It’s time to kick off 2016 with fresh energy + hot style here at  C.O.R.E mag! We’re thrilled to introduce Ryan as one of our stylish fashion bloggers for this year! She’ll be keeping you on board with the hottest trends and style secrets to keep you fresh throughout your semester.

Now, let’s get to know Ryan a little better…

Name: Ryan White

Age: 17

City: New York

Grade: 12th

What is your dream job and why?

I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer because I love art and I think it’s even better when you can wear it. Who doesn’t want to strut around in an art piece !?

Which hobbies do you enjoy? I enjoy both drawing and sewing.

Who is your biggest crush? My biggest crush is Adonis Bosso. <3

What’s your fav song to vibe out to right now? My favorite song right now would be Luxury by Azealia Banks.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I would change the way the world views young women, mostly the double standards.

What does empowerment mean to you? To me empowerment means strength, courage and wisdom because those are the important things needed to grow in life.

What are your plans after high school? I want to go to college and continue to focus on my career in the fashion industry.

How have you helped someone in your life lately? I participated in giving out canned food for the less fortunate on Thanksgiving.

Who is your role model and why? My mom because she works hard while being feminine & that’s how I want to be.

Welcome, Ryan!

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It’s the NEW year and being smart about your funds is just as important as sporting the hottest fashion trends out right now. Hmmm… think about it. If you don’t know how to save how are you going to buy those hot shoes for your bestie’s party next month? Your parents are going to start giving you that good ol’ side eye the next time you kindly reach your hand out for more money. So hey, before they even give you the “You need to start being responsible” speech beat them to the punch and watch your account grow! Ok, ok enough of the speech let’s see if you are a Budgetnista or not?

Closet Check!– Yes, I know the feeling of fresh clothes in your closet is somewhat addictive! You can feel yourself wanting to rip off the tags as soon as you pull it out the bag and find the perfect place to debut the new piece to your clothes collection. BUT ask yourself how often do you buy new clothes? And where are your fave stores? Do you give yourself a spending limit before going out? Is your wardrobe a mixture of higher, lower and don’t forget thrift pieces?

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Foodie?? You’re telling yourself look, I’m not in 2nd grade anymore and packing lunches are the most annoying thing in the world. I know it seems like all 5 minutes of you preparing a meal the next day is life threatening but its not. How many times do you go to the drive thru after class? Or how many McGriddle wrappers are in the back of your car? Setting aside 10 extra minutes to eat breakfast at home or throwing a snack for after school will save up! You’ve probably spent 10 bucks in just vending machines already…Think about it.

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Small Temptations– Well, you know that they say it’s not the big problems that drive you crazy but the small bumps in the road that will drive you up the wall. Well, it’s same for your budget. Is it easy for you to get sidetracked? Do you make a lot of thoughtless purchases? It’s not always the huge purchases that makes your account slowly dwindle, it’s more of your small daily temptations that add up! From the Redbox picks to the Passion Fruit Ice Tea from Starbucks to the new nail polish you snagged at the drugstore. If you really added up a week of your random buys, you just saved up for your prom shoes…Yes, it’s true.

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Real dope girls can be fly on a budget! Save + be fab!

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Confidence is a stain they can’t wipe off. Let’s get it girls in 2016!

Life is all about transformation and shedding from one life phase to the next while discovering your hidden strength, beauty + power! Butterfly Dreamz has created the perfect outlet for youth to spread their wings and fly. Through their storytelling services, they inspire individuals to live their lives like BUTTERFLIES: flying fearlessly and pursuing DREAMS boldly, beautifully, and uniquely while inspiring others on the way!

Founder Joy Lindsay launched her organization in July 2013, a year after her younger sister, Kimberly Anyce Lindsay, transitioned into her life in heaven. After Kim’s passing, she had a desire to keep her story alive.

Joy began on a journey to preserve Kim’s story through the children’s book, When a Butterfly Chooses to Fly. Writing and storytelling became therapy for her, helping her to remain strong and pursue her dreams despite the unexpected setback of her sister’s passing. After seeing the impact of storytelling and literary arts had in her own life and the lives of others she shared her story with, Joy decided to explore the art forms more. She began to incorporate storytelling in her work of developing professionals and educating youth. Soon with the help of colleagues Butterfly Dreamz was created!

Through Butterfly Dreamz storytelling services and innovative curricula, they continue to build a universe of social leaders that are inspired to create, share, and use their stories to overcome life obstacles and change the status quo.

Let’s get to know Butterfly Dreamz a little better…

Butterfly Dreamz uses the art of storytelling to develop literacy and leadership skills in youth and adults, what made you launch this powerful organization?

I launched Butterfly Dreamz, Inc. after the death of my little sister, Kimberly Anyce Lindsay. Storytelling was and still is a huge part of my healing process. I found that telling stories about Kim helped keep her spirit alive; the stories were a much needed reminder of her beauty, boldness, and love for life when I needed it the most. Also, I found healing in sharing my story with others and listening to their stories. I’ve met many people who have transformed pain into purpose, and their stories inspired me to do the same. I soon realized that sharing my story was bigger than me; it empowered and encouraged so many other people to keep pushing despite life’s setbacks. This experience gave me a new purpose; a reason to live despite the death around me. With this new purpose, Butterfly Dreamz was born. At our core, we are an organization that uses stories to change lives.

Being a voice in the community motivates others to be great, what type of events and courses does Butterfly Dreamz host?

We host events and courses that help people: 1.) Build community, 2.) Discover their voice and creativity and 3.) Realize their dreams. In 2016, you can expect to see the following events and courses:

• HerStory: A monthly workshop series that seeks to convene, celebrate, and build sisterhood. Each month, women and girls of all ages and backgrounds come together to share their stories and learn to create fun DIY projects.
• Building E-books: A six-week course where students and parents learn to design and publish an e-book of their own!
• Launching Dreamz: A six-week course for adults interested in launching a youth development program or event. This course guides participants through the process of launching their idea and awards $1,000 to help fund their dream.
• Books and Burgers: Summer literacy workshops for kids and families. Participants come together to read books and write stories, while enjoying delicious burgers!

We also host online story competitions that are open to all students in NJ. Winners receive $100 and publication in our next e-book. More info about our competitions, events, and courses can be found on our website: www.butterflydreamz.org.

We tend to pull characteristics from others in our lives or from people we admire, who inspires you and why?

My mother. She is and will always be my role model, my first teacher, my friend and my biggest cheerleader. Just by being who she is, she has taught me how to love (myself and others), how to forgive, and how to keep going, regardless of the obstacles that may get in the way. She has both deliberately and unconsciously instilled the essence of womanhood in meand my sisters. I am beyond blessed to be her daughter. <3

If you had to give one piece of advice to teen girls who are struggling with being comfortable in their own skin, what would it be?

Don’t let others define beauty and success for you; create your own definitions and be open to changing them whenever you see fit. How you define success and beauty may look different today than it looked 5 or even 2 years ago. That’s OK; we will and should evolve as women. The important thing is that as you evolve, you are in the driver’s seat. You are defining what beauty means, what success means, what your dreams are and how you will make them happen.

Working with youth both parties learn from each other, what’s one trait you have learned from working with girls?

Through my work with girls, I have learned to always be a scholar. By “scholar” I mean to always be inquisitive and interested in learning more, to always have a thirst for knowledge and growth. As I work with youth, I am constantly reminded that we do not just wear one hat (me as “teacher” and them as “scholar”), but we all wear both hats. We teach and learn from each other.

We’re all about empowerment at C.O.R.E Mag, what does EMPOWERMENT mean to you + your organization?

For me personally, l would define empowerment as a discovery of the inner strength that drives someone to make his/her dream a reality. For Butterfly Dreamz, Inc. empowerment is when our participants create, share, and use their stories to change the status quo.

Fun Faves! Song? Food? Artist? Celeb Crush?

•Song- “You Bring Me Joy” by Anita Baker
•Food- anything chocolate
•Artist- Tupac
•Celeb Crush- He’s not a celeb yet but my forever MCM is my boyfriend 🙂

Find out more about Butterfly Dreamz

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It’s that time of year where we attempt to change all of our bad habits in a blink of an eye. Yes, we’re guilty of throwing out major life changes as the new year comes our way! Well, we might not have a completely snatched waist in the next two days but we can start burning away calories on our way to our goals! Check out our fave songs to sweat to on our playlists…

Missy Elliot- WTF

Janelle Monae-Yoga

Worth It-Fifth Harmony

Hit The Quan- iLoveMemphis

Drake- Hot Line Bling

“Okay say calm, don’t freak out and most important do not tumble down these stairs. You’re good, just be yourself and don’t over think the situation. Wait, did I spill something on my shirt earlier. Ugh! I hope he doesn’t notice! Ok, ok here he comes! Wait do I look? I don’t want to stare! Oh he’s gorgeous! Oh my goodness he’s looking! He’s looking! What do I do?? Dang! I knew it was a step there!Nooo! Now, he’s going to think I’m the weird girl who can’t walk down a flight of stairs. My life is over!’”

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Yes, these are all the dramatic thoughts that popped in your head 2.5 seconds before you turned the corner to walk by your crush. For the past 2 months you have been relating every love song on the radio to him and your guys “future” relationship. Now you’re tired of just imagining the first conversation you will have with him, the first laugh you, or even the first kiss. To be honest you’re not even sure how much you even like him since you guys never officially exchanged words but long glances instead.

Here are few ways to catch the eye of your secret crush…

Kick Up the Confidence– You’re smart, beautiful, talented, hilarious, ambitious ….yes the list can continue to unfold. The problem isn’t that you don’t know how fly you are it’s just when you see your crush you start to question all your great traits. Well, it’s time to throw those insecurities out the door…for good! Just because you see someone you may be interested in that doesn’t mean that your characteristics vanish. Actually it’s time to embrace your qualities even more. Once you begin noticing everything you have to offer, your nervousness will go out the window. You’ll realize that he should want to get to know you better!

Laugh It Up!– Your life is already stressful enough, do not add your crush to the list of things that keep you from getting 8 hours of sleep at night. The experience of crushing and attracting people is a fun experience. Not only guys but people are just naturally attracted to people who enjoy to have fun and are not afraid to be themselves. Once you get all the extra nervous jitters out of your system and your natural fun personality come through, you will start to see a major difference in all who you attract.

Brains Over Beauty– Yeah, I get it. All the rules tell you to bat your eyes, switch your hips, and make sure your face of makeup is perfect to get a guy. Hmmm Toss it! Yes guys do notice your appearance but you’re already beautiful so what’s next?? If you’re truly interested in catching the guy you like stop looking at him as a guy and look at him as a person. In this case you will be able to talk to him like a friend and have a chance for you guys to truly like each other as a whole. They’re tons of fly girls but only few have a fly attitude to go along with it.

So go ahead and catch the eye of that special guy, I’m sure it will turn the other way soon.

Lighting the way to a brighter future for our generation is key for change + Ignite The Dream is blazing the way! Launched by Danielle Johnson + Shantinique Hendricks, ITD’s mission is to expand opportunities and enhance the lives of young dreamers. They strive to rekindle the fire and unlock the potential in young people and enable them to imagine success in their future.

Ignite The Dream is an young individual led team founded by two college students that saw a need to help youth follow their dreams. Many children are raised around poverty, violence, and illness, which may hinder their dreams of being a success. However, not every child is faced with adverse living situations but they may be hindered from reaching their full potential. Every child should be awarded the opportunity to reach their full potential and follow their dreams. These two dynamic women have been guest speakers at the ” I Am My Sisters Keeper Conference” as well as the “I Am Worth It Conference”. They also host their own events within the community and incorporate fashion in education!

Let’s get to know Ignite The Dream a little better…

We tend to pull characteristics from others in our lives or from people we admire, who inspires you and why? When it comes to who inspires us I think we could talk forever, but to keep it brief our grandparents, mothers, some friends and mentors inspire us because they all worked so hard to get where they are in life and it only motivates us to work hard no matter what. Our moms are truly our backbone and our support system and I don’t know where or who we would be without them.

If you had to give one piece of advice to teen girls who are struggling with being comfortable in their own skin, what would it be? If we had to give teen girls who were struggling with being comfortable in their own skin apiece of advice it would be that in a world where the definition of beauty is controlled by the media sometimes it feels impossible to be happy with who you are, but take back the power! Strive to love yourself just as you are because once you learn to love yourself nothing or no one can stop you, you are worth it!

Working with youth both parties learn from each other, what’s one trait you have learned from working with girls? One thing I can honestly say we have learned from working with girls is strength despite circumstance. We have talked to so many different girls from different backgrounds and have heard stories and situations that you would think played a huge role on who you are, but these young ladies are still striving to be better and to succeed and they don’t let money or material things define them because they know who they are and what they bring to the table if they are given a chance.

We’re all about empowerment at C.O.R.E Mag, what does EMPOWERMENT mean to you + your organization? To me empowerment means to be humble enough to look to the person next to you and say I wish you best even if you are going after the same dream. Empowerment means that you do not only want to make it to top but you are willing to bring other with you. To ITD empowerment means if we can say one thing that helps a young person or anybody reconsider going after a dream then we have accomplished what we came to do. We like to encourage and show young people how to work with a spirit of excellence in all that they do.

Fun Faves! Song? Food? Artist? Celeb Crush?

Shanti: Favorite Food: Chicken Alfredo

Artists: Monica and Tyrese

Celebrity Crush: Morris Chestnut

Danielle: Favorite Food: Any Soul Food!

Artists: Jazmin Sullivan

Celebrity Crush: Christian Keys

Find out more here!

Ignite The Dream

Each time a life is taken away by another individual there’s pain, sadness & frustration flowing through the situation struggling to understand the reasons behind the senseless actions. These emotions are especially magnified when it happens to an young person who hasn’t even had the chance to truly start their journey of life or tap into their dreams. Our hearts are still heavy after learning that 14-year-old Treyonta Burleson had her life snatched away by another teen who shot and killed her during a petty dispute that she wasn’t directly involved in that started on Facebook. Treyonta was a bright beam of light who was spotlighted as a ‘Featured Girl of the Week’ on C.O.R.E in 2013. It shakes our spirit and rattles our minds that the one aspect she wanted to change in her life was to improve her neighborhood and stop the violence.

Social media is a powerful tool that is now a staple for teens and some simply couldn’t imagine a life with out it. Even though it can bring millions of people together it can also have the same effect of tearing others down. Words are the pathway to actions if we give them permission. Violence rapidly stems from arguments starting online and eventually pokes its head out in real life after sparking the fire for so long.

Love. The one word that holds so much weight but none all at the same time. Love is the word said as commonly as ‘hello’ that people often forget that’s the one purpose why we were placed on this earth.  We first have to genuinely learn how to love ourselves  and believe in our own light & purpose.  We can only value another’s life if we truly value our own. The simple fact that so many teens of color are dying by the hands of each other shows that there’s a lack of love for ourselves so it’s difficult to appreciate anyone else’s journey.

Life is an intense quest filled with bubbling highs and dark lows. But the beauty of it is we have each other for support and encouragement. Instead, of constantly becoming enraged with each situation that you disagree with just stop. Stop to truly listen what the other person is saying. Stop to see where is it stemming from. Stop to see is this a personal insecurity you’re actually dealing with yourself. Stop to see if your abrupt actions are worth the consequences.

If another can easily anger you, it is because you are off balance with yourself.

Rest in beautiful peace, Treyonta. Thank you for shining your light so bright that others were encouraged by your life.

Sending love + light up.

Staying fall fresh is key this season! From cute accessories to edgy pieces, autumn style allows you to remix summer trends while giving your look a new twist! Take a glimpse at a few fun fashion picks that your fave celeb style stars are rockin’ this year!

Bang, Bang!- Pew! Time you pull out the big guns aka hot bangs! Give your look  a wispy and mysterious makeover by just a quick snip, snip to your strands! Plus, they look super cuter under a beanie or wide-brimmed hat.

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Cap Me Off- Speaking of hats, add them to your wardrobe! Want a casual, cute and cool girl look? Pull out a simple cap to dress down your outfit that makes you look effortlessly fly!

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Button Up- We know flannels are in every girls closet for fall but go the extra mile or should we say button? Less is more and femininity is not baring it all, it’s keeping it chic by your own persoanl style. So this trend is one that you and your parentals may agree on.

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 Print fresh- Florals + prints aren’t just for spring anymore! Time to bloom into colorful looks this season. Neutrals are chill but knock your ‘winter blues’ with a splash of bold picks.

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Eye love it!- We love sunnies (even if there’s no heat that comes with it). Shades are making their way to closets all year long and it’s time to have fun with them! Top off your look by throwing a little extra shade.

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Happy Fashion Finds!

It’s about that time again! Holiday commercials, pumpkin spice latte in the air and empty pockets? Yes, we get it.  Even though it’s a festive time a year that doesn’t mean your pockets always match the season. Between homecoming, costumes and gearing up for gift giving season you might need a few extra dollars your way. So what’s better than a part-time gig to help you stack up for the holiday? Check out these quick tips to get a head start on your search!

Start Early + Research- Ok, yes there are numerous job openings but that doesn’t mean it will always stays that way! To not get left in the dust create a quick list of places that you would like to work + that are hiring.  This makes your search clear, focus & easier for you to snag a gig.

Fun times, Fun place? – Just because it’s work doesn’t mean you have to dread going there. While you’re on your job search and pick a place where you actually shop or an environment you enjoy.  Find a place you like and go for it! This makes your work days go by faster and you’ll actually want to learn more about your job that can aid you in the future. Also, a killer discount always helps when it comes to gift giving!

Second Glance +Follow Up- So before you turn in your resume take a second glance! If you’re submitting it in person or online make sure to double check your resume for the correct info & proper presentation. Also, make sure to follow up to make sure it’s received!