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January, 2015

  1. This I Believe – Faith Remains Forever

    January 29, 2015 by Nicole Luchansky

    grams

    In loving memory of Marie Domenica Nocera Ialongo.


  2. Angelina Jolie – Woman in Black

    January 29, 2015 by Nicole Luchansky

    “When other little girls wanted to be ballet dancers, I kind of wanted to be a vampire.”

    ~Angelina Jolie

    vampire

    “If I make a fool of myself, who cares? I’m not frightened by anyone’s perception of me.”

    ~Angelina Jolie

    With both grace and intrigue, Angelina Jolie epitomizes the rule of dangerous, fashion icon and inspirational humanitarian. She is completely flawless every time she adorns herself in the color she made famous. Black. As a mother of six, she continues to shock the nation with her daring wardrobe. She can pull off the natural, sensual look, draped in a simple black gown. She remains just as mesmerizing in a black suit, somehow making the boyish look, handsome, classy and beautiful. As she works as a director, she wears tight, black pants and a flowing, black tank top. On her head, she wears a wavy sunhat, woven in threads of black. Sweaty, tired and stressed, she remains a dark goddess. And finally, when she accepts awards and makes speeches, she manages to add flair to the “Queen Elizabeth suit jacket and long skirt” look.

    black gown

    suit

    hat

    queen

    Tattoos, lips plump-full of botox, and model silhouette do not usually scream humanitarian. Most would be surprised to know that Jolie was the youngest person to ever receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work with the United Nations. She also acted as the leader of the world’s largest anti-rape summit in London. These accomplishments all taking place while filming, directing and acting in movies. Most recently, the actress underwent a double mastectomy. She is now a role model for all women, testifying that while it may have been the hardest and most excruciating decision of her life, her children do not have to fear losing her of breast cancer. As the ugly threat of cancer braved its face in her life, Jolie remained dignified and heroic, acting as a role model for all women in her position.

    The Tomb Rader actress is often branded as a sex icon, or as the women who stole Brad Pitt from the beloved Jennifer Aniston. Hollywood is known for its drama, and the rumors it has perpetuated over the years have created a false image of Jolie. The facts of her accomplishments are inspirational. She is noble and dedicated to the cause of humanity, particularly women. She does not care what others think. She pushes for what she believes, even when under the harsh scrutiny of the public eye. Her ability to push fear aside is what makes her a celebrity inspiration. Her fashion is not the statement. Her actions are what have deemed her flawless. Her fashion is just the welcoming accessory to her many courageous attributes.

    Jolie goes against the grain. When girls wanted to be dancers in pale, pink costumes, she wanted to be a dark, bloody, gothic vampire. She has successfully combined darkness with kindness. We should all learn from Jolie and work to break the mold every once in a while. She does not live with regret, and neither should anyone else.

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    “We have a choice about how we take what happens to us in our life and whether or not we allow it to turn us. We can become consumed by hate and darkness, or we’re able to regain our humanity somehow, or come to terms with things and learn something about ourselves.”

    ~Angelina Jolie

    Jolie lives her life, not the life the paparazzi wants her to live. She has pushed aside harsh words from the tabloids. She has taken the hate and transformed it to be fashionable and life-changing. She wears the darkness life has thrown at her – I prefer to think black is a metaphor for what she has suffered – and maintains her humanity on the inside. Bravo Jolie.

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  3. Final Blog Ideas

    January 21, 2015 by Nicole Luchansky

    “I’m all for setting the bar high, but you are setting the bar so high that you are going to defeat a group of people and they’re going to drop out of school,” said parent Lisa Arnone. “As a middle school teacher I already hear them talking. They say ‘they’ll never pass those tests and they’re done.’ And that will be a shame that they will be defeated by these tests.”

    Arnone’s sentiment is shocking and powerful and begs us all to ask the questions: Should standardized testing be allowed? How much testing is too much?

    For my civic issues blog, I plan to discuss Public Education. More specifically, I plan to unearth the controversy regarding standardized testing. What type of testing is in place? What are the rules and regulations regarding standardized testing? Why did the states decide to take control and create such tests, and what do the states hope to accomplish? Are the tests truly meaningful, or are they invalid due to skewed statistical analysis? How are students and teachers punished with the implementation of standardized testing? What are the major benefits to this type of testing? Finally, if it is possible, I would like to try to tie in another controversy so long as I can find a connection with standardized testing. I would like to research vocational schooling and the stigma behind it. So many high schools push students to go to college when their skill sets lie elsewhere? Why is this the case? Vocational schooling can be both financially beneficial and academically beneficial for the right student. It is time for the stigma to be brought to the surface and confronted.

    “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

    ~ Coco Chanel

    Coco-Chanel-P

    For my passion blog, I plan to create a fashion blog. It will follow the normal criterion for a fashion blog, commenting on clothing, accessories, make up and shoes. However, the celebrity of the week that I choose will be both unique in her style and in her impact on the world. She will not just be an original fashion icon, but a woman who moves past the superficial to embrace her humanity and make a difference in this world. Fashion will always be fashion. Same trends. Different era. My celebrity of the week will be “irreplaceable,” both in the eyes of fashion and in the eyes of civilization.
     


  4. This I Believe: Send Us on Our Way

    January 21, 2015 by Nicole Luchansky

    rusted root

    Pale, natural moonlight blends with the thickness of the artificial fog and the burning flames of the metallic lighters. The smell of freshly cut grass, cigarette smoke, axe, and sweat permeates the sweet air. 100 members of my senior class dance in unison as Rusted Root performs on stage. A new school year is about to begin, and half of my class stands together, saying farewell to summer and hello to our final year in high school. Time becomes but a figment of our imagination as we let go of the high school stereotypes, release our prejudices to the hums and became a body of one, swaying to the deep, rich beats of the drums. As the night grows darker, our souls become lighter. We forget about the crop tops and the high-waisted shorts, the lax bro pinnies and the snap backs. We forget about the preps, the punks, the nerds, the jocks, the Queen B’s. We surrender and allow the music to infuse our minds and our bodies.

    The band begins their final song Send Me on Our way, and in the next 5 minutes my class forms a bond that will never be taken away. The joy radiating from our voices as we sing “I would like to reach out my hand,” inspires us to understand. To hold tight to each other and continue to be swept up into the words and the soulful atmosphere. The nonsense words in the song “oombayseeyou” and “seemoobadeeyae” float around us, developing a sense of freedom and expression, breaking the chains of the stereotypical social hierarchy. The chorus Send Me On My Way, inspires us to begin afresh in our final year, the most unlikely of years to begin anew. We end the night powerful and on top of the world. The ultimate euphoria. My class thrives. We are united and prepared to take on what would become the most meaningful year of our lives.

    For the first three years of high school, my class struggled with the common social woes. Segregation in the lunch rooms, in the class rooms and in the after school activities. But after that blissful summer evening, everything changed. We became a body on one, and we became the class to aspire to be.

    At our Senior Dinner Dance, on the last day of school, we danced our hearts out to Send Me On Our Way. Our feet, our legs, our bodies, our arms all moving in different directions much like the individual waves in a sea of one. In our minds the song was no longer Send Me On My Way, but Send Us On Our Way in recognition of the vivid memories of that glorious summer day. . This I Believe. Music has the power to transcend the crime of high school stereotypes and allow a class to develop roots in each other that will only grow thicker in time.


  5. Thoughts and Ideas for RCLII

    January 14, 2015 by Nicole Luchansky

    Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world.

    ~ Sai Baba

    I believe in the power of swings on a playground, specifically my elementary school playground swings, to inspire lifelong friendship, honesty and love. Going against the grain of Baba’s sentiment, a real life playground, not the metaphorical illusion, has the power to revitalize the beautiful innocence and values of the childhood spirit. I would discuss my own personal experience with the swings. It is a place where I have formed lifelong friendships with numerous people in the past several years, a place where I have helped others to rediscover their lost identities, and it is a place where I have lost love and fallen in love.

    Well, I would like to hold my little hand
    And we will run, we will, we will crawl, we will
    I would like to hold my little hand
    And we will run, we will, we will crawl

    Send me on my way (On my way)

    ~ Rusted Root

                I believe that music can transcend social status and stereotypes and unite an entire senior class in high school. For this speech, I would tell the story of when close to 75 percent of my graduating class came together in the summer for a Rusted Root concert at Hartwood Acres. (a park in our township) It was right before our senior year in high school, and as my class danced together, in unison, to the beat of the music, we created a spark that was never going to go out. A class that used to be entirely too caught up in artificial popularity, was now coming together as one: jocks, hipsters, Queen B’s and nerds gained a lifelong friendship that night that would lead to one of the most amazing years of all of our lives. I would continue to tell stories of how my class stuck together through thick in thin that year. I would end my speech by describing how everything came full circle at the Senior Dinner Dance, on our last day of school, when “Send Me on My Way” brought tears to the eyes of every person on the dance floor and allowed us to all say a proper goodbye.

    For my civic issues blog, I would definitely want to be a part of the discussion on Education. I think that it would be very important to discuss Public Education, and I could add some commentary that I found to be of importance from the Public Education Forum at State High. Specifically, in the Public Education controversy, I think that a good discussion point would be vocational schooling and public education’s unwillingness to support it, always pressing for seniors to attend college. The other categories under Education are interesting, but I think an additional argument could be standardized testing. As a group, we could look into why standardized tests are becoming so popular and whether or no they are helping or harming academics. Is it too much pressure to place on educators? Are students missing out on certain aspects of their education because there is too much focus on teaching to a test?

    As for my Passion Blog, I would have no problem continuing to discuss education. However, if it turns out that I cannot come up with 10 solid topics, my other two ideas would be to create a Fashion Blog that promotes women who go against the fashion world, or to develop a blog that discusses various mathematics phenomenons.


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