Share the Love!

MIRACLE MOMENT®

“I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” Lucille Ball

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A MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CYNTHIA BRIAN 
Happy Valentine’s Day! February is the month of love and I hope you have plenty in your life. Lucille Ball has it right. Love yourself first.

Here at Be the Star You Are!®, the love is flowing. We are thrilled and proud of the accomplishments of our volunteers. One of our teen radio hosts, Ruhani Chhabra recently was one of eight winners out of 11,000 international submissions in the New York Times Personal Essay contest. We are also welcoming new teen reporters to Express Yourself! Radio, giving youth a voice. Two of them are profiled below. And under the auspices of Be the Star You Are!®, award-winning writer, Ruhani Chhabra is launching a FREE writing workshop for kids ages 9-14. Make sure to check out the info and sign up immediately as classes start the first Saturday in March.

We are also gearing up for Earth Day with three videos submitted to the Earth Gratitude international Festival to be held the weekend of April 22. Stay tuned for more info.

And since we know that you want to pamper yourself and perhaps a loved one on this special day, we’ll make this newsletter short and sweet.

Enjoy some chocolate, champagne, and plenty of virtual hugs.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all and Happy Birthday to all who celebrate in this love month.

May Cupid’s amour arrow find you.

Love always,

Cynthia Brian

Founder/Executive Director

Be the Star You Are!®

PO Box 376

Moraga, California 94556

Cynthia@BetheStarYouAre.org

https://www.BetheStarYouAre.org

http://www.BTSYA.org

DONATE: https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

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The New York Times announced that Be the Star You Are! volunteer and host of Express Yourself!, Ruhani Chhabra, was one of eight teens out of 11,000 worldwide submissions to win

for her essay, T.S.A. and Cinnamon Buns, in the their 3rd Annual Personal Narrative Essay Contest. Read the essay at http://www.btsya.com/resources.

BRAVO to Ruhani for her hard work and creativity. We are so proud of her.

Ruhani’s NY TIMES article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/learning/the-winners-of-our-3rd-annual-personal-narrative-essay-contest-for-students.html#link-57a860d2

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/learning/the-winners-of-our-3rd-annual-personal-narrative-essay-contest-for-students.html

Ruhani will be teaching, Writing with the Stars, a FREE Virtual Writing Workshop for ages 9-14 starting in March through an outreach program of Be the Star You Are!®. Read below and REGISTER ASAP at thestarsworkshop@gmail.com 

About Ruhani:

Ruhani Chhabra is a sixteen-year-old girl from the Bay Area. She is passionate about creative writing and has been exploring her craft since she was very young. At the age of ten, she published her first book, The Karris Family. Since then, she’s been nationally and globally recognized for her short stories, poems, personal essays, and dramatic scripts. She hopes to expand her numerous talents by studying in New York City when she’s older. Through being a reporter at Express Yourself!, she hopes to become more interactive with people, a skill she’ll use when she teaches one day. Her focus is on teen leadership and her segment is titled, Teenship. Ruhani recently won one of eight awards out of the 11,000 global submissions in the New York Times 3rd Annual Personal Narrative Essay Contest. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/learning/the-winners-of-our-3rd-annual-personal-narrative-essay-contest-for-students.html

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Are you a young person who wants to learn to be a writer or author? Writing With the Stars is a FREE online creative writing workshop for kids ages 9-14 hosted by Express Yourself! Teen Radio Host Ruhani Chhabra.

Writing With the Stars will feature a fun and engaging curriculum that encourages young writers to pursue their imaginative ideas and expertly convey them on paper:

DETAILS:

Classes will be held biweekly on Saturdays. All classes are FREE of charge!

Each week will have a different lesson, either centering on poetry, fiction, creative

nonfiction, personal narratives, etc.

Children learn different styles and genres. They will learn to read our work out loud,

receive critique, and give it as well.

Tips and tricks on how to structure novel-writing and short stories.

Working on expanding vocabulary.

Diverse prompts to get creative juices flowing

DATES for CLASSES

For 9- 11 year olds

Dates: Saturdays-March 12, March 26, April  9, April 23

Times: 10-11 am

For 12-14 year old’s

Dates: Saturdays-March 5, March 19, April 2, April 16

Times: 10-11:30 am

To Register for Free, Email: thestarsworkshop@gmail.com   

Information: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/writing-with-the-stars-virtual-workshop

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Hannah Sahota is a junior at Turlock High School who is active both in and out of the classroom. As the first ladder player on the THS Varsity Tennis Team, she takes that competitive nature to campus, being a leader within the Science Olympiad and Math Clubs representing Turlock in statewide competitions. In her free time, Hannah has enjoyed playing the piano for the last nine years.

She is extremely passionate about promoting gender equality and youth empowerment through education and literature. To accomplish this, Hannah has tutored a diverse group of students for the last five years through Sundar S.T.E.A.M Academy. Through her experiences tutoring, Hannah has begun “Hannah’s Project”, a charitable organization dedicated to providing young girls with a platform to pursue an interest in STEM subjects.

After listening to the broadcasts and shows on Express Yourself! Teen Radio, Hannah was fascinated with the informative and engaging content written and produced by teens like herself. Through her platform, she hopes to educate her peers with a diverse and relevant array of discussion topics. Her segment is called Empowerment and Equality. Listen to her first program all about Valentine’s Day at https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/135835/valentines-day-love-fest.

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