To purchase your tickets, please go to http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/100042D1FFD9C356

To cast your vote online, click here http://www.missteencanadaworld.com/become_mtcw/vip_signup

I'm in Toronto.

First of all, I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Trina and Omari of Creations Photo for the beautiful pictures which everyone seems to love, and the extremely generous donation to Free the Children. You did a wonderful thing for this charity, and it is greatly appreciated.

On July 6^th I got a call from the Edmonton Examiner. The interviewer asked me about my role in the pageant and what I plan on doing if I win. This was a great opportunity because I was also able to give my platform and the message I wanted to get out. I now have people I don’t know supporting me, and a lot saw what I plan on doing, just because of this once-a-week newspaper. It feels so good to have a voice. Check out page 7 for the article. http://edmontonexaminer.com/media/pdf/zone5.pdf

On July 3^rd I had a phone interview with Adeline Chappell, editor of the Terrace Bay/Schreiber News about my current standing as a Miss Teen Canada-World finalist. This is significant to me because my hometown is Terrace Bay, Ontario and I lived there for thirteen years. When I receive a copy of the article, it will be posted.

Have you ever been bullied? Maybe you’re the bully? At some point in time, everyone has been associated with bullying. If it’s an ongoing issue for you, or you just love drama and exposure tune in to TLC’s new dramatic talk show, The Beauty and the Bully. Teen beauty queen and host Alana Smith helps victims and bullies battle out their issues and reveal their deepest feelings and emotions. She will dig deep and discuss topics such as; forms of bullying, reasons for bulling, ways to prevent it, ways to stop it without interfering too much, and who to tell or talk to about it to help the guests understand their individual roots of bullying. Guest issues will include everything from where it all started to lack of confidence to how it makes the bully feel.  However, not just focusing negatively on the bully, Alana gives tips on how to respect them, even when they could be lashing out on you. Demonstrating love and respect for others, the Beauty and the Bully helps insecure, unconfident people seek out their true inner beauty. They will also learn to reflect their newly found inner beauty on the outside with gifts from Foxy Originals and Jergens.

Pairing up the bully and the victim for a shopping spree for 500$ each by Kitchen Orange together will allow them to open up and become vulnerable to each other. The victim will get the chance to become comfortable around someone they would usually be afraid of. The goal of this is to help them understand the other side and open to each other enough to get the chance to walk in the other one’s shoes. The victims will learn that not all bullies are bad people and the bullies will learn that their victims are not deserving of rudeness and lack of respect. Recognizing the inner beauty in the other person will help them to reflect their own inner beauty by being understanding, kind, and respectful.

One other technique that will be used to teach why bullying is wrong is the game which Alana calls “If you really knew me”. The goal of the game is to allow the person on the other side of the bullying to relate to and understand the other person. The bully or victim will begin with saying if you really knew me, then they will give a fact about them self that is a positive thing they are proud of, or something they think will make the other person feel empathy. An example of this is: If you really knew me, you would know that I am an honour student, and my mom died when I was five. This method is effective in that it will allow the guests to feel comfortable around others with differing views from them, and it teaches them to know someone before they judge them.

So the viewers and guests can get a better understanding of all the different types of bullying and scenarios, actors and actresses from the Toronto Academy of Acting School will be performing skits and acting out possible situations that could occur that cause conflict between people. They will also act out how to deal with the situations in order to give tips to bullies and victims on how to avoid these conflicts.

Beauty and the Bully is sure to be a success. The show will air Sundays at 8:00pm on TLC. There’s nothing beautiful about bullying. ™

As a victim of bullying myself, I feel this talk show is addressing one of the most important issues there is because not only do I understand the effects bullying can have on a person emotionally, but it is also an issue that affects people of every age, race, religion and social status.

                 Alana Smith-Miss Teen Central Edmonton-World 2009

The Canada Day celebrations are a great place to get yourself noticed because of the extremely large crowds. And that is just what I did. I volunteered at the Silly Summer Parade sponsored by the Old Strathcona Foundation handing out tiaras and serving up the Canada Day Birthday cake. I also had the opportunity to ride in the Canada day parade where I stood up on a carriage pulled by horses and waved to the thousands of people gathered on Whyte Avenue. It was such a wonderful experience to have so many people cheering me on and waving back at me. I really felt that I had the full support of my community.

On the afternoon of June 27th, I made a guest appearance as Miss Teen Central Edmonton-World at a Chuck E Cheese children's birthday party. All the young girls were so excited to see a "real princess" when I walked in. I handed out small tiara combs to the little girls and cut and served the birthday cake. I had a lot of fun making this appearance and enjoyed all the excitement from the young ones. Happy 8th birthday Lindsey!

 So far, fundraising for Free the Children has been a great success. I recently held a raffle independently at my high school where I sold tickets for a draw to win movie treat baskets. The tickets went for two dollars each and I raised well over my goal. I have also done some door-to-door campaigning where neighbours were happy to help out for a good cause.

February twenty second. Heavy hair and sore ankles. Peering out under the shadows of ten foot long lashes, seeing nothing but painfully bright lights. Standing tall and sweaty with every inch of energy and confidence left, I'm waiting only to hear my name. This is a feeling that every single Miss Teen Canada-World contestant can recognize. Mine and everyone else's hearts were pounding with both excitement and nervousness. The only difference between what I felt that night, and what everyone else advancing felt, was the heart break of my name not being called. The entire pageant experience was something incredible and unforgettable, but although my name wasn't called I knew it didn't mean I couldn't continue to make a difference, and somehow I knew it wasn't the end of the road...