s very tough and nerve wracking. I’ve been through a lot of interviews—you can definitely nail a job interview. I know a lot of people think, ‘oh beauty pageants are stupid, the girls are stupid,’ they have this stereotype of stuck up beauty pageant and beauty girls, but that’s not true. I studied and I learned things that I wouldn’t even think about; you read current events and help out with the community, too.
So why should a girl consider entering a beauty pageant?
I think she should do it definitely for the experience— win, lose or draw—the experience is so much fun. I would say if girls are interested, definitely go for it, it doesn’t hurt to try. And from my experience, I thought I was never going to win. I had a hope that I was, but it was my first time around with girls who had been competing for four to five years. I came in and did my best and I won. So you never know.
For more information on the Miss New Jersey Teen Pageant and to learn how you can compete next year, visit their website.
To learn more about Alexa, read her bio and check out her online photo gallery.
Brick City. Did you watch it? Did you love it? Will you be tuning in tonight? Well I did, I am certainly interested, and I will. Now I will admit that there was a lot of hype surrounding this show. A.lot. So I was interested to see what it was all about. A friend asked me earlier what I thought and I said that I don’t know if “enjoy” is the right word, but I was drawn in. That said, I’m also charging myself to look at this thing critically- it is a documentary, it was edited, it’s real life, but it’s also been packaged. (Did you see the scene where they were in the CompStat meeting? I had a Wire flashback and was like, did you cook those books? lol!)
Now, before I jump into the show, let me just (honestly) say that going in, I , like most people, did not have the highest regard for (or opinion of) New Jersey in general and Newark in particular. That stems from several things: the smell emanating from it as I pass by on I-95 on my way back from DC, a particularly unpleasant bus trip from Delaware where all the miscreants causing the ruckus debarked in Newark, the Real Housewives, and then, its reputation I mean, it’s Newark. It’s brick city right? So it’s gritty and it’s grimy. No offense to my Jersey girls, I love you all, but my reaction to the city has always been kind of like- oh. and then there’s the look- the one that the girl who dated Aiden right after Carrie had on her face when they met for the first time. It just happens, I don’t own it. That said, I was born in Baltimore and raised in D.C. so I know from cities with certain reputations.
I liked the first episode for several reasons- the main one being that they are giving us a behind the scenes look at public policy from the ground up; literally, from the street teams who work for peace to the police director (Garry McCarthy) determined to lower the crime rate, to the mayor (Cory Booker) who wants to make the city one of the best in the nation- they all need each other to do their jobs and I think the documentary shows that.
There was one story arc that I was really interesting in following and that is the one of Jayda. This is from the Sundance Channel Website:
JAYDA
Blood Gang Member, Youth Mentor and founder of Nine Strong Women
Jayda is a young woman (probably in her 20s) and a member of the Bloods gang. She’s also the mother to a four- year-old son, the girlfriend of a member of the Crips, and a mentor to teen girls in Newark. She’s real, she’s raw, and she, like everyone else, is trying a hands-on approach to changing lives. She goes out to schools and talks to the girls around her life, the things she been through and survived, the type of life she’s lived, and about their lives, as well. I’m sure a lot of them can relate to her and trust her enough to listen to her. In this episode, she broke up a potential fight between two girls at a high school- one who claimed she was pregnant by the other girl’s boyfriend- and got them to calm down and shake hands. She also dealt with her own personal drama. She found out that she is pregnant and that there was a warrant out for her arrest, stemming from a fight she had back in 2004 when she assaulted a girl. So she had to decide whether or not to turn herself in (and risk going to prison) or run. She decided to face up to her mistakes. She also decided to start a non-profit to further help teen girls. I like her. A lot. And I’m curious to see what will happen. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, check out the videos online. Here’s one of Jayda and her boyfriend, Creep. (I just love that they are both mentors/counselors to the young people; members of rival gangs and all)
She’s not perfect (none of us are). And I’m sure she’s done things in her past that she regrets (who hasn’t) but she is making a difference. And THAT, to me, is the point.
And I’m curious…who are the people that you look up to in life? Mentors? Parents? Teachers? Aunts? Do you feel like you have a voice? That anyone cares what you have to say and listens to what you think?
What’s the biggest issue you face in your life right now? Or in your school or your community? How do YOU think it can be solved?
Alright, girls- Jersey girls…Newark girls…where are you?
TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT is the premiere of the Sundance documentary/mini series, Brick City. Five nights, five episodes and it looks like a stunner. Here’s a quickie promo video that gives you an overview (I’m assuming) of what the series is all about.
Are you excited yet? Kind of? Well, here’s a little more, a music video about the series, called Brick by Brick.
So tune in at 10:00 pm. Tell a friend. Check it out. And oh, yes. We will be discussing it. All week long. I believe its channel 101 on Time Warner Cable.
Homegirl NYC 