It's been such a long time since I've actually blogged. After my participation with the Miss Teen Canada-World 2010 pageant ended, for some reason, I never remembered to actually keep with the blogging. I

Holy, it's been awhile since I wrote a blog entry. The last time I did was during the pageant which was 4 months ago!

Though the Miss Teen Canada-World 2010 pageant is over, I still carry the same habits as I did this summer. :P Even though my life now is a lot more different than it was during the summer, I'm still the same old pageant girl with the same determination and passion for helping others. I am now the head charity coordinator at my high school and I've become so much more involved with social justice within the past few months. I'm also a new member of the Alberta Youth Council! Very excited to work with them. I'm currently in my last year of high school but, hey, I love it! Sadly, my reign as Miss Teen Central Alberta-World ends this upcoming Feb but hopefully before then I can squish in a few photoshoots, interviews, in between school, work and volleyball!

I've learned so much this past year. I still can't believe I placed Top 13 at the Miss Teen Alberta-World pageant, let alone competed for the title of Miss Teen Canada! It's showed me a totally different perspective and definitely strengthed my passion for social justice. I've discovered things about myself that I NEVER would have thought were possible (like walking and dancing  in a bathing suit and heels in front of hundreds of people!!!!). My confidence has jumped and I've never felt so good about myself. This is honestly the first time in my life that I've ever felt..beautiful. And that's all thanks to MTC-W.  I can't even explain how thankful I am to Michelle Weswaldi and all of the staff associated with the Miss Teen Canada pageant because they've honestly changed my life. They are the types of people that I'd love to work with in the future. I'll always carry with me the memories we've all made this year and to all the girls I met in Toronto: you are all amazing and beautiful girls. I am so glad I had the honour to compete with you girls and I hope to see you all sometime in the future. To Siera, you girl, are awesome. And though we are the same age, you are honestly such an inspiration and role model to me. THANK YOU for everything and I wish you the absolute best! To Channing, Miss Teen Canada-World 2010, I am so proud of you! And though we weren't really that close during the pageant, I am still so glad we met!! Amazing job at MIss Teen World, thank you for representing Canada well!!

A couple more thank yous: to my mom and dad, relatives, friends, teachers....thank you all for the full out support you have all given me! I couldn't thank you all enough. To Thomas and Chanchan, my promotor and photographer, you guys are AWESOME!! I love you both like brothers and I'm so glad we all got to work together this year. Obviously we'll all be working together soon. ;)

Until next time,

xoxox Celine

Free the Children is a registered charity aimed at freeing children and youth around the world from poverty, hunger, and gives each and every person a voice that is meant to be heard by all. Me to We is a social enterprise that has a completely unique perspective on business using it to help mankind by providing people with daily choices that make a huge impact in the long run. Together, we can make a change in our society and in the world as we know it today! With both these organizations having the same goal with similar objectives, working together seems to be perfect since they compliment each other's responsiblities quite well!  Me to We Free help with the funding source of Free the Children to offset their administrative expenses which helps Free The Children become sustainable in their work. Thus, helping them support their goal to end global poverty :)

• Over the past year, Me to We has donated more than $1 million to Free The Children to help pay salaries of many of its administrative staff, provide free rent of its office space in Toronto and assist with other administrative costs that otherwise would have been financed through general donations, which in turn means that at least $400 000 has been donated to the actual charity which is usually used to help build homes in third world countries.

• More than $600,000 in-kind was donated by Me to We staff/volunteers, who provided thousands of hours of volunteer service to Free The Children. This also includes training, workshops and consulting to Free The Children projects. Any educational materials or products provided to Free The Children by Me to We are always for free or at actual cost, which helps stretch the budget donated to Free The Children.

All in all, both organizations have the same goals in terms of youth giving back to youth and that we can all make an impact on the world altogether even if its through the little and simple choices we make th rough our daily lives. :) 

Love always,

Celine

Let's face it. Almost every girl would LOVE to star in her own tv show. If I ever had the chance to star in my own tv show I'd want to star on a romantic comedy-drama sitcom. Kind of like the shows on Disney Channel. To be honest, I'd want it to be based on real life facts so I'd want the storyline to based on MY life and situations that have I have personally experienced growing up. I was born an only child. Growing up without any brothers or sisters was lonely so I had to learn and go through experiences on my own and rely on myself. Each episode would be a continuation of the previous one, but every episode would be about a specific situation and experience. Since the media has such a huge impact and influence on society's youth today, I'd want my television show to be able to show teens that they're not alone. The things that they are going through are normal and part of growing up. It may be tough and there may be times when you just feel like giving up but the most important thing is that you have to learn to overcome it. Learn from your own mistakes and find ways to resolve your problems because at the end of they day, the only person you can truly rely on is yourself. Since it would also correspond with my platform of embracing one's true self and helping other people out of tough situations, I'd want it to influence girls in ways that media has positively affected me growing up like showing confidence, feeling appreciation about your own life, coming out of your own shell and encouragement to help not only yourself but also others. I want girls and youth today to feel that they can make changes in the world and in their own lifes just by being who they want to be, and not who people expect them to be. This show would have real life situations that teens go through everyday, from first dances to first loves to highschool drama to making career choices for post secondary...the possiblities are endless.

 If I were to choose two sponsors I would definitely pick Aritzia and Damn Heels. I would choose them because I would want each character to be dressed appropriately and of course, be up to date with style. Aritzia and Damn Heels are both accessible and affordable to most people. You don't have to spend $25 000 to get a nice designer dress and comfy pair of stylish heels. I not only want teens to be influenced emotionally, but also physically when it comes to finding and expanding their own fashion sense. I think that they would fund my show because we basically have the same target audience, teens and young ladies. I want people to be able to be like "Oh, I love that top! I wonder where they got it from." or "Wow, maybe I can pull that style off.". We should all be able to wear what we want to wear, and I think that Aritzia and Damn Heels offer exactly what everyone wants and needs.

Honestly, growing up I never listened to rap, hip-hop, or anything that was generalized or classified as "gangster" music. It wasn't until I was in junior high that I met one of the most important people in my life, my boyfriend and best friend Peter. Through him I was introduced to a new world of music, where problems weren't just about how heartbroken a person was, they were real problems that happened to real people. But it actually wasn't until today that I appreciated one of the greatest rappers of all time, Drake.

It's the first day of my summer of 2010, I turned on my TV to see if any of my usual showsare on. I came across the documentary, Drake: Better Than Enough, which documents the life of Drake during the weeks before his next album release, Thank Me Later. I wasn't that interested at first, I mean I listen to a lot of his songs that are on the radio but I don't actually take the time to search up other songs by him. But this morning when I turned the TV on and I slowly started getting interested. I didn’t realize it before, but his lyrics as he said mean something. They mean something extravagant to him personally. He writes about people in his own life and about experiences he's been through. I think that the most interesting and important thing about an artist is how much their music means to them. Throughout this documentary, Drake has expressed in many different forms how much he cares and how much his music means to him. He's shown how real of an artist he is. Every lyric he's ever sung rapped has come straight from his blackberry during the writing and producing process and straight from his heart to every other heart in the audience during a perfomance. I admire him for that. I really do.

So Drake, wherever you are right now, if you ever see this entry, please know that you've touched at least one more heart in the millions of fans you have in the world. I am officially a fan, not of just his music, but of the person Drake is and always will be.

To end off on a great note: Hopefully I'll get to meet him one day to tell him how much I admire him, but for now, I hope that I get his new album, Thank Me Later, as a birthday gift! ;)

Love always,

Celine

Welcome to Edmonton a.k.a. the City of Champions and the Festival City!

All my life I've lived in Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. Entering the Miss Teen Alberta-World pageant this past February, I was one of 3 competitors from Edmonton. Luckily I'm the only representative from Edmonton this year to run for Miss Teen Canada-World so it makes me proud to be able to show you around the city I grew up in!

There is so much to know about Edmonton I don't even know where to start. Not many people would put Edmonton at the top of their traveler’s list because they don't know much about our city. Here in Edmonton we are fortunate enough to have the University of Alberta (beautiful campus!), which will be my future school after next year! But honestly, there is just so much about Edmonton that not many people appreciate. Whether it's the chilly weather in the winter, or the sizzling days during the summer, the many variations of weather are what make Edmonton such a great place to visit! 

Our city is known as the City of Champions because of the many sports championships we have won over the years. Edmonton is home to the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos who have been Grey Cup champions from 1978 through 1982, and to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, who have won four Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1988. The nickname the "Festival City" stuck with Edmonton because of the many festivals that our city holds throughout the year (especially in the summertime!).  

Parks and Attractions 
Telus World of Science lets you explore the many faces of science and technology! From many exhibits, science demonstrations, learning through the IMAX Theater, you are sure to have a fun time whether you are with your school or just even your family! I remember going to the Telus World of Science and learning about astronomy through the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre which is a dome that looks like the night sky from outer space!

Art Gallery of Alberta is the newly opened art gallery located in downtown Edmonton. It was founded in 1924 but was recently completely renovated and re-opened earlier this year. I haven't had the chance to visit this yet but from what I've heard, it's a great place to visit just to relax and enjoy art in its purest forms!

Churchill Square is and urban plaza located within downtown Edmonton. Year-round it holds various activities that will keep you entertained. From movie nights, the Edmonton Public Library that is across the street, festivals, food vendors, open basketball games, there is definitely something for everyone!

The River valley overlooks the North Saskatchewan River. It has a spectacular view! From the earthy greenery and animals during the summer, to the beautiful snowy trees in the winter, the view is just absolutely beautiful. Another popular attraction in Edmonton is the Edmonton Queen Riverboat which has a restaurant within it. You can take a relaxing boat ride on the North Saskatchewan River while eating a nice quiet and romantic dinner.

Alberta Legislature is the home of the Alberta government which is available for touring! On the ground of the legislature building there is a fountain pool which is a popular destination for many Edmontonians during the hot days of summer. Many events and festivals like the Philippine Independence Day are also held there throughout the year.

Fort Edmonton Park is one of Edmonton’s main attractions. Within it is a representation of four distinct time periods which show how Edmonton has developed throughout history. Fort Edmonton contains over 75 structures many of which are the originals from the time period. There are even people dressed up in costumes to show you around! The candy crystals and the bubblegum ice cream that they sell there is so delicious!
Hawrelak Park is the most famous park in Edmonton. It’s a great place to hang out with friends and family, have picnics, ride paddle boats, feed ducks, and just relax. It also holds one of the biggest festivals in the summertime, Heritage Days.

Shopping
West Edmonton Mall is known as one of the biggest malls in the world. Like other malls it has shops and a food court (well, there are two food courts at West Edmonton Mall), but it actually has a strip within the mall called Bourbon Street just for clubs, restaurants, and pubs like Moxie’s Classic Grill, Earls, Jungle Jim’s, Tony Roma’s, Sherlock Holmes, Whiskey Jack’s, Boston Pizza, Cactus Club Café, and Hudsons Canadian Tap House just to name a few. It is acknowledged as one of the biggest malls in the world because within it there is the Fantasyland Hotel, Europa Boulevard, Galaxyland, World Waterpark, Marine Life, Deep Sea Adventure, Putt ‘n’ Glow, Ed’s Rec Room, Ice Palace and many other attractions like a movie theater with a dragon that breathes actual fire out of its mouth every 20 minutes!! My friends and I love to go skating at the Ice Palace. It’s a group favorite especially in the summer and we just feel like skating even when it’s not winter out! The World Waterpark is so much fun! There are so many slides and water rides you can go on. They even offer bungee jumping! The indoor amusement park, Galaxyland, is home to the biggest rollercoaster in Edmonton, the MINDBENDER. Holy, I went on it the first time last month. My physics class went to Galaxyland for an end of the year fieldtrip so I decided to give it a try. WOW, it is definitely the best ride I’ve ever been on in my whole life.

Southgate Mall is a popular mall in the south side of Edmonton. It originally opened in 1970 and was newly renovated and re-opened on August 5, 2009. I remember that week before the mall reopened clearly because everywhere you went there would be signs covered with sparkles and sequins with the number “5” on it. They hyped it out a lot and gave out gift bags on the morning of the grand re-opening. It’s a definitely a popular place for me and my friends to hang out! So refreshing in the summer especially because of air conditioning and bubble tea that you can get from there! Some of my favorite shops in Southgate are Pusch, Guess, BCBG Max Azaria, and of course, Aritzia.

Whyte Avenue is located within Old Strathcona, which is the fashion District of Edmonton. Here you can enjoy nightlife, body art centers, thrift stores, unique boutiques and shops.

South Edmonton Common is the known as the largest open-air retail development in North America! There are over 100 shops, restaurants and attractions most of which are outlets! Some of my favorite popular places there are Moxie’s Classic Grill, Ikea (breakfast is only $1.00!), Chuck E. Cheese’s, Indigo bookstore and the Cineplex Odeon movie theater.

Festivals and Seasonal Festivities
Canada Day is one of the biggest events celebrated here in Edmonton. Enjoy fireworks, food vendors, and local performers and show your Canadian pride by attending many of the festivities at the Legislature grounds, Borden Park and my favorite, Mill Woods Park. At Millwoods Park they also hold a mini carnival to celebrate the Canada Day Festivities!

Capital Ex is the most anticipated summer event of the year for most youngsters like me! It’s held at Northlands and runs for 10 days. Enjoy rides, elephant ears, deep fried coke, corndogs, local and international performers (Hedley and Marianas Trench, and FeFe Dobson have performed there in the past!) and to end of each day they always put a show on with fireworks!!!! On the first day that it opens there is always a parade to start it off. Unfortunately I won’t be able to participate or even attend the parade this year. :(

Heritage Festival features 63 pavilions representing over 85 cultures from all over the world. It is held at Hawrelak Park and runs for 3 consecutive days in August. I remember when I went in grade 8 with my bestfriends we all got our first henna tattoos together! The festival really shows the unique and amazing cultures of Canada. It’s a great way to learn about other cultures and it makes you appreciate and understand the cultures other than your own even more. Really shows the multiculturalism present within the spirits of Canadians!

Fringe Festival is held on Whyte Avenue every summer and features many plays that are held in mini theaters. Enjoy the festival with many food, jewelry, and clothing vendors!

Street Performers is usually held at Churchill Square during the summer. Here, many street performers like fire breathers, magicians, fire dancers, and many more talented performers from all over the world are featured.  

Taste of Edmonton is another event held at Churchill Square during the summer. It features more than 30 different restaurants from all over Edmonton and gives you a sample taste of their most popular dishes.

Candy Cane Lane is another Christmas favorite. It is held on the west end of Edmonton and is a popular festivity for many Edmontonians. Basically it’s just a neighborhood that puts up impressive Christmas displays and lights every year for other people to enjoy. Such a good way to spend a cold, snowy night. Walking through that neighborhood instills the Christmas spirit within us all!

Visit the Edmonton homepage to view all the festivals held in Edmonton!

Love always,

Celine

Hey everyone!

May is such a busy month for me full of exciting events!

This past weekend I headed over to Ponoka with some of the title holders from the Miss Teen Alberta-World pageant for the Relay for Life that was held at Ponoka Composite High School. Thank you to Jenah who is Miss Teen Ponoka County-World 2010 for getting all of us together! Unfortunately some of the title holders couldn't make it, but in total there were six of us title holders. I had a blast. The Relay for Life is in support of the Cancer Foundation and what you do is you camp out with a team of about 10 people and you walk around a track from Friday at 7 pm - 7 am the next morning. There has to be at least 2 people from every team walking at all times so you have to alternate in order to have breaks inbetween. During the course of the night there were fun activites like jackpot (football), scavenger hunts,  three legged races and many more! Playing football at about 2:00 am is pretty darn fun I gotta say.  We all wore our crowns and sashes with matching Relay for Life t-shirts that were provided. For dinner we had McDonald's, and Tim Hortons. I had a cheese burger meal with large fries and an ice cap. Talk about healthy. :P Jenah made a cute pink poster that had our team name, Cuties for a Cure, and all of our team's names on it. It's too bad someone from another team had to ruin our poster by accidentally ruining it....ANYWAYS, so basically I had about an hour or so of sleep that night, but it was so worth it. We all slept in one big tent haha! I made so many friends and definitely got closer to my pageant girls! (:

I finally had the time to plan my fundraiser this past week! I'm holding a mini concert event that will help pay for my entrance fee for the Miss Teen Canada-World pageant. Local Edmonton artists will be performing and I am so excited to have them there. I will be having performances by: Gabrielle Sacro, Maria Nguyen, A.D.D, the Headcakes, E.merge, and Exposure! After the performances there will be dance DJ'd by one of my friends, Jose Recinos. Tickets and posters will be printed off by this Tuesday so I'm pretty excited to start selling! I don't have much time though since my event is scheduled for June 4th! Hopefully it's successful. I'm really nervous, but I know that in the end, things will work itself out.

This week at my school is TNT Week so basically its all about the Trojan Spirit! Tuesday is BYOB day (Bring Your Own Banana), the most delicious part of TNT week. Wednesday is the Fine Arts Gala which I will be attending since drama was one of my subjects this year. Thursday is Mr. Trojan which is an event held at lunch time. Boys dress up in drag and compete in a mini beauty pageant. The areas of competition are runway, talent, and personal interview. Should be a good time. The best part is that I'm co-hosting it and crowning the winner! Friday is a half day in which in the afternoon is a BBQ held by Student Council (which I'm a part of!) and various outdoor activities throughout the day!

Well I'm getting sleepy and there's still school tomorrow so I'm heading off to bed! Good night!

Love always,

Celine

Jaden, Me, Jhoyli, and Tawney!

Most of Cuties for a Cure

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been awhile since I got to post a new blog entry. I've been so busy with school lately. FINALLY! Only 6 more weeks left in school! I finally found the time to update my blog abot what I've been up to since my last post.

April 11th I accompanied my promoter to one of the local Filipino Association meetings. It was very eye-opening to me to hear about the issues that are present in Edmonton and Alberta in the Filipino Community. At first I felt very intimidated since everyone there was quite older than me, but they were very welcoming and supportive about me winning my title. They also discussed the upcoming Philippine Independence Day this June. I'm really glad that I'll be participating in that as well as the gala that night with the Mayor. I'm not so sure about the details, but I am very excited to meet other Filipino youth here in Edmonton, it should be a fun event!

On April 17 I had another photoshoot with my good friend Chanchan. He brought along another photographer, Dennis C., with him and it was beautiful out so the pictures turned out awesome! I also got to hang out with a few of their friends, Crizhel B. and Kristine C. They were awesome to work with. I think later on this year the photographers want to do another photoshoot with us three so I'm very excited about that.

Sunday April 18th was such a busy day for me. I went to a photoshoot hosted by the modelling agency I'm currently with, Chan International. I can't wait to see how those turned out! After that I finally got to hang out with one of my very good friends, Brandon L. I had'nt seen him in so long so it was nice to finally sit down and catch up. We hung out at Millenium Place in Sherwood Park where the 17U/18U Volleyball Provincials were held at. At the end of the tournament I had the awesome opportunity to hand out and present the bronze, silver, and gold medal awards to the 17U Mens division. It was nice because I got to present a silver medal to one of my bestfriends who played on the Yetis team. Afterwards, I got to take a team picture with them teehee. (:

April 25th I was able to attend the annual Over the Top Awards Gala at the Fantasyland Hotel. I helped hostess and greet the guests at the front door with 3 other beautiful ladies: Hanna, Amanda and Chantel!

Last night I had an awesome night with the ladies in my family. I had the honour of helping host a bridal shower for my cousin, Christine, who will be getting married in July. I'm one of her bridesmaids! I've always looked up to her so it really made me happy to see her so happy.

Lately my weeks have been filled with quizes, exams, labs, projects and much much more schoolwork. I don't really mind because I know it'll benefit me in the long run. BUT I have also been brainstorming ideas for my fundraiser for Free the Children. I'm really interested in doing a walk-a-thon. I think it'd be so much fun to round up the community and have a great time! What do you guys think? Lemme know!

Love always,

Celine

PS: RIP Tito Ed. Unfortunately a few weeks ago we also found out that a family friend had died, so I just wanted to say RIP Tita Chit. You will both be always forever loved and missed by your friends and family.

Me and the Yetis volleyball team (:

Wow, I can believe spring break's over! To be honest, I'm not very excited to go back to school. My spring break this year was amazing!

I finally got to do my first photoshoot as Miss Teen Central Alberta-World! We went all over downtown and Whyte Ave for our 5 locations. We were planning on doing 2-3 locations in about 2-4 hours but we had so much fun and energy that we just kept going! I had never done a 7 hour photoshoot before! But time had gone by really fast because all of us had a great time! It was pretty sweet because I even got to do a few shots with my boyfriend. I did the photoshoot with my promoter Thomas, 2 awesome photographers Chanchan and Enrico and my very supportive boyfriend Peter :).

At first I was really nervous about the posing and positioning of certain parts of my body because I hadn't done a photoshoot in a while but after a bit I became more comfortable. :) At least for my next one I'll be more comfortable!

I got to wear one of my favorite dresses that I bought from Bebe. It was a silky white halter dress with black leopard spots and I wore my platform heels (the same pair I wore during my interview at the Miss Teen Alberta-World Pageant!). For my casual outfit I wore another one of my favourite outfits! My blue plaid hoody, a gray v-neck tshirt, all paired up with my Rock and Republic ripped skinny jeans and shiny, black, peep-toe wedges. So comfy! The weather outside was beautiful that day! But even though the sun was out and shining, it was still pretty chilly! being outside for 7 hours and with no jacket for half the time resulted in me getting a cold unfortunately. I think it was all worth it though! The pictures turned out amazing!  The photoshoot was definitely the best part about my spring break. Check out how the pictures turned out!

My rest of my spring break was pretty relaxing. I finally got to spend some quality time with friends and family. It was fun to get together with a lot of the people I used to be close with in junior high, I miss you all! For Easter we had a family gathering at my house, I love family gatherings especially since I have such a huge family!

It's sad that spring break's over, now I'm just waiting for summer vacation to start! :)

Love always,

Celine

Just wanted to update my blog about how great my spring break has been so far!

So Friday was a half day at our school! YES! Later that day I went to my wonderful boyfriend's house to spend some quality time and we watched New Moon. I'm so lucky to have a guy who's willing to sit through 2 hours of a love triangle between a gorgeous vampire, drool-worthy werewolf and an ordinary but pretty human girl LOL.

Saturday was a really good lazy day. I slept all day haha.

Sunday I went to breakfast with my parents @ Denny's. Yum. Afterwards I finally got a haircut @ Eveline Charles by the fabulous Adrianna. She did a great a job by giving me exactly what I wanted for my hair! Then my mommy took me shopping! I bought a lot of clothes that I could wear for appearances and for the national pageant in July! I bought an amazing dress that I'm wearing for the photoshoot. I'm so excited to wear it! What do you guys think of it?

Today, I went to the mall for a 17th birthday party for my one of my best friends for 12 years now, Arlene. It was nice to see most of my closest friends there! We all haven't hung in so long because we've all been so busy. Bowling was fun, but kind of embarassing too! We were making up silly nicknames for one another to put on the scoreboards and right when I was about to release the ball into the lane, someone yelled out my "nickname" and I laughed so hard that I dropped the ball behind me! The whole bowling alley looked @ me and all of my friends were laughing. I'm not very good @ bowling, but I love it! The guy at the front even printed off our score sheets for us because he thought the nicknames were hilarious! I seriously haven't had that much fun in a long time! After eating (I love Greek food + bubble tea!) we went shopping for a bit and now here I am, blogging about my spring break. :)

I don't really have anything else planned except for a photoshoot on Friday, but overall, I think this year's spring break will be fun. I really want to go bowling again lol. I'll keep you guys updated!

Love Always,

Celine