Contents Cover Story: The violin-playing philanthropist p.7 Movie review: The Lorax p.4 Tips to achieve body peace p.6 Makeup: three hot & funky looks p.7 Hot and trendy Vans p.11 Entertainment roundup
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Why athletes need self-confidence p.13 Girls asking guys out? p.14 Abuse in teen relationships p.15
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From the Editor
Smoking Kills! A
new study released by the US Surgeon General’s office indicated that thousands of teens start smoking each day. “Every day in the US, more than 3,800 people under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. More than 1,000 of them become daily smokers. They replace the 1,200 people who die each day in the US from smoking…More than 80 per cent of smokers begin by age 18. By age 26, 99 percent have started.” Teen smoking is also a big issue in Jamaica and raises an important issue concerning young persons and their affinity for cigarettes. For years, smoking has been marketed as a cool fad, selling teens the idea that it’s something they should do if they want to be a part of the crowd. That and the obvious addictive properties, have guaranteed an almost steady market for cigarette manufacturers. But to what end? The truth is, smoking kills. www.ezineslimited.com
There’s no reason for you to start smoking and put your life at risk. If you’ve already started, it’s never too late to stop. Lung cancer has claimed the lives of many persons all over the world and if you were able to speak to them, I’m sure they would tell you that they regret accepting that first cigarette. It’s really not worth it. If someone you know smokes and needs help quitting, contact RISE Life Management Services at 1-888-991-4146 (Toll free Counselling Lifeline) or 967-3777. Have a smoke-free day. Keresa
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Entertainment
Movie Review by Alana Gardner
dr. sEuss’ ThE lorax
H
ey guys! So the month of February is over and for many of you, including myself, that means mid-semester exams, presentations and assignments that are worth at least half of our final grade for the term. I’m dealing with everything fairly well so far and my hair is not falling out, so I take that as a good sign.
PG-13
relax and have a good laugh, so this week I went to go see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax follows a 12-year-old who searches for a real Truffula tree, which is needed to help him win the girl of his dreams. However, he must first find the Lorax in order to get it.
Now when I happen to be swamped with this much work which, as you all know, can be pretty stressful at times, I like to make time to
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Teen Spirit
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Growing up, I’m sure we all had books that we absolutely loved and no matter how much time passed, we would never tire of them. For most of us, a book from the brilliant imagination of Dr. Seuss was certainly among them. The beauty of Dr. Seuss is the ability to be universal, being able to touch all ages and teach something that you can take with you and this story was no exception. The Lorax was everything that is expected of a good film - it had action, comedy, romance and, most importantly in a Dr. Seuss story, a moral. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” - Dr. Seuss. What does that mean to you? For that is the lesson within this movie. The Lorax teaches something that we all need to learn in this world; to protect the things we love and to make our world a better place. We can’t just sit around and do nothing and hope for things to get better, we have to care enough to make a change ourselves. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is a 3D-CG film from Universal Pictures and is directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda earning itself four out of five stars. Starring the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle and Betty White.
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Teen Spirit
advice
Tips to achieve body peace by Ava Gardner
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tudies show that among girls aged 11-13 years, more than 50 per cent believe they are overweight and among those nine-15 years, 50 per cent restrict their calories to lose weight. From these studies, it’s quite evident that a lot of females suffer from poor body image, especially if they are told they are fat or not good enough. Girls are not alone in this - boys suffer from poor body image, too. This is a serious issue as it causes teenagers to develop negative perceptions of themselves. So, it’s very important that clarity is provided on the matter and body peace is restored.
everyone is different
You can’t look across the hall and want to be the boy or girl sitting there. You need to understand that everyone is endowed differently. Some people are tall while others are short, some are fatter than others and some are more or less attractive than others. This is just the reality of life. Everyone’s genetic make-up is different, so it’s impossible to successfully compare yourself to anyone else, or want to be anyone but yourself.
You’ll never be ‘perfect’
Even if you were to write a list of all the things you want to look like and achieve all those things listed, you’ll never be perfect. There’ll always be something you want to change or aspire to. This is because the real problem you have is not with your external body parts, it’s internal. www.ezineslimited.com
everyone’s entitled to their opinion
You’ve always heard that ‘everyone’s entitled to their own opinion’, but it can’t be emphasised enough. People will always generate various thoughts and comments about you and your physical appearance. There’s nothing you can do about that. Once you know you are doing everything you should do in order to take care of yourself, which is being well-groomed, maintaining good hygiene, being healthy and having a balanced diet, what they say is actually irrelevant. Everyone has their own perspective, and if you show respect to theirs, they should show respect to yours as well.
Understand the real issue
The real problem, as mentioned before, is internal. It’s not about your ‘flaws’ or your so-called irregularities. The real problem is whether or not you love yourself. It’s impossible to meet all the standards of beauty or perfection set by society, but what you can do is love yourself. Loving yourself and self-acceptance doesn’t happen overnight, though. It takes time and effort to reach that level of self-love and feeling comfortable in your skin where you can look in the mirror and say “I look good” every morning. When you finally reach that point and keep loving yourself, it’s guaranteed you won’t have body image issues again, but body peace.
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Beauty
ThRee hoT and FUnKY LooKS Text and Photos by Kandice Moncrieffe
Makeup by Sasha Blake
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hen we were younger our parents used to say there’s a time and place for everything. Believe it or not girls, it’s the same thing with makeup. Always ensure to choose the right makeup based on the occasion and, of course, your skin tone. Don’t ever think you need to match your outfit exactly with your eyeshadow. Go outside of the box and try something that is appropriate for the occassion. Teen Spirit decided to share some expert advice with you on different makeup styles, so we teamed up with Gabriella’s Cosmetics!
Fantasy/Bacchanal Makeup
Model: Ashley Miller The look speaks for itself. Be loud with your makeup when you need to be. Since its bacchanal season, use this picture to get some tips if you’re doing your own makeup. If you can’t, check out Gabriella’s Cosmetics! This is a fantasy look and should not be worn every day. The aim of this sort of look is to go all out and get attention.
Spring Makeup Summer Makeup
Model: Kai Tapper The summer makeup look can also be called casual with a twist, because it is simple with browns, gold and bronze, but the artist used blue mascara to spice up the look. Also, the model has a caramel skin tone so it would bring out her eyes and it went well with her hair colour. www.ezineslimited.com
Model: Candice Bryan The artist used a lot of oranges and greens for this look, to bring across the spring theme. It can be worn to the club or to dinner with your girls, but nothing too formal - because of the colours, you might come off as being ‘extra’. Makeup provided by: Gabriella’s Cosmetics Shop K3, Sovereign Centre, 106 Hope Road, Kingston 6 876-946-9445/ 876-978-4056 Facebook Teen Spirit
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Cover story
THE VIOLIN-PLAYING PHILANTHROPIST
jessica yap
by Ava Gardner
M
any people capitalise on their talents without thinking about how they can give back in some way. Well, Jessica Yap is not one of those people. After graduating from Campion College last year, the violinist started The Jessica Yap Pass It On Scholarship Foundation. Having received the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Scholarship, she believed that it would be a good idea to ‘pass on’ financial assistance to other students. Jessica, who is studying medicine, started playing music when she was three-and-a-half years old. Her first instrument was the violin, and she has caught the ears and eyes of many locals and foreigners since she started performing publicly five years ago. Now 18 years old and with multiple awards and recognition under her belt, Jessica still plays and seeks to make a personal difference with her musical ability. One condition of the scholarship is that she would be able to help another student in the medical school, which is why she formed her foundation. Jessica explained that it is intended that beneficiaries will in turn ‘pass it on’ when they are able to
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do so. This is very important to Jessica. “I believe that I have been blessed in many ways and so think it is a point of duty for me to assist in ways that I can,” she said. “This is my way of nation building and the benefactors of the foundation are intended to be very talented and promising to have a positive influence on Jamaica.” Many might wonder why the foundation only assists medical students. “Many people are in need of help, but this is a field that although there are many professionals in it, some have much stronger impact than others. So this foundation aims to assist those who are multi-talented, not only in academics but focused and, through discipline and integrity have reached near the end, but just are not able to finance the training,” Jessica explained. Rouaj Shirley is one beneficiary of the scholarship, which is awarded solely by the foundation’s choice. Rouaj was chosen based on his academics, outstanding co-curricular achievement, both in participation and leadership, character and his interest in nation building. Teen Spirit
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The foundation is actively seeking to help other students. A fundraising recital was held on Sunday, March 4, 2012 at the University Of the West Indies Chapel. The recital, comprising diverse music, was a success, especially since it was the foundation’s first fundraiser. Jessica is very thankful for the sponsorship assistance and encouragement from the corporate companies that supported the event. She hopes to host more concerts to promote good music and encourage others who are able to assist in this way to raise funds. Of course, Jessica loves music and doesn’t plan to limit her playing to just her foundation’s work. When asked if she would prefer to be a musician or doctor, she makes it clear that being a doctor is an aspiration. “The violin has always been a part of my life, so as always, I would like to continue it along with whatever my future endeavours may be,” she said.
as “The violin h a always been so ife, part of my l ould as always, I w ue in like to cont h it along wit re futu whatever my ay be.” endeavours m
Studying music and undertaking the heavy load of studying medicine simultaneously isn’t difficult for Jessica, either. To her, it’s all about time management. She still finds time to watch television, exercise and do other things like a regular teenager. She’s proud to give back to her nation through it, and do her part in contributing to nation building. On Sunday, Jessica will be performing at Club Privilege in an acoustics and unplugged show with Sizzla, backed by Sly and Robbie. www.ezineslimited.com
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Fashion
Hot & trendy vans T
he shoe trend right now is Vans. All the guys and the cool girls are wearing them. Casual, simple and sometimes very bold, Vans are the perfect everyday shoe.
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and white The black a th makes houndstoo tern. pat very cool
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Entertainment
Wiz Khalifa
Danielle Crosskill
Angelina Jolie
Entertainment roundup by Dervin Osbourne
I
’ve been dying to dish the dirt on some of the juiciest happenings in entertainment and I know you guys have been waiting to see what I have to say, cause you know I always say it like I mean it!
Angelina’s unstable leg This may be old news, but it’s still one of the biggest trolls on social networking sites. The Oscars have long passed, but when we reflect on the show’s proceedings, we think of Meryl Streep, The Artist and, of course, Angelina’s leg, which she totally worked the whole night. Wearing a dress with a high slit, the Tomb Raider star advertised her leg causing her to be the envy of many 20 year olds who wished they had legs like that. I’m saying, if you have it, why not show it off?
Wedding bells are ringing! It’s rare that you see ‘thugs’ or ‘gangters’ succumb to love, but in the past two weeks we have been seeing it a lot. Both a yaad and abroad. News broke a couple weeks ago that Aidonia proposed to his girlfriend, Kimberly Megan. This comes weeks after Mavado’s alleged marriage - he still hasn’t confirmed. His Entertainment Report interview had a lot of ‘yuh dun knows’ and we still don’t know. Also joining the Married Club is Wiz www.ezineslimited.com
Khalifa, who proposed to Amber Rose. Amber tweeted the ring with the caption “He has made me the happiest woman in the world!!” How sweet. I love this couple and I hope that it doesn’t turn out to be a KimPhreys marriage, if you know what I mean. Love you Kim.
Miss JAMAICA Universe The Miss Jamaica Universe contestants have been selected and they’re off to a good start! The 12 contestants, including Chantal Zaky (last year’s third runner up) are all sizzling! There’s also a contestant who looks a lot like Danielle Crosskill. Could Jamaica win Miss Universe this year? Seems likely!
Snookie’s having a meatball! So everyone’s favorite meatball, Snookie, is preggy. After much speculation, the Jersey Shore star confirmed that she’s actually pregnant. She’s been getting a lot of backlash saying that she’s going to be a bad mother and is unfit to parent. While I’m not a fan of Snookie, I won’t agree. The Snookie we saw on Jersey Shore had no responsibilities, so she was free to do as she liked. We just have to wait and see how it all plays out! Congrats Snookums! Teen Spirit
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sports
WHy ATHlETES nEEd SElf-ConfIdEnCE by Najique Gayle
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rom small inter-school competitions to the largest professional sports leagues in the world, it is clear that self-confidence plays a key role in any athlete’s performance. People sometimes tend to forget that athletes aren’t superhuman, they make mistakes and experience periods of misfortune. Many athletes often become unsure of their decisions and second-guess their abilities after they’ve made a couple mistakes here and there or received some harsh criticism. It really doesn’t matter which sport it is, once you decide to play a sport, people will be watching and criticising your level of skill, decisions and actions on the field of play.
dealing with negative criticisms The most important part of all of this is how the athlete deals with the negative criticisms or the noticeable dip in form. In order to be a good athlete, you have to learn how to keep a high level of self-confidence, no matter what. If a player’s spirit constantly improves or deteriorates with every single performance, this player does not have real confidence in his/her abilities. The best athletes in the world are able to bounce back after poor performances and do well because they genuinely believe that they have worked hard and it will show, which allows them to have full confidence in their skills. A prime example of how self-confidence affects performance is the current state of Fernando Torres’ performance on the football pitch. Torres is currently experiencing a goal drought of epic proportions. He refused the opportunity to take a penalty for Chelsea in their FA Cup replay win at Birmingham City, www.ezineslimited.com
which may well have allowed him to finally bring an end to his almost five-month scoring drought. If a player doesn’t believe in himself, then he won’t take necessary risks and this is what happened in this situation. Torres’ poor run of form and lack of self-confidence influenced his decision because he was afraid that he would not score the penalty kick.
Usain Bolt The most self-assured athletes in the world, such as Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, among others, have all experienced dips in their performances, but the distinguishing quality which makes them all stars and great sportsmen is the fact that they are able to overcome these hurdles and move on from their mistakes and misfortunes. Even with the constant pressure to excel, athletes must learn how to effectively deal with it. Just remember that whether you’re just playing a friendly basketball or football game or you aspire to be a pro athlete one day, self-confidence is extremely important. Train hard, practice daily and don’t forget to enjoy the game as much as possible. Don’t focus on your failures throughout the game or the bad comments from your teammates or those on the side lines. Be confident in your decisions and your abilities. As Boys and Girls Athletics Championships nears, it is important that all athletes ensure that they not only work on their physical strength, but also choose to build their self-confidence. Teen Spirit
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relationships
Girls asking guys out? by Micheal Farquharson
Teen Spirit threw out the question to gauge the responses. Here’s what some of your peers had to say:
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rom the proverbial dawn of man, males have been expected to take the lead in matters of relationships and dating. Romeo had his monologues to Juliet, and I could go on. But this being the 21st century, why hasn’t the script flipped? Personally, being asked out by a girl is always a flattering experience, because it shows that I must have been doing something right. She feels comfortable enough with me to express herself in a way that would normally take her out of her comfort zone. Everyone has that innate fear of rejection by someone you like. Girls hate rejection like any of us guys, it’s just that they have the luxury of not having to go through that very often. And honestly, guys tend to be horrible when rejecting a girl.
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David: “I would rate the girl more if she did that. It shows how confident she is. And if she can do that and not move ‘butch’ (like some other ‘confident’ girls), then that’s always good. I’d be really impressed by a girl asking me out, still.” Tara: “I would ask a guy out, though it’s the norm for a girl to wait around to see if a guy is interested in [her] and wait for the guy to make a move. If a girl likes a guy, I don’t see why she can’t be the one to ask him out. Be different, set yourself apart from the rest. The guy would have to be my friend for me to know the qualities he possesses. Ambitious, one who is capable of making me laugh, a guy that can motivate me, really.” Kedene: “No, it wouldn’t be something I would normally do. However, if I see a guy who I am really attracted to and know he is rather shy but feels the same, why not? But he at least has to make it known that he likes me; then, I would probably ask.” Leon: “I think it’s not the norm for a girl to ask a guy out, but there’s no set rule for asking someone out. I think it’s totally OK for a girl to ‘look’ a guy. The best thing a girl could do is be confident, after that everything else comes naturally.”
What do you think? Ladies, would you ask a guy out? Guys, how would you feel if a girl asked you out? Tweet us and let us know: @TeenSpiriteZine and hit us up on Facebook
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Teen issues
aBUSe in ReLaTionShipS by Dervin Osbourne
Let’s look at the other issue: should we forgive Brown? Again, much like Rihanna using her discretion, that’s solely up to you to decide if you want to forgive him or not. It varies from person to person. Someone who has experienced violence would perhaps think differently from a person who has not.
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y now, the world should be aware of the possible reunion of Chris Brown and Rihanna. Last week, the two released songs featuring the other: Rihanna’s Birthday Cake and Chris Brown’s Turn up the Music. There were rumours of them getting back together and also signs that they were on speaking terms. First, it was the restraining order being lifted, then they followed each other on Twitter. But nothing came as more of a confirmation than the duos. We are all aware of why the relationship ended in the first place, which now leaves us wondering if we should forgive Chris Brown and if Rihanna should take him back. The answer to the latter question: It’s Rihanna’s decision whether she wants to go back into that relationship or not, but on the outside, her actions speak volumes. Rihanna is more than just an ordinary girl; she’s a superstar who has an impact on millions of teenage girls around the world. Should she take into consideration the lesson she teaches them if she goes back? Is she telling young girls that it’s OK to stay in abusive relationships? It is not OK to stay into an abusive relationship, period. But in her defense, she did not stay.
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Regardless of what Oprah and Tyra and many others say, I don’t believe that if a man hits a woman once he will do it again. It undermines the very idea that people can change or that people learn from past mistakes. According to Brown and his lawyers, he has successfully completed anger management and he did his time in counseling. However, moments like the tantrum on Good Morning America or his post-Grammy fallout on Twitter makes us wonder how well he can manage his anger, but imagine how you would react if your past mistakes kept greeting you at every corner. His actions aren’t justifiable, but they are understandable. Rihanna didn’t stay and Chris got help. Perhaps that, along with conversations they’ve had privately, made her go back to him if that’s the case. Domestic violence among teenagers is becoming increasingly rampant. Studies suggest that one in every 10 teenage relationships has someone being physically abused. For the purpose of this article, I turned my attention to teenage girls. However, we should be aware that males are also victims of such abuse. It is far from OK to be in an abusive relationship. Some of us know of persons who are in this type of relationship and we should help them if they can’t help themselves. We shouldn’t forget that it’s not just the victims who need help, but also the offenders. They can change.
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