Show Your True Self While in Costume

CANDY!

That's how I feel about Halloween. To be honest, more like on the day after Halloween when it's all half price. 

Halloween is a great time. It starts the very full holiday season of the next 3 months. It's the gateway to winter time, food galore, and the coinciding of the football and basketball seasons. Do you know much about the history of Halloween though? We hear about Thanksgiving and Christmas a lot, but very few people know the roots of this spookier celebration. As many seasonal celebrations, it has roots in multiple historical festivals, often amalgamating as the years go on and cultures mix.

But today it has seemed to lose most of its meaning. Most notoriously, its an excuse for people to dress up in the most revealing outfits possible and try to pull it off as a costume. Two thoughts on this: First, it's nearly winter people! I remember it snowing one year at Halloween. Are we trying to catch pneumonia? Second, while these outfits are very revealing, what are they revealing about who you are? Yes, there is a lot of bare body revealed, but what about character? What are others thinking when they observe your 'sexy' nurse costume? What do you want them to think about you? 

How about this year, trade in sexy for creative. See how original of a costume you can come up with. Do it all with thrift store clothes (Macklemore would be proud). This doesn't mean sacrificing looking attractive or put together well, but I bet you my cauldron of candy that you'll make a much more positive, longer lasting impression on your friends and that crush of yours. 

As always, remember to be safe. Know the people that you'll be hanging out with. Make sure that your parents know where you'll be too. 

Happy Halloween!

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Essay Contest and Video Project

Happy Autumn Everyone!

The weather is turning crisper and the days are getting shorter. You are probably settled quite well into school now (and maybe even already looking forward to the holiday break!). Writing another paper might not be your first choice of activity right now, but what if you could win $250 for it!

You're in luck. Today we are announcing our essay contest where you get to tell us why you think abstinence is the best choice for teens. We talk a lot about it, but now we want to hear from you!

If you aren't up to writing an essay or giving it as a speech, we still want your opinion. We will be creating a video montage to play right before the essay contest at the November 16th luncheon.

Essay Contest Rules:

Ages: 7th-10th graders 
Length: 500-750 words
Deadline: November 1st, 2013
Prize: $250 
Submit your essay with a cover letter including: name, age, grade, school, phone number, email address to abstainpureandsimple@gmail.com with the subject line 'Essay Contest'.
Additional: Must be willing and able to attend and read your essay at our annual fundraising luncheon on Saturday, November 16 at Newman University in Wichita. 


Video entry guidelines: 
How to enter: 
1.   Get your parent's permission.
2.   Shoot a short video clip of yourself (approx. 5 secs) holding a piece of paper with the answer to one of the following questions written on it. Please only one answer per piece of paper and video. You can submit multiple videos for multiple questions. 

• Why are you waiting till marriage to engage in sexual activity (or have recommitted to abstinence)?
• What is most important to you right now? 
• What do you look forward to most in your future?
• Who or what most helps you achieve your goals? 
• Why are you worth waiting for?

3. Send an email to abstainpureandsimple@gmail.com with your video, name, age, and phone number. You will get an email back with the release form attached that you will need to have your parents sign and mail into our offices. 

• By uploading your video, you are giving us the permission to edit and use it on our social media pages and at our fundraising event. Your name will NOT be attached to the video for your privacy sake. 
• All video content must be original. 
• Videos cannot include profanity or other inappropriate material. 
• You may enter as many videos as you like, but they must each be submitted as separate entries. 
• All people appearing in the video must sign a release form prior to the video being posted on Pure & Simple Health Education, Inc. (Those under 18 must have the form signed by a parent or guardian).

5. Bring your parents to our luncheon to see yourself as our star! (attendance not necessary to submit video)

Summertime

Hello again! It's been a long time and we apologize for that. Pure & Simple has been going through many changes in the last year and we're excited for what is to come! Our commitment remains the same: To provide education about the healthy role of abstinence in teenagers' lives when it comes to risky behavior, be it pre-marital sex, drugs, alcohol, or the like. We will be operating a little differently now though. For those who have been with us awhile, you know that we had Federal grant money at one time. These funds do not exist anymore, so we are focusing more on grassroots fundraising now and re-establishing our base.

We are also in the process of moving offices. Feel free to stop by our new location at 2501 E Central, Wichita, KS and meet our new director, Catherine Seiwert.

A few of things that you have to look forward to are:

• A new website: Our URL will remain the same, but we'll have a totally fresh look for easier navigation and reading. 
• Community Events: This summer we'll be around the KS School Nurses Conference, the Midwest Catholic Family Conference, and the KS State Fair. 
• Board of Advisor biannual meeting in early August.
• Teacher Training in August or September
• An essay and video contest for middle and high school students. The winners will be presented at the luncheon in November.
• Our annual luncheon on November 16 at Newman. Theme and speaker TBA. 
• Plus more!

Don't forget to tell your school or organization about us. We offer a variety of programs that we are keen to provide and educate with.

While you await our new website, check out our Facebook page, Twitter, and the newly introduced Pinterest!

P.S. Stay safe this summer, especially this 4th of July. Fireworks are a common cause of severe injuries and property damage. Please use them responsibly and never without adult supervision. Adults, be good examples by following instructions and safety cautions. Always have water or a fire extinguisher nearby. 

Everyone has the freedom to choose their actions, but they can't choose the consequences.  Why is abstience from high risk choices (alcohol, drugs, sexual activity, and pornography) the most imporatnt issure?  The answer is because promiscuity (sex outside of marriage) consequences are the number one cause of:

• abortion (55 million since 1973)
• single parenthood
• over 40% of all children born out of wedlock
• divorce (50% of marriages end in divorce)
• improper bonding between parents and children and in other relationships
• broken future relationships
• welfare ($12 TRILLION has been spent on welfare since the war on poverty began and now there are more people living in poverty than when we started!  Teen mothers often drop out of school and live in poverty with their children.)
• sexually transmitted disease (65 million young people have incurable STDs)

Standards that protect us from pronography, child molestation, abuse, sex trafficking, and sexual addiction are eroding our society and children and families are paying a high price by suffering the consequences of negative choices.  The media consistently feeds all of us the message that high risk behaviors come without consequences.

It's important to think for yourself and realize how choices you make such as the friends you hang around, music you listen to, what you watch on TV, videos, and the internet influence you!  You have tremendous worth as a human being and a great potential to do good in this world.  Are you up to the challenge?  If not you, then who will change our world for the better?

Resource: National Abstinence Dlearinghouse e-newsletter, 12/2011

Communication Is Key

Communication is key for healthy relationships with your friends and family.  Good communication requires both talking AND listening. 

Did you know that you communicate with others even when you're not talking?  Think about your body language.  How is your posture?  Do you come across as confident, standing straight with your head held high?  Do you look at others directly, making eye contact as you're speaking and when you're listening?  Are you animated, using your hands when you talk?  Do you smile easily?  Do you show your emotions with your words and body language.  Are you communicating effectively?  One way to tell how effectively you get your thoughts across is how others, such as family members and friends, react to your communication with them.  If they frequently don't seem to understand you, take a look at your communication style.  Ask someone you trust for their observations about your communication techniques.  A few minor changes and practice could make a huge difference for healthy relationships!