Winter Bargain Shopping

Between post-holiday shopping and the overall state of the economy right now, most people, especially teens, can’t afford to do all of our shopping at Nordstrom and other expensive department stores.

Fortunately, the end of January is the best time to shop the end of winter sales for great buys!

Below are several stores in the Greater Seattle Area ranging in price points that are currently having sales or regularly sell for bargain prices.

Aritzia- Women’s clothing store in Bellevue Square with higher end clothing, but their winter sale features top designers such as Seven for all Mankind, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and See by Chloe for 25-75% off.

Buffalo Exchange- Always a good place to find some new or used clothes for bargain deals, on University Way, clothing for men and women. 4530 University Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105; (206) 545-0175

Best-Kept Secret- in Bellevue offers brand-name clothing for women, men and children. Store hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. 102 Bellevue Way N.E.; 425-637-0363.

Everyday Music- Extensive collection of used CDs and DVDs. 112 Broadway Ave. E. Seattle, WA 98102

H&M- You can always find low prices here, but the current winter sale features H&M’s trendy clothes for ridiculously low prices. Various locations including University Village and Downtown Seattle.

Also check out small boutiques around the Seattle area, most of them have sales around this time of year to get rid of their winter merchandise, so check it out and support local businesses!

Pay it Forward- by Giving Back!

Hey Faithful Readers,

With all that's going on in relief efforts in Haiti after the Jan 12th earthquake that demolished much of the capitol, I've been thinking about what it means to give back.

Most schools have graduation requirements of a certain amount of hours of community service you must complete.
What are your thoughts on this?

Do you think community service would still be done by teens without these requirements? Do you think it's important- or necessary- to give back to our community and do service? What would happen if these service requirements did not exist? Do you think it should be mandatory, like many schools are making it to be now?

With that said, most of us know why we have to (have to?) volunteer. Along with the obvious, helping the community, it does benefit you. Colleges look at what you have done, it looks good on resumes, can help you figure out what kind of job you want in the future, and- hopefully- it benefits you by making you feel good that YOU have made a difference!

So, if you do volunteer, why do you do it? Multiple reasons? If you don't, what is the reason? I'm sure we all know how busy our schedules can get and volunteering falls to the last on the list!

With this new year upon us (two thousand- 10, or twenty-10???!) maybe a new year's resolution could be to do those volunteer hours- for whatever reason or cause YOU believe in! 2010 seems like a year of change- and who better to change things than OUR generation!?

To get started with volunteering, and why it benefits YOU, check this website out!
http://www.myfuture.com/beyond/volunteerwork_all.html

Also, if you're looking for a simple way to give to the relief efforts in Haiti you can text a donation! It will charge it automatically to your phone bill- so talk to whoever pays the phone bill first! So if texting sounds like your way of giving back, then be sure to check it out:

Text: "HAITI" to "90999"
This will make a donation of $10 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Or Text: "YELE" to "501501" which will donate $5 to Yéle Haiti for helping relief efforts there.

Love,

A Teen Link volunteer

Musings on Love...from a teenage guy

From Wikipedia: "Love is any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection^[1] and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my husband"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states."

One of the most beautiful and frustrating things that a teenager encounters is love - the passion, the amazement, the pure warmth you feel when you're around the object of your affection. You smile wide at the memories and good times that seem to never leave your thoughts and at the same time, it can make you cry from all the exhausting emotional work you put into it.

Well, I want you to know, I'm not writing this to give hints or to criticize - I'm writing this to endorse love.

But, when love goes wrong, hearts break. I know it hurts. I know mere words can't describe how it feels and if you tried to explain it, it would just come out in some form of confusing mumbled jumble. If you're dealing with a heartbreak right now, take a moment to reminisce about people you have had crushes on, things that make you feel really warm inside - the kinds of things that keep your heart beating fast.

Now if you don't have "that" person in your life and you think it's because of your appearance, I would just like to say that as a guy, I don't want a magazine model.

Love is about the beauty they can see not the beauty you make them see. I have had the experience to speak the truth to this matter... I was once like that but I've matured and my view has changed. And now, I want to say, to all who read this blog post: you are beautiful, you are amazing, you are phenomenal. You're a great person no matter how you feel about yourself. So be true to what you have...to what you want in a relationship and a partner.

I'll end with these words: love is strong, brave, and one of my favorite emotions. It's also one of my favorite words. It makes me smile when I see couples together.

When I see a girl that I like, it reminds me that love is one of life's best things. Adults will tell you you're too young to know what love is, but I say believe your heart. What does it tell you?? What does it say everyday??

I hope it tells you that that there is at least one person that uses that four letter word to describe you...because it's true.

Wanna take a trip?

Interested in broadening your horizons, challenging yourself, and growing as a person? One great way is to see different horizons, aka TRAVEL!!!

Click on the YouTube links below to watch video captured from the YMCA Global Teens program "which offers teens the opportunity to engage in the powerful journey of global discovery." Hear from the youth who participated talk about what made their experiences so powerful in their own words.

"In Their Own Words" - YMCA Global Teens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT4BsFycfOU

Kids give back, have eyes opened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjHW3SYo2U

One of the best ways to experience another culture is through it’s food, and no, Taco Bell doesn’t count. Neither does Olive Garden, Panda Express, or any other restaurant experience you have in your own neightborhood. It's better than nothing, but the epitome of food experience is eating the food in the land in which it originated, surrounded by the people of the culture and the culture itself. So, take a chance and get out of your comfort zone!

New York City teens eat a frog in Thailand - YMCA NYC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHZiBjheqdA

"Imagine being 16 years old and arriving in Paris for the first time on a hot June morning. Your host family for the next month is waiting to take you by train to a small village called Oradour-sur-Glane. It is in the heart of France, where there are green hills and shimmering lakes, porcelain is made, and the villagers are some of the friendliest in the world.

This is the new trend for high school students--spending their summers traveling, learning, sightseeing, and experiencing cultures overseas. These students take their once idle summers and turn them into the adventure of a lifetime..." Opportunities Abound for High School Students By Vanessa Relli-Moreau

Sounds pretty glamorous doesn't it? But is it as easy as just hopping on a plane?

There seems to be no shortage of programs available for youth who want to travel (try Googling "Teen Travel" and see how many sites pop up!), and the costs can range from upwards of $10,000 to FREE or doing community service work in exchange. Where would you want to go? For how long? Do you want to focus on sight-seeing or staying with a host family? Go solo or with a group? The questions can get overwhelming pretty quickly so CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article above that might be helpful in narrowing the search for what will fit you best.

Many high schools and religious organizations have travel programs usually based around study and/or service work, so check at your school and any religious groups you have connection with as well.

Additional Exchange Programs and Resources

Online International Education and Travel Databases:

GoAbroad.com; www.highschoolprogramsabroad.com
StudyAbroad.com; www.highschool.studyabroad.com

WorldWide Classroom, www.worldwide.edu, an international consortium of schools that offers intercultural and educational programs.

Long-Term Youth Exchange Programs

Generally youth exchange programs are geared for students 13-18 years of age. Program requirements vary, so check to make sure that you meet the application requirements.

The following is a sampling:

AFS-USA, www.usa.afs.org
AYUSA International, www.ayusa.org
Nacel Open Door, nacelopendoor.org
Rotary Youth Exchange, www.rotary.org
Youth For Understanding, www.yfu-usa.org

Guilty Pleasures

The Holiday season is usually a time when a bunch of movies are released with their eyes on Oscar nominations. So it seemed really interesting to us that THIS popped up in the Seattle times - a celebration of a series of BAD movies:
'Almost Human: Madonna on Film' Festival celebrate bad acting

The festival, running through Jan. 4 in Seattle, will highlight Madonna's atrocious acting each Monday at Central Cinema. Film introductions and a running commentary will be provided by host and local writer and performer David Schmader.

Call them "guilty pleasures" or just plain bad, many of us have favorite movies that we love to hate or hate to love - movies that we know all the lines to because we've seen them over and over again, but can't seem to get enough of.


So what are the WORST movies (or movies so BAD that they are somehow...GOOD) out there? The Teen Link blog has got you covered:

Movie Moron's Worst Movies of 2009.
There are some interesting choices on this list, some we agreed with, and some not so much, including a bunch of flix we've never even heard of (i.e. they were so bad they were released for all of a weekend or two before being pulled from the theaters or never even MADE it to the theaters) like "Ace Ventura Jr.", and "Stoic."

There were some familiar names on the Worst list including "Ruslan" (catch the trailer here), starring the one and only Steven Seagal.

If you're not familiar with him, this could be considered a blessing or a curse: a blessing in how all of his movies are pretty much the same (same plot, same catchphrases, same bad acting) and how if you've seen one, you've seen them all; a curse in that you're missing out on a spectacle of bad acting, really bad plots, and regurgitated catc hphrases so goofy that you and your friends will be repeating them back and forth to each other like inside jokes for weeks.


ROTTEN TOMATOES The top 10 of Worst of the Worst Movies (2000-2009)

Whiteout (2009)

Critics Consensus: Kate Beckinsale is as lovely as ever, and does her best with the material, but moribund pacing and an uninspired plot leave Whiteout in the cold.

Synopsis: Antarctica... The most isolated landmass on Earth 90° S. latitude, zero E. longitude Six million square miles of ice ... [More]

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt

Directed By: Dominic Sena


Glitter (2001)

Critics Consensus: Glitter is a hodgepodge of movie cliches and bad acting that's sure to generate unintentional laughs. Unfortunately, the movie is not bad enough to be good.

Synopsis: Carey plays Billie Frank, a shy, young mixed-race girl who is sent away by her alcoholic mother at a very early age. At an orphanage, she befriends Louise (Da Brat) and Roxanne (Tia Texada), with the help of her cuddly... [More]

Starring: Mariah Carey, Ma x Beesley, Da Brat

Directed By: Vondie Curtis-Hall, Vondie Curtis Hall

Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (2005)

Critics Consens us: A sequel to a remake, Cheaper 2 wastes its solid cast in scenes of over-the-top, predictable humor.

Synopsis: Steve M artin returns as the proud patriarch of the Baker family in this sequel to the original CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, based on a book by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine G ilbreth. This time, all twelve Baker kids and... [More]

Starring: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo

Directed By: Adam Shankman

Boat Trip (2003 )

Critics Consensus: Boat Trip is a lame, juvenile farce that's heavy on stereotypes and desperate antics but short on brains and laughs.

Synopsis: Hoping to get his mind off his ex-girlfriend Felicia, heart-broken Jerry decides to join his best friend Nick on a tropical singles cruise for a week of sun and possible roman ce. But when Jerry and Nick realize they've... [More]

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Horatio Sanz, Will Ferrell

Directed By: Mort Nathan

All About Steve (2009)

Critics Consensus: All About Steve is an oddly creepy, sour film, featuring a heroine so desperate and peculiar that audiences may be more likely to pity than root for her.

Synopsis: Sandra Bullock plays eccentric crossword puzzle constructor Mary Horowitz who, after one short blind date, falls for ha ndsome cable news cameraman S teve (Cooper). Convinced they are soul mates, Mary follows Steve across... [More]

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, Bradley Cooper

Directed By: Phil Traill

Lost Souls (2000)

Critics Consen sus: Though Kaminski's film is visually stylish, Lost Souls is just another deriv ative entry in the Apocalypse genre, with lackluster direction, unengaging chara cters, and no s cares.

Synopsis: Years ago, priests exorcised a demon out of young Maya Larkin (Winona Ryder). Now she uses her unusual sensitivity to the same demons who once came after her to help the priests in ot her exorcisms. In one such case, a... [More]

Starring: Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, John Hurt

Directed By: Janusz Kaminski

The New Guy (2002)

Critics Consensus: Incoheren t, silly, and unoriginal, The New Guy offers up the same old teen gross-out comedy cliches.

Synopsis: Teenager Dizzy Harrison (DJ Qualls) is the laughing stock of Texas' Rocky Creek High School. But his loser status changes when he lands a prison sentence and falls under the tutelage of a wild inmate, Luther (Eddie... [More]

Starring: DJ Qualls, E ddie Griffin, Eliza Dushku

Directed By: Edward Decter

A Sound of Thunder (2005)

Critics Consensus: Choppy logic and uneven performances are overshadowed by not-so-special effects that makes the suspension of disbelief a nearly impossible task.

Synopsis: In A SOUND OF THU NDER, based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, director Peter Hyams (END OF DAYS, TIMECOP) creates a world where time travel is possible and life as we know it is threatened. In the year 2055, Charles... [More]

Starring: Edward Burns, Cather ine McCormack, Ben Kingsley

Directed By: Peter Hyams


Babylon A.D. (2008)

Critics Consensus: A poorly constructed, derivative sci-fi stinker with a weak script and poor action sequences.

Synopsis: In sci-fi thriller BABYLON A.D., Vin Diesel's Toorop is an antihero who quotes the best of cinema's bad boys from films such as THE GODFATHER and SCARFACE. But all the tattooed muscleman really wants to do is leave... [More]

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Y eoh, Melanie Thierry

Directed By: Mathieu Kassovitz

Surviving Christmas (2004)

Critics Consensus: Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message

Synopsis: Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck ("Good Will Hunting"), Emmy winner James Gandolfini (TV’s "The Sopranos") and Christina Applegate ("View From the Top," TV’s "Married With Children") star in the comedy "Surviving... [More]

Starring: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate

Directed By: Mike Mitchell

Holiday Movies And if you're in the mood for a good movie, here's a Holiday Movie guide put together by Fandango. http://www.fandango.com/movieguide/holidaymovies Most of these movies have already been released and have got alot of buzz around them like the latest Twilight movie "New Moon", "Brothers", and "2012".

Sexting and Cyberbullying

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones.

Cyberbullying is when when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.

Most folks don't think about spreading gossip online or sending pictures via cellphone is a big deal. But one website dedicated to cyberbullying cites an old fable as a metaphor for understanding it a little better. (Click HERE to watch) It compares the gossip to feathers and spreading the gossip is similar to the wind blowing it away. The message: once you put it out there, it's not in your control anymore.

And the things that are said/posted on the internet are not just public, but also PERMANENT. A few years ago, rumors would fade over time, but one something is posted online, all it takes is a "click" for it to be found again. This can have devastating effects that no one could have predicted, like the tragic story of Hope Witsell, who committed suicide earlier this year. Read her story HERE.

More stories of cyberbullying that have made the news - Click HERE.

Here are a couple videos from the website cited earlier with actual stories about cyberbullying and sexting from the teens affected by it first hand.

"teen regrets what he said online about girls"

"cyber bullying – friendship lost"

Safe Sexting - NO Such Thing:

Things to consider BEFORE even thinking about "sexting" (whether the pic is of you, is sent to you or is forwarded by you)

• This is currently considered child pornography and if caught you will be listed as a sex offender. FOR LIFE.
• Once sent, it's PERMANENT. It cannot be taken back and cannot be deleted and can end up in ANYONE'S hands.
• Is flirting REALLY worth possible public humiliation or damaging your future?
  

Tips to keep your passwords safe:

http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Teen_Tips_Passwords.pdf

Some tips for keeping your cellphone safe:

http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Teen_Tips_Cell_Phones.pdf

One of the smartest mentioned – lock your keypad. It might seem like an inconvenience, BUT it will prevent anyone from picking up your phone and accessing your info, and you can still answer calls without having to unlock it. (also prevents random pocket dialing)

Cyberbullying and the law:

Two bills currently in talks right now propose different takes on how to handle cyberbullying. One wants to criminalize it and the other focuses on educating parents and teachers. Neither one is perfect, but the point is that lawmakers are taking this stuff seriously, so everyone should probably do so as well. Read more here.

So whatever you decide to do, make sure you're thinking about the consequences of your actions BEFORE engaging in these behaviors!

If laws are being put into effect, then consequences are soon to follow –like in THIS scenario where a Facebook comment got a student suspended.

So whatever you decide to do, make sure you're thinking about the consequences of your actions before engaging in this behavior!!

Day of Thanks

Considering that Teen Link loves food, here is a little insight into the day of feasting!

THE REAL THANKSGIVING

Many people believe what they learned in elementary school about Thanksgiving Day. Basically, the Pilgrims and the Indians shared a big feast with all the food we eat on Thanksgiving. According to the journal of Plymouth Colony's governor, Edward Winslow, the colonists met with Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men for a feast that lasted four days. So there was a feast, but what was on their menu? In this journal the only items mentioned are venison and wild fowl.

Yum! It is never unlikely, according to historians and archeologists, that the meal was prepared with all of the foods we eat today. Another idea is that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat down and prayed and passed the food around. Since the feast was four days long this is not what happened at all. It was not a ceremonious feast and people would just go eat when they were hungry. Plates and utensils were not used. They all ate with their hands with an occasional napkin. The clothing is very mythical too. Pilgrims did not wear black and white on the first Thanksgiving.

They wore brown, green, black, white, and beige. The Indians were fully clothed because it was November in Massachusetts. Although Thanksgiving is full of myths the value of generosity and being thankful has been kept alive.

MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Everyone loves the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. How did it all start? Well, it started in 1924 by the employees of Macy’s. These employees were the first-generation immigrants and they wanted to celebrate their new American pride through a traditional European festival. The first parade started with the employees marching from 145^th street to 34^th street dressed as clowns, sheiks, cowboys, and knights. There were also 25 live animals from the Central Park Zoo, floats, and professional bands.

The first balloons appeared in 1927 with Felix the Cat:

One of the old traditions was that after the parade they would release the balloons and whoever found and caught it got a prize. Although in the 1930’s the Great Depression occurred, the parade grew and grew. The parade however stopped in the early 1940’s during WWII when there appeared to be nothing to celebrate. In 1945, the parade started up again, was televised, and the route that is used today started that year as well. This Thanksgiving tradition is nationwide and will be around for years to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Teen Link