Express Yourself!

The relationship between age and driving behavior has interested highway safety researchers and administrators for many years. It is generally acknowledged that the greatest risk of traffic crashes is among teenage drivers. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers across the United States. For both men and women, drivers aged 16 to 19 years of age have the highest average annual crash and traffic violation rates of any other age group. In this episode of Express Yourself!™ our teens, Youngjoo Ahn, Katelyn Darrow, Nicole Eubanks, Caie Kelley, and Steven Zhou chime in with their personal experiences with learning to drive.

The most common scams are probably still computer hacking, there are a lot of types ranging in seriousness. Veteran host Youngjoo Ahn welcome first time co-host, Clare Durant, as they interview Global Youth Talk reporter Ryan Sim with his information on scholarship fraud and author Ashley Elston with her book The Rules for Disappearing that discusses fake identities and the Witness Protection Program. The hosts also offer tips on how to protect yourself from internet stalking as well as other scams. Whether it be a friend hacking your Facebook for fun or a thief stealing your social security ID or someone in a foreign country trying to get access to your credit cards or bank accounts, scams are on the rise. Some of the most common scams according to the FBI include the Nigerian Letter, telemarketing fraud, identity theft, advanced fee schemes and health care fraud.

What do cobra snakes and brain waves have in common? Both are affected by music. In today’s Express Yourself!™ hosts Katelyn Darrow and Caie Kelley learn the scientific research behind the music that can help us study, be happy, or sad with Health Beat reporter, Nicole Eubanks. We travel to India and Eypgt in segment two with Isaiah Rankin as he charms cobras with the sounds of a wind instrument in Nature Calls. (Well actually he doesn’t do the hypnotizing, but he shares his knowledge of the art.) Our first teen host and radio administrator, Steven Zhou, returns for a behind the scenes tour of being a sound engineer. Steven wrote the Express Yourself!™ theme song and played the guitar. Our East Coast/West Coast hosts wind up the hour with their personal favorite music, bands, and tips for concert essentials. It’s an hour of rocking fun and rolling infotainment. Tune in for a bit of music madness!

There is no doubt that people in America pamper their pets. Pet services is one of the fastest growing industries with gourmet treats, spas, pet hotels, designer clothing, massage therapists, and fancy retirement homes. Our Express Yourself!™ teens share animal tales of how their four legged, feather, furred, finned, slithery and shelled pets impact their lives. Hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow are joined by Nature Calls reporter, Isaiah Rankin and What’s Poppin’ reporter, Caie Kelley. Isaiah loves his reptiles and Caie gives us the scoop on celebrity pets. Katelyn discusses animal adoptions and fostering to save the five to seven million pets in shelters each year. It’s a pet party today and you can join our barking, cooing, meowing and other animal sound fun.

Summertime and the living is easy! Summer can be a time of kicking back or revving up and our Express Yourself!™ teen reporters have a variety of ideas of how to spend the summer. Youngjoo Ahn, Katelyn Darrow, Hannah Li, Caie Kelley, and Courtney Cheng offer suggestions from volunteering to studying abroad to being major productive to doing absolutely nothing and taking a break. One thing is for sure-warm weather, swimming pools, and barbecues are on the agenda! What are your plans?

This broadcast is our 75th consecutive broadcast of Express Yourself!™ and in honor of this momentous occasion we are dreaming BIG! People who get into the habit of dreaming big are more likely to accomplish their goals than those who don’t. If you dare to dream big, your mind will put itself in a focused and positive state. Without dreams and goals, we can never achieve anything. Our hosts, Katelyn Darrow and Youngjoo Ahn, are living their dreams by being part of this radio broadcast. Book It Reporter, Courtney Cheng (who helped launch this show and was on our first show) looks into the big dreams of Rapunzel in the movie, Tangled, and says that Express Yourself!™ is a dream come true. Our youngest reporter, twelve-year-old Isaiah Rankin brings us a BIG Nature Calls with his report on the Komodo dragon. Our special guest is Jamie Charoen, an artist on the rise of Thai and French descent whose music signifies the importance of empowering women and never giving up on a dream.

Blogging is the newest form of self-expression available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Our Express Yourself!™ teens are avid bloggers and have tons of information to share with Voice America Kids Network listeners! Katelyn Darrow and Youngjoo Ahn discuss their blogs as well as tips and techniques on how to start a blog, how to keep it going, writing etiquette, whether to keep it private or public, how to get followers, how to vlog, (video blogging), and more. Courtney Cheng discusses the movie Easy A with Stone Emma then talks about her blog on Tumblr. Hannah Li writes a lifestyle blog with four other contributors which takes about two hours a week to accomplish and talks about the rewards of collaborating. It’s a fun show that will get you started writing your own blog. And don’t forget that writing is a reflection of your thinking. Be clear, succinct, and convincing and you will differentiate yourself from the masses and become a valuable asset to the world of blogs and vlogs.

Every day teens are making an impact in the world as they grow to become our future leaders. Besides programs like Express Yourself!™ where teens get to work as writers, hosts, and reporters, many young people develop leaderships at youth conferences. I developed many of my leadership skills at youth conferences. Hosts Youngjoo Ahn talks about her experience at the national High School Journalism Convention and co-host Katelyn Darrow shares her numerous involvement at conventions and conferences, most notably the Presidential Inauguration in Washington DC. Reporter Ryan Sim develops solutions for world problems as part of the MUN Youth Conference, Model United Nations. Sixteen-year-old Indiana guest, Lora Margerum, has participated in six conferences from the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. All agree that being a representative at a conference or convention is an opportunity for learning, growth, and real world experience.

In today’s Express Yourself!™ our hosts, Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow interview two award winning authors, Soman Chainani and Joanne Rocklin of young adult fiction. In our first segment, Youngjoo shares her childhood favorite books and characters. Soman Chainani is a graduate of the MFA Film Program at Columbia University, and the recipient of the school’s top prize, the FMI Fellowship. His films have played over 150 international film festivals, won over 30 jury and audience awards, racked up over 1,000,000 YouTube hits, and secured distribution in over 100 territories. In addition, his writing awards include honors from Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, and the coveted $100,000 Shasha Grant, awarded by a jury of international film executives. His first book in his epic fantasy series is The School for Good and Evil.Joanne Rocklin is the author of many middle grade novels, including the award-winning One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street.

Express Yourself’s theme today is a nod to that wonderful woman who gave us life, hosted by Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow. Our Economics Tune Up reporter, Alex Pawlakos will give an economic look at how American’s show their appreciation to their moms on this Mother's Day by spending more than $84 million. Health Beat reporter, Nicole Eubanks brings us low key, fun, and healthy ways to show our love. Youngjoo celebrates the homemade gift idea for those personal touches, especially on a budget. Katelyn’s mom plays the part of both mom and dad in the household, so Katelyn and her sisters serve up unusual and abundant treats not only to their mom, but to abused women in a shelter. To round out the show, we have a special audition with our youngest new reporter, Isaiah Rankin who brings us into the wild with his segment, Nature Calls. An old proverb says, “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” Amen! Mothers deserve a special day every day!

Choosing a college is definitely one of the most significant life events that a teen will encounter. All the work accomplished through the beginning of senior year including grades, extracurriculars, volunteering, sports, music - everything leads up to this important decision. Express Yourself!™ teen hosts, Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow, who are juniors and sophomores, speak with experienced teens-high school senior, Lora Galoyan and college teens Courtney Cheng and Alex Pawlakos. Lora discusses her current application, Courtney shares college admissions from the viewpoint of movies and TV ((High School Musical, Glee, and Legally Blonde) from her dorm room at CAL Berkeley, and Alex talks about the financial ramifications for college applicants.

Express Yourself

Sibling rivalry is very common in families. Statistics show that we spend over thirty percent of our time with our siblings, and during that time, we don’t want to be constantly calling each other names, wrestling, or plotting revenge. Today on Express Yourself!™ our teen reporters examine their experiences in dealing with brothers and sisters. Host Youngjoo Ahn is an only child without siblings so she hosts solo today for the first time joined by reporters Courtney Cheng sharing sibling characters from books and movies, Clare Durant provides dating advice, and Lora Galoyan talks about the cultural differences in families. Producer Cynthia Brian, who grew up in a family of seven, offers tips on how to get along and develop better relationships. We are all family and blood is thicker than water...or so it’s said!

Superheros exist beyond the comic books and movies. Many of us consider sports figures, celebrities, or rescue workers in our list of heroes. But there are heroes amongst us…everyday people who go above and beyond to make this world a better place for others. We encounter them every single day! From our parents and school teachers, to firemen and police force - heros come in many different ways. In today’s Express Yourself!™ program, teens Youngjoo, Katelyn, Lora, Caie, and Mason tell us what it is to be a hero and offer insights into the unheralded good works of ordinary individuals who are truly champions and deserve to be recognized. Many teens are truly unsung super heroes. Find out how and why!

What does it take to be a professional model? How do celebrities make fashion choices? Does blogging influence the modeling and fashion world? Hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow are joined by reporters Caie Kelley and Hannah Li to delve into the glamour, glitz, ups, downs, and “photoshopping” of models as well as the fashion blogs that are providing ordinary individuals an opportunity to shine. UK fashion sensation and Elton John protégée, Tallia Storm is the special guest from Scotland talking about her unique fashion choices styled by her sister that are landing her on the cover of major magazines worldwide. Tallia is turning the world of fashion upside down and literally taking the teen styles by storm. From Cynthia Brian’s book, The Business of Show Business, you’ll learn some concrete tools that are required for the modeling profession.

Co-hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow are feminists believing that both genders are equal and deserve to be treated equally in every situation. The male-female pay gap is still unequal with women earning 72 cents for every dollar that a man earns doing the exact job. Reporter Alex Pawlakos suggests that more women ar being recognized in the economic arena today. You Can! Reporter, Lora Galoyan gives an historical perspective asking if Gender roles are reconstructed by society itself, or are they a biological construction? In our final segment a big surprise appearance by the Sir Elton John’s prodigy rising super star, Tallia Storm. Dubbed ‘Tiny Chancer’ by the UK press, Tallia Storm had been singing for some 3 years when she was propelled to the international limelight last year when Sir Elton asked her to open his concert in Falkirk Football Stadium to a sold out audience of 17,000 people at the tender age of 13 yrs.

Stress is something we all experience, but in today’s fast paced techno-centered world, teens are topping the charts with stress levels. In a study conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, the top five sources of stress for teens were: school work, parents, romantic relationships, friends' problems, and younger siblings. Co-hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Courtney Cheng tackle the stressors with hands on, practical ways to reduce this epidemic. Reporter Rachel Glass adds her personal experiences from the University of Oregon in Eugene, and high school junior, Hannah Li chimes in on the stresses of summer. Do young adults ever get a break? Tune in to Express Yourself!™ for remedies, true tales, and plain old common sense from young people who are living in the now! Breathe…tomorrow is another day!

What do Ferragamo, Guess, Prada, Louis Vitton, Fendi,Chanel, Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Valentino, and many more have in common? If you said they are all high profile fashion designers, you’d be right. Fashion is a favorite topic at Express Yourself!™, and today’s entire show is focused on the trends. Co-hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow speak with a real fashion designer, Brittany M. Davidson from BM Designs. Katelyn talks about her press junket to NYC for Fashion Week where she met Kendell and Kylie Jenner as well as many models and designers. Caie Kelley’s What’s Poppin’ brings us an inside look at the fashions of celebrities, award ceremonies, fashion magazines, and the impact these personalities and icons bring to the trends of teens. Both Katelyn and Youngjoo debate the catwalk, runways, and fashion on campus. A fun, flirty, fashion forward hour!

Have you ever been to the zoo? Have you ever wondered why male peacocks have such pretty feathers? Why the male birds sing with a special oomph? As humans, we have our ways of showing interest but they’re a little more complicated. If you are interested in dating, this episode of Express Yourself!™ will tickle your senses. Co-hosts Katelyn Darrow and Youngjoo Ahn interview young adult author, Lauren Bjorkman with her novel, Miss Fortune Cookie, about a teenage advice columnist. Youngjoo uncovers a very alarming web site and app that rates guys, and reporter Clare Durant launches a new segment, Dump ‘Em or Date ‘Em!

Since the dawn of cinema, there has always been pressure for movie stars to project the right image, especially women, but in the last quarter century the demand to look great at Hollywood Red Carpet events, premiers, and award shows has become almost a full time job. TV is littered with award shows showcasing outrageous fashions and fabulous faces. Our hosts, Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow take a look behind the scenes of the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Oscars, Grammies, and more to see what designers don the red carpet and what’s in the goody bags. Talent manager, Alexis Reusser, who has major stars on GLEE, CSI, House and more, gives us an inside tour of back stage Hollywood. Invoke your golden goddess or glamour god and keep your eyes on the Prize with this episode of Express Yourself!™