Motivational Speech at I.S. 180

Heyy Everyone,

On Tuesday November 30th I visited P.S./I.S. 180 "The Seeall Academy," where I delivered a Motivational Speech. I have to start by saying that the experience was unforgettable! I left the school with the biggest smile on my face and the most amazing adrenaline rush.

My drama teacher from when I was in junior high school; Mrs. Marino, was kind enough to set up this opportunity for me. She is wonderful person, who over the years has turned from teacher to friend and I am so thankful to have her a part of my life. She truly has been a constant supporter of mine :-).

Mrs. Marino <3

Principal Williams & The Assistant Principal of I.S. 180
(and mom of course) :-)

Mr. Gaglio (who happens to be another teacher at I.S. 180
and the father of one of my oldest friends Sarah Gaglio)

When I arrived at I.S. 180 everyone was very welcoming and extremely kind. I was able to meet with both the Principal and Assistant Principal of the Seeall Academy who made me feel right at home in the school. Prior to the assembly that I spoke at, I walked around the school a little and went into some of the classrooms. The first was an adorable Kindergarten class where one little girl asked "are you a princess?" lol and literally made my heart melt. After walking around to a few classes it was time to go to the auditorium to address the students. I was under the impression that I would be speaking to a few classes, but no no no I was mistaken because when I walked into the auditorium I learned that I would be speaking to close to 500 junior high school students!!!! I will admit I was quite nervous lol, but so excited for the opportunity. Mrs. Marino introduced me to the students and it was now time to speak .  . yikess!!!

"Are you a princess?" -Kindergarten Cutiesss <3

Well . . .  I was blown away by the reaction these students had. They were all so receptive and literally if you listened you could hear a pin drop, that's how quiet they were. I must thank them for being so respectful and for welcoming me with open arms. I spoke for around 20 minutes and told them a little bit about who I was in Junior High School (odd looking with braces and bad eyebrows lol) and explained to them my journey and how I ended up Miss Brooklyn. If someone told me a few years ago I would be on the track to Miss America, I would have thought they were crazy, but somehow, someway, here I am!!! Never doubt your abilities for one second. We all have a niche in life, something we can hold onto and know that no matter what it will always be there for us. For me that niche has always been DANCE! It has been my passion since I was three years old, from the time I saw the movie Grease and thought I was Sandra Dee lol. Dance is a part of who I am and it is what has brought me to the Miss America track. So for everyone out there that believes they aren't good enough to achieve a goal, or think they are good, but believe someone else is better . . . TOSS THOSE THOUGHTS OUT THE WINDOW RIGHT NOW, because you are good enough!!!!
"HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO, and know that it will guide you in the right direction. Your life will surprise you and I guarantee you it will not go according to plan. Trust me you can color coordinate and write lists and ideas out, but life is going to take you where it wants and it may not be what you thought, IT MAY BE BETTER!! Never give up and fight for everything you want in life, because when giving up is not an option, the world will be at your fingertips. Hold onto the excitement you had when you were 5 years old and believed you could be a princess or a ninja turtle and don’t be afraid to get knocked down the ladder of success a few times. You will get some bumps and bruises, but once you make it to the top I promise you success is all the more sweet!!!!" 

The Seeall Academy 

Me delivering my speech !

Following my speech was the recognition of the new Student Counsel and I would like to congratulate those students who ran for office, you all should be very proud . . . and a special congrats to the honor students who each received a 95 academic average or above!!!! 

Exceptional Achievers 

After the assembly concluded I was surrounded by tons of students asking me to sign everything in creation lol!!! It may sound silly, but I felt like a ROCK STAR lol. I signed the following . . . . . 
1.) Notebooks 2.) Folders 3.) Backpacks 4.) Cell Phones 5.) Arms 6.) Ipods 7.) Sneakers 8.) Sweatshirts 9.) $20.00 Bills 10.) PSP 11.) Pictures etc. 

Signing away

Mrs. Marino's Class

This started off a picture with one
and then they all jumped in lol

Students of class 701

:-) 

:-)

These girls were sweethearts 

6th grade cuties

hmm something was funny I gather !

:-)

<3

:-)

Students came over to me thanking me for inspiring them and sharing my story and it made me realize that many of us do not know how powerful words can be! Simply sharing my story and being open and honest with the students made a difference and I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart for inspiring me to believe in myself on a whole new level. Your love and kind words will stay with me always!!! <333 xoxo


I hope to see you all again very soon :-)


xoxo
Christina 

Miss Staten Island Pageant !!!

Hey Everyone,

Hope you all had a happy and healthy turkey day filled with family-fun and tooooonnnsss of delicious food!!! :-) 

I have been meaning to blog about the 45^th Annual Miss Staten Island Pageant that I attended on November 13^th. It took place at New Dorp High School in Staten Island, NY (of course) and was certainly a night full of great entertainment, sensational competition and a few surprises along the way. There were 8 Miss Contestants as well as 6 teen contestants competing for the titles of Miss Staten Island, Miss Staten Island's Outstanding Teen, Miss Richmond County and Miss Richmond County’s Outstanding Teen. I had gone to the Miss Staten Island pageant last year and was blown away by the talent and overall production of the show and knew this year would not disappoint. All of the contestants were phenomenal! In addition to the girls competing; dancers from the Star Struck Dance Studio performed and rocked the house. They were so fierce and made me just want to get up and dance with them!!! (I was bopping around in my seat the entire show . . .  I felt bad for the people behind me lol)

At one point during the pageant Miss NY, Claire Buffie made an appearance, and along with the board of the Miss NY organization shared some special news with the audience. ***For the first time in the history of the Miss NY pageant it is going to be held at the St. George Theatre in STATEN ISLAND NY!!!! I am BEYOND excited that this year’s pageant is literally right over the good ol’ Verrazano Bridge.

Miss NY Outstanding Teen Alison Stroming 

Jamie Macchia :-) my friend, fellow Wagner  Dance Team Member
. . .  and last years 1st Runner-Up Miss Staten Island <333

Miss NY Claire Buffie :-)

Following the great news was time for Miss Staten Island 2010 (Jennifer Scacco), Miss Richmond County 2010 (my friend and fellow Wagner girl Kimberly Cantoni) and the teen titleholder, to take their final walk before the crowning of the new title-holders. I must congratulate them on a wonderful year, they are all such beautiful girls who I know made Staten Island proud.

Miss Richmond County Kimberly Cantoni <3

Miss Richmond County & Miss Staten Island 

Jennifer, Me & Kim :-)

Miss Staten Island 2010, Miss Richmond County's Outstanding Teen 2010
& Miss Staten Island's Outstanding Teen 2010 (who funnily enough crowned her sister as her successor) 

I am so proud to say that Joelle (who was last years Miss Brooklyn Outstanding Teen yayay!) was the 1^st runner-up. Her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was truly moving and I know this is only the beginning for her, You Go Joelle!!!

1st Runner-Up Miss Staten Island :-) Congrats dear xoxo

The title of Miss Richmond County 2011 went to Amanda Lee Alicea, who blew me away with her performance of Defying Gravity (a true Broadway Diva, AMAZING!!!) And finally the title of Miss Staten Island 2011 went to Maria DeSantis (who happens to be another Wagner Girl hehe) She truly deserved it!!! I am so excited to get to know these girl over the upcoming year. (PS Maria I LOOOOOVED YOUR GOWN)

Miss Richmond County 2011, Miss Staten Island 2011,
Miss Staten Island's Outstanding Teen 2011 & Miss Richmond County's Outstanding Teen 2011

MISS BROOKLYN 1989 Kelli Cookie-Bodnar (and she is a Wagner graduate, how cool ! )

Miss NY Princess

Crowns everywhere lol

Miss Staten Island 2011 Maria DeSantis

CONGRATS TO ALL OF THE TITLEHOLDER <3

That’s all for now, until next time xoxoxo 

****I recently visited I.S. 180 and gave a motivational speech there and it really was one of the most amazing experiences EVER and I cannot wait to tell you all about it! Sadly finals are kicking my butt and leaving me with little time to do anything but work :-( . . . but I shall update you soon <333

Upcoming Events !

Why hello again !

So my life literally revolves around Post-its! Every time I get an idea, or have a to-do list it goes on a post-it and I am now to the point where my ENTIRE desk is filled with them !!! Since I am trying to manage a million and one things at once they seem to be the only thing keeping me sane lol. My friends find it hilarious, I FIND IT NECESSARY ! hehe :-)

I am in the midst of coordinating 4 different charity benefits at once and my head is seriously overflowing with information. The first event is actually December 11th and it's called the Cosmic Charity Challenge; a cosmic bowling charity event held at Maple Lanes in Brooklyn NY, where all of the proceeds will be going to the Children's Miracle Network (the official Platform of the Miss America Organization) & The Miss Brooklyn Scholarship Organization. It is going to be a really fun and exciting night full of bowling, music, raffles, prizes and a few surprises along with way :-)  


Anyone interested please call 718-331-9000 and ask for TERRI !!!!

Following this event will be my Valentine's Dinner Dance at Sirico's Catering Hall in Brooklyn, NY on February 12th @ 7:00 pm. All proceeds from this event will be going to the Sarcoma Alliance, the charity in which I am supporting this year as Miss Brooklyn, http://www.sarcomaalliance.com/main.shtml. There will be a live DJ, Dinner, Raffles, and much more. It will be a great night out supporting a wonderful cause. Look for more information within the next few weeks :-) 

On January 23rd at Poly Prep (time is TBA), I will be co-hosting an event with the amazing Margaret Tapogna!!!! Margaret has been my dance teacher and inspiration since I was 7 years old. She truly is a woman with a heart made purely of gold and has touched so many lives over the years. Her love of dance and dedication to others makes her a true humanitarian who always puts others ahead of herself. Her selfless outlook on life is hard to put into words, but ask anyone who knows her and they will agree that she really is a piece of heaven on earth! We will be hosting the event in honor of her friend and fellow dancer, Rachel<3 whom passed away recently from lung cancer. All proceeds from the event will be going to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in honor of Rachel, who was a constant supporter of St. Jude's for over 20 years. I will keep you posted on further details within the next few week !

Last but not least the biggest event I am preparing for is my "PERFORMERS WITH A PURPOSE," benefit. My ultimate goal as Miss Brooklyn is to bring the performing arts into the public schools and show how the arts cannot only benefit the children, but can benefit charitable organizations as well. I plan to teach dance clinics in several public schools this year and have those children open up the benefit performance held on either April 16th or May 7th (still working on the date), where all of the proceeds will go to the Sarcoma Alliance. I already have sponsors lined up which I am super excited about and EXTREMELY grateful for and I simply cannot wait to really pull it all together. I want to get as many local dancing schools & performance centers involved as possible and make this a performance Brooklyn will never forget!!!! 

So these are all my biggies coming up this year ! I have a few other tricks up my sleeve and some other fun ideas to share, but I will wait until next time hehe :-) Hope to see you all at these upcoming events <3333333

xoxo

Christina :-) 

A Trip to Borough Hall to Meet Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz

“As borough president, in addition to setting an ambitious agenda focused on the core issues of his more than three decades in public service — housing, neighborhood preservation and community development — Marty has enacted programs to boost civic pride, improve health, promote tourism and empower young Brooklynites.” 

-http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/Pages/Brooklynastheycome.htm

On Monday November 8, 2010 I had the opportunity to visit the office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz down at Borough Hall! Now anyone who is a true Brooklynite knows Marty, he is legacy in Brooklyn, NY and has been involved in the Brooklyn Community for decades. He has been the Borough President since 2001 and during his time in office has managed to reach out to the 2.6 million people in the Brooklyn Community. (Don’t forget Brooklyn is the largest of the 5 boroughs, so he has a lot of ground to cover lol) Astoundingly he has found a way to do it. Ask any Brooklynite and I assure you they know who Marty is! I have been in Marty’s company many times throughout my school years and though he makes an impression on people everywhere he goes, there is one “Marty Moment” that I will always, always, always recall and that is his infamous “LET THE FORCE BE WITH YOU SPEECH” that he gave at my High School Graduation. (I know many of you are probably chuckling right now because he is known for this speech!) I won’t give away the ending for anyone who has yet to hear it, but I will say that Marty is both inspirational and theatrical, and presents himself and his beliefs in a way that makes you just want to get up and cheer!

When I entered Borough Hall that day I must say I felt quite important lol. I think it was the first time that it hit me that “Wow, I actually am Miss Brooklyn.” As I entered his office I was greeted with smiles and opened arms. Everyone in the office was so receptive and so kind to me. I met a lot of his wonderful staff members including his Executive Assistant Debbie Bill, and his Chief of Staff aka his “right hand man” Carlo A. Scissura, who I have actually known since I was in elementary school. My mother was the President of the PTA when he was just getting started as a member of the Public School Board, so he was shocked to see that I was the new Miss Brooklyn because he has known me since I was around 10.

When I walked into Marty’s office I was blown away by all of his Brooklyn paraphernalia. Literally everywhere you turned there was some sort of plaque, or poster, or picture etc. of something having to do with historical pieces of Brooklyn. He had Brooklyn Cyclone’s Gear, a huge picture of L & B Spumoni Gardens, pictures of Coney Island, the original Nathans, The parachute . . . the list goes on and on and on! It was unbelievable!!!! This certainly was no ordinary office; it was a Brooklyn playground J

I expected to sit down and simply talk one on one with Marty, but he was so down to earth and the whole meeting was very casual. My parents were able to come in and meet him and his staff and we all just talked everything and anything. I explained my Platform to him, “Performers With A Purpose, Bringing Sarcoma Awareness Center Stage,” and he was able to give me a contact or two that will help me further my platform, which I am very grateful for. He even showed me his photo-shoot spread with model Brooklyn Decker (so funny). Overall my first meeting with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz went phenomenal. I am so thankful I was able to meet with him personally and hope to possibly do a few appearances with good ol’ “Mr. Brooklyn,” sometime in the future J

Showing me his photo-shoot spread with model Brooklyn Decker
Photo By: Kathryn Kirk
kkirk@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

Borough President Marty Markowitz
Photo By: Kathryn Kirk
kkirk@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

"Mr. Brooklyn & Miss Brooklyn" lol
Photo By: Kathryn Kirk
kkirk@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

:-)
Photo By: Kathryn Kirk
kkirk@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

Mom & Dad got to join in :-)
Photo By: Kathryn Kirk
kkirk@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

I think I covered it all :-) It really was such an honor to meet Marty!

xoxo

Christina :-) 

P.S. I went to the Miss Staten Island Pageant on Saturday and have sooooooooooo much to blog about lol so keep a look out for my next blog!

Sean Casey's Animal Rescue Event !

Okay so life has literally been a whirlwind lately. So many wonderful things have been happening and though I have been getting things done, I will admit I wish there were more hours in the day because I have a list from here to Guam to complete lol.

So before I get to the most recent events that have been happening I MUST tell you about the second part of my Halloween weekend at Sean Casey's Animal Rescue Event. It took place at .................

The Hamilton Dog House/Sean Casey Animal Rescue 155 E. 3 Street Brooklyn, NY http://www.nyanimalrescue.org/ 718-436-5163 "The purpose of this endeavor is to aid unfortunate animals in the interest  of a higher quality of life. We take in rescued, confiscated, neglected, injured, ill, unmanageable, or otherwise unwanted animals from private owners, zoos, shelters,  and other public  organizations. These animals are cared for, and/or rehabilitated to  the best of our ability and means  until which time they can be found healthy, happy  homes - whether it be through adoption to qualified candidates or legally released into  habitats suitable to the specific species in conjunction with licensed wildlife rehabilitators." -MISSION STATEMENT The event that I attended was their 3rd Annual Halloween Blockparty! It was a  day full of family fun activities. There were animals EVERYWHERE, most of  which were dressed up in the cutest Halloween costumes. I had the chance to visit  some of the animals which are up for adoption and strongly encourage anyone out  there interested in adopting a pet to visit Sean Casey's Shelter. These animals  truly need good loving homes ! I must thank Ellen Stein for taking me to this event and introducing me to all of the hardworking employees who make the  shelter a success.  Ellen Stein is a Certified Personal Trainer and 7X IPF Masters World  Powerlifting Champion, which translates to ONE AMAZING WOMAN !  She trained Miss Brooklyn 2009, Keelie Sheridan and I hope to work with  her when the time gets closer for Miss NY in June (because for those of you  who don't know, I am the junk food QUEEN and am going to need someone  to discipline my butt before the state pageant lol) Ellen is a fantastic woman all  around and I thank her so very much for introducing me to this amazing cause and allowing me to participate in the event. You can contact her at w8lifter222@aol.com  and check out her blog www.kettlebellen.blogspot.com.  The Hamilton House/Sean Casey's Animal Rescue Shelter I was able to walk one of the puppies up for adoption THE DOG FROM THE SANDLOT !!!! lol Charles, Me & Ellen Stein The deal was I got to wear her hot pink glasses if she could wear my sash :-)  Aside from all of the animals in costume, there was a Karaoke band there and SOMEHOW  I found myself with a microphone in my hand singing  "Don't Stop Believing," lol. I had tonsillitis that week so needless to say that  particular performance was not one of my proudest moments, but it was certainly  a fun one :-)  Brian Smith's Live Karaoke Band ! www.openmicrocks.com Finally, there was one more special person that I must mention who I met at Sean  Casey's event and his name is Peter Colen. He is a freelance photographer who was  at the event taking fabulous photos. We exchanged contact info and it turns out he is a CANCER SURVIVOR !!!! He was diagnosed with Lymphoma about a year ago  and I am happy to report he has been in remission since April :-) His photographs are absolutely beautiful, many are of nature and are absolutely breathtaking!  (347) 683 6001 peter.colen@gmail.com Photo by: Peter Colen LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PHOTO By Peter Colen Photo By Peter Colen  Well I think I covered everything! I know this was a manifesto of a blog,  but this was such a memorable event and I needed to share every ounce of it with all of you <3  xoxo Christina :-)