Xceptional Teens Online

XCEPTIONAL Teen Magazine empower teens to speak up on issues dear to their hearts. XTM is created to inspire the power of "YES, I CAN" in every teen. For enquiries, articles submissions or interview suggestions, email: xceptionalteenmagazine@gmail.com

The enrollment for  World Youth Day, which will begin July 25 , is as rampant as ever with more than 1,000 youth registering an hour during the day on  June 30.  June marked the end of the regular pilgrim sign-up and last minute registration will run from July 1-22 for individuals and small groups of under  150 persons. So far, the countries with the most enrolled for the youth encounter are  Poland with close to 170,000 people, Italy with more than 77,000, 34,353 in France, Spain with over 30,000, and there are more than 27,000 registered from the USA. As a result, the most popular languages present will be Polish, Italian, Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Student filmmakers in grades 7-12 (including graduates of the Class of 2016) are invited to submit work to Indie Memphis for the organization's first "Youth Film Fest," a daylong event of screenings, workshops and more that is scheduled to be held Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main. "This is your chance to see your film on the big screen, work with top professionals, and even find a mentor," a project brochure released this week promises young filmmakers. Film and video submissions of all types -- including fiction, documentary, animation, music videos and experimental work -- are welcome, and may be shot with any type of camera or device, including phones and iPads. Films can be of any length, but films under 10 minutes in length are preferred. Selected films with compete for awards, $1000 in cash and the opportunity to be screened during the 19th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, set for Nov. 1-7.

Who am I? I am a regular teenage girl. I go to school, hang at the mall with my friends, and listen to music my father doesn't quite understand. I'm like every other girl in America. There's only one thing that separates me from my friends and makes me different and unique. I am biracial. Let's start with the basics. What does biracial mean? "Bi" means "two" and "racial" means relating to or characteristics of races or a race of people. Together these word parts mean relating to or characteristics of two races. That's me. My mom is white and my dad is black. It doesn't seem like a big deal right? Well, maybe it's not, but no one has ever asked what it's like to be part of two worlds. What people ask is: Am I more black or white? Even as a baby I didn't fit in. I didn't look like my parents, and most people thought I was adopted. "The thing I most remember is feeling like I had to k...

When Pam Bertleson stepped off the plane, she was moved to tears. The people of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, had almost absolutely nothing. "The first thing you noticed was the smell of garbage piled everywhere, animals roaming everywhere, animal waste, human waste, and the dirty water of the river," Ms. Bertleson explained. Haiti is located 60 miles southeast of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The average income is about $400 a year. The country is still devastated by the 2010 earthquake, and has frequent tropical storms. Bertleson, a fifth-grade teacher at Vacaville Christian School, traveled with a group of 12 people from her church, Crossroads Christian Church. They began their journey at an orphanage called Danita's Children.

Travis Credit Union employee Damian Alarcon told nearly 100 area teens a word-to-the-wise tale about overdrafts on his checking account. On his way to a college class one morning, he decided to stop at a coffee kiosk to buy a fancy cup of Joe, a latte, along with a baked good for a snack. The bill came to a little more than $7, he told the students, ages 14 to 19, who on Wednesday had gathered in the credit union's community room for a financial literacy workshop, Mad City Money. What he learned later, to his disappointment, he recalled, was that there was not enough money in his account when he swiped his debit card to pay the bill. With overdraft fees, the cup of coffee and snack came to more than $25 with the assessment.

  About 100 people joined The Friendship Circle of Alabama for its 2nd Annual Dinner honoring its teen volunteers at the Beit Ariel Chabad Center in Birmingham. At the event, 13 local teens were honored for taking of their personal time to visit children with special needs throughout the year. “The teens in the Birmingham are amazing,” said Rabbi Levi Weinbaum , director of the Friendship Circle of Alabama.  “By last year’s dinner, we were celebrating 3 teen volunteers who went to visit 2 children from the community, and just a year later we are celebrating 13 teens who visit 7 children in the community!” “The teens here really understand what it means to give of themselves, and the responsibility that they exhibit is unprecedented,” he said.

  Want to get involved? Want to share your ideas? Consider joining Xceptional Teen Advisory Board. Act as teen advisors to Xceptional Teens Inc., Xceptional Teens Digest,  schools and community staff on matters directly related to youtg programming and new development.  Further, the board serves as facilitators in identifying programming opportunities for youths, while promoting wellness, school and neighborhood pride, character development and civic leadership.  To join or for more information, please email xceptionalteens@usa.com with the subject: Xceptional Teens Advisory Board.