Tuesday, April 29, 2014
You are All Amazing
I just wanted to thank everyone for checking out this blog! We have hits in all of the inhabited continents!!!! That's so unreal!! Countries such as Morocco, Pakistan, Spain, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Peru, and many others! How is that even possible?! It makes me feel like I'm actually making an impact of peoples' lives, and I'm only 16! It just shows that if you're determined, you can do anything. (:
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Details about our Upcoming Event
Hi again!(: We've been looking for potential venues and dates for our upcoming "launch party", and it's most likely going to be at a park, either Crestwood or Lopatcong Park, which are both located within a 20 minute radius of Phillipsburg High School. The date will probably be on May 17th. None of this is set in stone yet, we have to make sure that we can book the venue for that day to make it a reality.
For our event, we ask that everyone try their best to wear clothes that reflect what ethnicity they are. I completely understand if you don't have traditional ethnic clothes, I know I don't. You see, I am mostly East Indian, but I don't exactly have a sari lying around. And I'm probably not going to buy one because they are extremely expensive. But, I do own clothes that radiate Indian vibes because of its pattern! If you don't have those either, its okay. Ask some of your family members if they happen to have ethnic clothes and if they are willing to let you borrow them for this spectacular event!
We also ask that everyone bring ethnic food for a potluck lunch. While we feast, music from every corner of the world will be playing! Our goal is to have every single person that attends to have a new favorite type of ethnic clothing as well as favorite ethnic food, that is of a race that they are not. Although our group focuses on diversity of all kinds, the best way to spread our message it to have an opening event specifically dedicated to racial diversity, since everyone can relate to it. See you there! (:
For our event, we ask that everyone try their best to wear clothes that reflect what ethnicity they are. I completely understand if you don't have traditional ethnic clothes, I know I don't. You see, I am mostly East Indian, but I don't exactly have a sari lying around. And I'm probably not going to buy one because they are extremely expensive. But, I do own clothes that radiate Indian vibes because of its pattern! If you don't have those either, its okay. Ask some of your family members if they happen to have ethnic clothes and if they are willing to let you borrow them for this spectacular event!
We also ask that everyone bring ethnic food for a potluck lunch. While we feast, music from every corner of the world will be playing! Our goal is to have every single person that attends to have a new favorite type of ethnic clothing as well as favorite ethnic food, that is of a race that they are not. Although our group focuses on diversity of all kinds, the best way to spread our message it to have an opening event specifically dedicated to racial diversity, since everyone can relate to it. See you there! (:
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
EIBT Commercial
The commercial is finally up!!! A big thank you to everyone who let me take their headshot for the commercial, without you guys this wouldn't have been possible! Check it out! (:
Friday, April 18, 2014
VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, and Action Plan)
Eliminating
Ignorance for a Better Tomorrow (EIBT)
The Vision:
We came together to make the world a more unified place. Every
day, every hour, even every second, there is some sort of discrimination taking
place. Whether it be because of their race, their religion, their sexual
orientation, or even the way they dress. This can be seen in our very own
community, most recently the Phillipsburg Wrestler’s Dilemma. The basis of
discrimination and prejudice is ignorance. In today’s society, this problem has
significantly escalated. Worst of all, many people have given up hope of the
situation ever getting better and have even resorted to extreme means to
express their anger and hopelessness. We want to reach people from all walks of
life and all age groups to let them know that we are all the same.
The Mission:
“Our mission is to decrease the amount of discrimination by
educating and showing our community, and eventually the world, through hands on
activities that differences are a fundamental and beautiful part of society.”
Our Objectives:
In order to accomplish our mission, EIBT has the following
objectives which, taken together, will help us reach our goal:
- That
every person that comes to our event will have a new favorite ethnic food.
- By
the year 2015, the amount of hate crimes in Phillipsburg will decrease by
10%.
Our Strategies:
We will pursue the following strategies to reach the objectives:
- Organizing
Diverse Experiences
- Viewing
ethnic art forms, trying ethnic food, learning about other religions...etc.
to show the beauty of diversity and how it makes us who we are.
- Support
Groups
- For
people to share their opinions towards discrimination and discuss acts of
discrimination taken upon them in a “judge-free” environment.
Awareness
Hi again! You have no idea how much I appreciate you all taking the time to read my previous post, it means a lot. Fighting discrimination is something that I've always wanted to do, and I feel so blessed that this English project of mine has functioned as a catalyst for me to do so.
There isn't any major update in the status of everything. Right now we're on Phase 3 of our project, awareness. To spread awareness for Eliminating Ignorance for a Better Tomorrow, I visited my middle school and talked to some of my old teachers. I was completely amazed at how willing they were to help me! With any luck, the entire school of Pohatcong will become aware of the movement within the next few weeks, and that's more than I could ever ask for.
The second part of the awareness campaign is the commercial! Okay...so I don't want to give away everything, but I will share one interesting detail: It's going to involve approximately 50 people. What?! Yes, you've read that correctly, 50 people! Within the next few days I will be gathering volunteers, contact me ASAP if you'd like to take part. All help it greatly appreciated, thanks in advance! (:
There isn't any major update in the status of everything. Right now we're on Phase 3 of our project, awareness. To spread awareness for Eliminating Ignorance for a Better Tomorrow, I visited my middle school and talked to some of my old teachers. I was completely amazed at how willing they were to help me! With any luck, the entire school of Pohatcong will become aware of the movement within the next few weeks, and that's more than I could ever ask for.
The second part of the awareness campaign is the commercial! Okay...so I don't want to give away everything, but I will share one interesting detail: It's going to involve approximately 50 people. What?! Yes, you've read that correctly, 50 people! Within the next few days I will be gathering volunteers, contact me ASAP if you'd like to take part. All help it greatly appreciated, thanks in advance! (:
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Introducing...us!
Hi! So my name's Soleil Longchallon, and my partner and crime here is Nora Bekhiet. We're your basic, everyday teenagers...except now we have a mission. You see, we were assigned this English project not too long ago, and it was the most...well...proactive project I had ever been assigned. It was to create a movement. And no, no...I'm not talking about a bowel movement or something, (you were supposed to laugh there, ha ha!) but one that would focus on a particular issue in today's world. Of course when my teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell, dropped this on us in a time span of approximately half an hour, my head was spinning...what in the world would my issue be?! I mean, I'm just a sixteen year old girl living in an often forgotten town in New Jersey...what difference could I make??
I got to thinking about what I actually cared about...aside from getting good grades in school...shopping...and well, boys (Hey! At least I admitted it!!)...and then it hit me! It was something I personally had dealt with my entire life...being different. You're probably wondering what I actually mean by this, so I'll gladly explain. Isn't everyone different in their own way??! Well...yes, but that's not what I mean here. In my elementary and middle school, I had been surrounded by classmates that were predominately Caucasian, and where all the teachers were Caucasian as well. Of course there were a few African American students...and by a few I mean approximately three, some Latinos and Asians...but that was it in a school of about 350 students. I'm kind of ethnically vague, meaning that when you look at me and hear my name one generally has absolutely no idea what my ethnicity is. You see, I'm an olive skinned girl, with the darkest possible brown hair, but I have a French girl's name. Huh??!!! "Is she Spanish?? Is she Egyptian?? ...what is she?!" "STOP IT ALREADY I CAN HEAR YOU". Because of this, not only have I had one race's stereotypes put upon me, but probably around a dozen, which is quite sickening hearing the nonsense that comes out of some people's mouths.
That never really bothered me when I was very young. It was when I turned about eight that I saw how differently I was being treated compared to my white counterparts. They would often group us nonwhites together, dismissing us last or blaming us for things others did. But enough about that, you get the idea. This project is giving me the chance to address these concerns by educating the public about cultural awareness. But our group, Eliminating Ignorance for a Better Tomorrow (EIBT) doesn't stop there. We address all sorts of discrimination, whether it be when it comes to race, religion, sexual orientation, or even things that seem petty, like being harassed because you dress differently than your classmates. Ignorance is the root to all things when it comes to discrimination. People are scared of what they don't know, so they mock and ridicule it to keep it away from themselves. The thing is, they're really hurting themselves...because they will never have the opportunity to learn about all the wonderful things of the unknown.
EIBT will be hosting an event soon (the time and place TBA), where everyone will be encouraged to embrace who they are. What I mean by this is that, for instance if you're Nigerian, show up wearing traditional Nigerian clothing while bringing traditional Nigerian food and music for everyone to enjoy! If you're Jewish, come and share some of your traditions and stories with us! If you're in a relationship with someone of the same gender, bring them! I hope that by the end of the event, everyone will feel more culturally aware as well as diverse as a whole. Come and join us for a day of new experiences and fun! (:
I got to thinking about what I actually cared about...aside from getting good grades in school...shopping...and well, boys (Hey! At least I admitted it!!)...and then it hit me! It was something I personally had dealt with my entire life...being different. You're probably wondering what I actually mean by this, so I'll gladly explain. Isn't everyone different in their own way??! Well...yes, but that's not what I mean here. In my elementary and middle school, I had been surrounded by classmates that were predominately Caucasian, and where all the teachers were Caucasian as well. Of course there were a few African American students...and by a few I mean approximately three, some Latinos and Asians...but that was it in a school of about 350 students. I'm kind of ethnically vague, meaning that when you look at me and hear my name one generally has absolutely no idea what my ethnicity is. You see, I'm an olive skinned girl, with the darkest possible brown hair, but I have a French girl's name. Huh??!!! "Is she Spanish?? Is she Egyptian?? ...what is she?!" "STOP IT ALREADY I CAN HEAR YOU". Because of this, not only have I had one race's stereotypes put upon me, but probably around a dozen, which is quite sickening hearing the nonsense that comes out of some people's mouths.
That never really bothered me when I was very young. It was when I turned about eight that I saw how differently I was being treated compared to my white counterparts. They would often group us nonwhites together, dismissing us last or blaming us for things others did. But enough about that, you get the idea. This project is giving me the chance to address these concerns by educating the public about cultural awareness. But our group, Eliminating Ignorance for a Better Tomorrow (EIBT) doesn't stop there. We address all sorts of discrimination, whether it be when it comes to race, religion, sexual orientation, or even things that seem petty, like being harassed because you dress differently than your classmates. Ignorance is the root to all things when it comes to discrimination. People are scared of what they don't know, so they mock and ridicule it to keep it away from themselves. The thing is, they're really hurting themselves...because they will never have the opportunity to learn about all the wonderful things of the unknown.
EIBT will be hosting an event soon (the time and place TBA), where everyone will be encouraged to embrace who they are. What I mean by this is that, for instance if you're Nigerian, show up wearing traditional Nigerian clothing while bringing traditional Nigerian food and music for everyone to enjoy! If you're Jewish, come and share some of your traditions and stories with us! If you're in a relationship with someone of the same gender, bring them! I hope that by the end of the event, everyone will feel more culturally aware as well as diverse as a whole. Come and join us for a day of new experiences and fun! (:
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