Only A Size Zero

         With the pressures added to teenagers with school, sports, and friends, eating disorders are increasing. More and more teens are falling to anorexia and bulimia to make themselves look right. But what is right? Is the healthy size for someone a zero? Who decides this?

         Television shows, and reality TV shows are adding to this situation. Shows like America’s Next Top Model are showing girls make themselves as skinny as they can be in order for someone to take their picture or for designers to put clothes on them and send them down a runway. Not helping the fact is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that aired on CBS on November 30. Because obesity is on the rise and some kids aren’t getting as much exercise as they need to stay healthy, they have been falling into the trap of these two diseases. So if television isn’t portraying a healthy body image, than who should?

       According to the South Carolina department of Mental Health one out of 200 women suffer from anorexia, two to three our of 100 women suffer from bulimia and an estimated 10-15% of the people suffering from the diseases are males. Gaining awareness about eating disorders in general and what they can do to you will help the overall situation. Making sure that kids and teens are healthy and doing the right thing could eventually prevent the diseases from even starting. Schools should also be helping to by suggesting healthy food choices at lunch and during the day.

         Kids could be eating fatty foods but never gain weight because they will throw it up later. Friends and family should watch out for the signs of the diseases and intervene early. That would be the number one thing. Also helping someone get through the disease is also important. Someone trying to stop would always need a support system.

         Knowing all this people have to keep in mind that they are what they eat, or don’t eat, in this situation.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

            On November 30, 2010 The Annual Christmas Tree Ceremony took place in Rockefeller Center yet again, just in time to kick in all of the holiday spirit. This Christmas tradition has been taking place in the Big Apple since 1933. To start the tradition and set the precedent a 20 foot tree was decorated by the Rockefeller Center workers. Every year the tree gains more lights and shines brighter. In 1933 there was 700 lights on the tree, last night 30,000 lights twinkled across NYC.  Thousands gathered around to watch Major Bloomberg light the 74 foot tree, which was donated by Peter and Stephanie Action of Mahopac, New York. The lighting of the most famous tree in the country brings people of all different characteristics together in the celebration of Christmas and other holidays throughout the winter season.

            The tree lighting in NYC is recorded and played live on WNBC so people don’t even have to leave their homes to be a part of this holiday event. Many celebrities joined in with holiday spirit to sing and perform in Rockefeller Center on Tuesday. Stars such as Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Jessica Simpson, Susan Boyle, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue as well as Boyz II Men. The Radio City Rockettes also put in a little kick into the 78^th Annual Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony.

            In the past years of the Tree Lighting Ceremony the trees have been donated from other states such as Connecticut, and New Jersey as well as New York. The tree stands tall shining up until the week after New Years Day. After the tree is removed from the Rockefeller Center it is taken and recycled in many varieties of ways. In 2007 the tree was taken and used to furnish lumber for a Habitat of Humanity house construction. The tree is an amazing sight to be seen by everyone.

JV Whisperettes in the Wintertime

It’s that time of year again! It is the time where children and adults of all ages are engaged in the holiday season and the cheerful atmosphere that comes with it.  The West JV Whisperettes are taking part in various events this weekend that pertain to the holiday season. This weekend will be a kickline weekend for sure as they participate in many community service events such as the Tender Years Treasury, then they will perform at a foundation known as “Angela’s House,” and they will conclude the day by performing at the Tree Lighting Ceremony courtesy of the Smithtown Rotary Club.

“Angela’s House” is a new edition to their community service this year.  IT is a foundation that houses terminally ill children. During this time of year, they try to create as many activities as possible so the JV Kickline will perform their holiday routine for them. Overall, it will be a heartwarming experience that is all holiday themed.

The Tree Lighting Ceremony consists of a walk from the Smithtown Library to the historical Brush Barn. At the Brush Barn, many residents of Smithtown and people from other Long Island towns will gather together for a time of festivities.  Everyone is accompanied with holiday music, candy canes being handed out, and a visit from Santa Claus. 

The kickline girls will help by handing out candy to the children and organizing the lines to help meet Santa.  After this year’s festivities, they will perform the Glee version of “We Need a Little Christmas.”  Song choice is something that needed to be taken into consideration because we would rather kick to a song that will be familiar to the audience rather than a song that only targets a single age group, therefore, holiday classics are always the best way to go.

Their routine consists of formations that try to mimic holiday shapes such as the snowflake formation and one that looks like a Christmas tree to create the entire holiday atmosphere and experience.  “The routine is cute, and we look amazing in our holiday outfits. It will be so fun!” says JV member Megan Courtney.

The Smithtown West JV Whisperettes also have another community service project this weekend as well.  This is known as the Tender Years Treasury, where we would visit the senior citizens home in which we go to take the children around and help them purchase gifts for their parents, teachers, and friends.  After they get to make cookies and create cards that they would present along with their gifts.   

The JV Kickline will also be performing their holiday routine at the upcoming girl’s basketball game before the winter break.

It is true, we all “need a little Christmas,” and after this weekend the JV Kickline will help to really kick off our holiday season and get us into the holiday spirit.

Kim Kardashian is Dead?

             Did the cast of “The Buried Life” actually ‘kick the bucket?’ Is Kim Kardashian deceased? Well not to worry, she is only dead in the World Wide Web. She and other stars, such as Lady Gaga, are refraining from their Twitter accounts, as well as Facebook pages until the charity, Keep a Child Alive, raises $1 million.

Alicia Keys, the global ambassador and co-founder of the charity, is also participating in this event along with as Serena Williams, Elijah Wood, Justin Timberlake, Jay Sean, The Cast of The Buried Life, Khloe Kardasian, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, and Keys’ husband Swizz Beatz.

            Beginning in 2002, Keep a Child Alive has been providing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to the children they support all because of an experience that the president and founder of the charity, Leigh Blake, had. Anti-retroviral therapy is a combination of 3 or more medications that are combined to try to stop the HIV virus from progressing. While working in Mombasa with her previous charitable organization, Red Hot & Blue, a woman came into the clinic with her 3-year old child who needed the ART drugs to survive. This created an inspiration to help other children who needed these medications throughout the world.

After spreading the news about her newfound charity to her acquaintances and friends, Blake developed many people who were interested in helping out, such as Alicia Keys and Peter Edge, the charity’s first donor. Presently, Keep a Child Alive has sites in South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and India where they are helping children fight their disease one day at a time. She states, about the new campaign, “We’re trying to sort of make the remark: ‘Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we’re all from?’”  

            This project began on December 1^st, International AIDS Day, and will keep going until the charity has raised $1 million; I guess that is the price of the most popular twitter accounts. The plus 29 million followers of these stars on Twitter have to sacrifice this daily pastime of reading their favorite celebrities’ daily tweets for the campaign, which is known as ‘Digital Death’ and the celebs will ‘rise from the dead’ after the money is raised.  

            ‘You buy a digital life to save a real one’, says the campaign slogan. How far will people go to get back the life of their celebrity idol in the palm of their hand? We will soon see. For more information on Keep a Child Alive and the ‘Digital Death’ campaign, please visit www.keepachildalive.org or www.buylife.org to actually buy your favorite celebrity’s ‘life’ back.