2005-06-03 - 11:39 a.m.

I talked to Soren last night who is happy he has won a scholarship worth $400 toward summer theater classes HERE:
http://www.studioarena.org/classes.aspx?sid=1

I am so excited for him! He is just thrilled as he has always loved to preform in any way whatsoever! HE has said he wants to be an actor someday! When we were living near Rochester the TV Station there had a feature on Fri mornings where school aged kids presented the weather. Soren filled in the application and then waited.... but he was called in for the audition just a few WEEKS before we were to move back to VA! The timing was off! WE were really disappointed that they hadn't responded sooner in the year!

In Va one day when driving around we heard a call for kids interested in being models for print and commercials from an agency that was having a talent search in Winchester VA at a HOLIDAY INN Conference room. Soren expressed interest so that Fri night I took all the kids to check it out for our entertainment and curiosity. The agency then did send letters of interest in both Soren and Katie. Katie was indeed a riot that night. She was very spirited and at first refused to go over to talk to the interviewer when it was our turn for all the family to go up. They basically interviewed each kid individually, but had families walk up altogether so they met the kids all together then talked to each one on one with the rest of us right there. Katie was hiding in the curtain and basically being her typical spirited out of control child : The one all the other parents were likely watching thankful she wasn't THEIR child embarassing them! I was as usual not embarassed by her stong willed usual self and told her if she wanted to come over to talk to the guy to come, but if not she could just hide behind the curtain until the other kids were done. Katie after a few minutes decided to join us and from then on she of course remained the center of attention. She was suddenly transformed from difficult child to cute, flirtatious, vivacious and beautiful energetic little girl. With the black tooth in her big grin she was memorable to the talent scout (He did ask about that fall and she told him the whole story. I know he was wondering if the discoloration was permanent, and wondering if the permanent scar on her lip below could easily be makeup concealed for a camera!) I am sure the fact that after he said goodby Katie stubbornly refused to leave then indignantly told him , "I didn't get a kiss goodby yet!" and warmly embraced the man while sticking her cheek out for her demanded kiss HAD SOMETHING to do with his determination to send an interest letter for my crazy fun spirited 3 year old Katie!

The expected letter came, with the expected "Congratulations" and the expected PRICES to then attend their "Seminar"

I had Explained to the kids BEFORE we went that MOST of these so called TALENT SEARCHES are really MARKETING For a BUSINESS that makes money by offering classes in how to smile for a camera. To be fair I said the experience of classes IS VALUABLE, but that at this time we didn't have money to spend on that as a hobby or possible career "investment" so that we were going to the talent search for FUN and ENTERTAINMENT. I explained that if a scout sees a kids that they REALLY think is so unique that they want to take photos- that they won't CHARGE a dime in those unique rare circumstances. I also explained that on the flip side most people who have careers in being models and in advertising or acting DO INVEST ALOT of personal time and money to learn all they can and develop skills themselves. I encouraged the kids to set their own goal of whatever THEY want to persue and we can work together to then save money to develop skills. So they were all realistic about what we were doing that night. They then were all also very excited when the letter came expressing interest in Soren and Katie. I think Katerina wasn't really jealous she didn't get a letter- and I think her self esteem wasn't hurt by NOT thinking of herself as a MODEL! She has pride in her strengths and is aware that the notion of PHYSICAL beauty is so very subjective!She also was aware that she wanted to have her hair cut short and it ended up NOT being that attractive on her compared to her very beautiful long curls she opted to chop off! She then wanted her hairdo EVEN shorter and at that time had an admittedly BAD HAIRCUT! OH WELL.... it happens... even from the mom who routinely cuts the hair of the WHOLE big family and is typically adept at that skill! Hey I grew up cutting my brother's hair to save them from the fate of our DAD with clippers in hand and the crew cuts they hated! I also secretly cut the hair of the girls in my dorm when the PROFFESSIONAL HAIR DRESSER we went to college with was at work at the local salon! She charged and I was FREE and pretty good! She wondered why her dorm business was dwindling.... I actually WAS PROUD of the first short hairstyle that I gave Katerina! It had looked SO CUTE but then she wanted it even shorter and the carefully shaped style was ruined! I don't know why she didn't like the initial cut- but maybe it called TOO much attention to herself for her own comfort. I had cut it in a style I remembered from a CO WORKER who had similar hair that I worked with YEARS AGO at PEOPLE INC. Her name was RENEE and she had this long curly unmanagable hair then one day chopped it and it was so very attractive that I REMEMBERED it in detail thinking it would look nice on KAterina when older! I did a fine job of replicating it. It was tapered up in the back and the top layer was then all one length so it had a bit of lift and really EMPHAZIZED her curls in the back. The front shaped her face with a bob like look ending at the chin. I LOVED it I think KATERINA got ALOT of ATTENTION with that cut and maybe that made her uncomfortable. She also had to tend to it with GEL so it didn't get frizzy and the back didn't wildly stick up and I think she didn't want to have to MANAGE the style. So she begged me to chop it all VERY short like the cut I had given SOREN! I did so and wished I argued with her just a bit! Oh well.. she had admitted it looked nicer before cutting more! She had the really attractive cut for only a few weeks!

Anyway, Soren most definately DID get a much needed boost from the Talent scout experience! (WE went for that reason! Or I should say I encouraged it for that reason and we went because he has the interest!) Soren is a very handsome and talented boy! So I am excited that he is going to a theater camp this summer.

And Katerina's hair is now still somewhat short, althugh growing out and approaching medium length. It is now long enough that she can comb it into two pigtales which she does. She then uses clips to pin it back out of her face. It is still not nearly as attractive as when it was very long, or the stylish cut I gave her- but its a BIG improvement over the short cropped bad cut she had last year! And she is taking pride in taking care of it herself I guess. Pride of self actualization is what adolescence is all about, right? And at least her hair isn't GREEN!

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