5 Truths About Fame Every Teen Should Know
Carlos Bustamante's 5 Truths About Hollywood As a reporter on ET Canada, Carlos Bustamante is used to life in the spotlight. He’s had a front row seat to the glam life of Hollywood and has witnessed first-hand the making of stardom. That’s why he knows all too well that fame is not as simple as it seems. Behind every success story is not only years of struggle, but a team of people to manage everything from hair, makeup and publicity to being responsible for what comes next. What else he sees? Hollywood life is not all it’s cracked up to be, which is something he thinks every star-struck teen needs to understand. We sat down with Bustamante to chat about the realities of Hollywood and fame, and the messages he wants every teen to know. By Rachel Naud Your kids are still young but if they become interested in Hollywood glam, what will you tell them? They’ll understand how unreal a lot of what they see is. I have friends that are makeup artists and publicists that work with actors. There is a community of people that make a famous person famous. They will understand that. If they become obsessed with fame or want people to know who they are, they will understand that there is work that goes into becoming a top-rated movie star. You don’t just wake up one day and have someone discover you. More often than not, it comes from years of hard work, whether you want to be an actor or a musician. Behind every success story is one about a person working for decades before a big break finally came along and 100 more people that never got their big break. The main lesson I want them to learn is that if they choose a career that might end up in fame, their main focus should be their love for their craft. Because if they don’t have that, they’ll never be happy trying to make it. How do you think Instagram and other social media feeds have influenced the desire to be famous? I think social media has made fame accessible. Anyone can pick up a phone and record themselves. The possibility becomes so much closer to home. You don’t have to live in L.A. to make it big. But they still have to understand that the YouTubers who have the highest followers or have endorsement deals work every single day,
5 Reasons Why Young Girls Should Pursue Careers in STEM fields
5 Reasons Why Young Girls Should Pursue Careers in STEM fields Have you ever wanted to pursue a career in a STEM field, but thought you weren’t good enough? Sahana Srinivasan would most likely tell you to squash those fears and encourage you to pursue your passions. Born in Houston, Texas and with a thirst for the performing arts, Sahana has many talents like singing, acting, playing piano as well as drawing and writing. She’s been in a couple of hit movies and shorts like Space Warriors, Tied and Spin Cycle and is now the host of a Netflix show called Brainchild. The show explores the science behind different phenomena like social media, germs, space, dreams and even superheroes. Each episode features multiple experiments and lots of facts about each subject so you’re not only learning a lot, but also developing an interest to learn more about it. Even though Srinivasan is a performer, she realizes how young girls often hold themselves back from pursuing careers that are male-dominated, particularly STEM fields. She sat down with INBETWEEN to share five reasons why she thinks young girls should pursue careers in STEM fields. Getting Rid of the Stereotype It’s not uncommon for women to feel as though they shouldn’t be in STEM fields because they don’t belong there. In fact, women not only strive in these fields but also make breakthroughs. “Now it’s less obvious than it used to be. Instead of outright stating that women can’t become scientists —you'll hear mathematicians or scientists in hypothetical scenarios referred to as he instead of she” says Srinivasan. “Images you see in the media of scientists, doctors, and engineers are often represented by male figures. We need to change the misconception and show that women are just as capable, passionate, and intelligent when it comes to math, science and engineering.” Busting the myth There’s also a misconception that people who are more creative can’t enter STEM fields or that being creative hinders the ability to understand science, engineering or math. “There’s also the myth that possessing creativity and artfulness won’t help you get into STEM fields,” says Srinivasan. “Fields like computer science and coding rely heavily on your creative talents. The recent branch of STEM, STEAM, in which the A stands for “art,” emphasizes the importance of art and creativity in involvement with math and science. STEAM-related careers include an architect, graphic designer, sound engineer, and much more.” Closing the Gap Through hard work
Kandi Burruss Always Means Business!
Kandi Burruss Always Means Business! How the reality star juggles motherhood, marriage and managing more than a few businesses Kandi Burruss’ social media profile seems to grow every single week. At the time of writing, she had gained 100,000 followers on Instagram in just one week, bringing her follower count to 5.8 million. She also has 1.8 million followers on Twitter and 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, all of which clearly point to Kandi’s incredible work ethic and determination to make her dreams a reality. It was during the ‘90s that her career kicked off, when she started a girl group called XSCAPE. Since then, she’s had albums that have gone platinum, has written the songs “No Scrubs” for TLC, and “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child, and in 2009, Kandi joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta, which launched her into a new level of stardom and has made her a household name. She runs her own businesses, is a full-time reality TV star, and is raising her 22-year-old stepdaughter, Kaela Tucker, 16-year-old daughter, Riley, and her two-year-old son, Ace. At only 42 years old, Burruss has established an empire for herself, is in a loving relationship with her husband, Todd and has also done everything in her power to be as involved in her kids’ lives as much as possible. She sat down with INBETWEEN to talk about the 11th season of The Real Housewives, regulating social media for her teen, and how she keeps her newest business venture, Kandi Koated Beauty, hustling. THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA It’s not unusual for a Real Housewives series to continue for more than 10 seasons – especially when you factor in the plethora of life-changing events that are too large or drama-filled to cover within just one show. Burruss has seen great success with The Kandi Factory and Kandi’s Wedding spinoffs, with the latter bringing in huge ratings for Bravo. The 11th season is currently airing and brings with it the same flair from previous seasons, but with a little more emotion. “It’s more focused on real-life stories and situations that people are going through,” says Burruss. “We’re trying to support each other a bit more and pay attention to what’s happening in each other’s lives.” It’s no secret that Kandi has had to butt heads with other stars on the show, like NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak, but more recently, she’s also had to handle comments that have been
Would You Pull a Freaky Friday With Your Teen?
Fans of Freaky Friday get ready to experience déjà vu! The popular comedy about a mom and daughter who swap bodies is seeing its fifth iteration with the latest version appearing on The Disney Channel. The movie, which demonstrates the very real push-pull relationship of parents and their teens, stars Broadway veteran Heidi Blickenstaff as Katherine Blake and Cozi Zuehlsdorff (Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2) as Ellie Blake. In real life, Blickenstaff is a step-mom to two teenage boys and we sat down with both actors to ask: If you could switch places with the parent and teen in your life, what would you want them to know? Heidi Blickenstaff 80s music is the best. Eat your greens. Spend less time on your phone and more time interacting, person-to-person. Wear sunscreen. Always be kind to people. Cozi Zuehlsdorff Sometimes with teenagers, "I hate you" actually means, "help me" Take extra time to tell your kids they're beautiful. It means everything coming from a parent. My room may look messy but I know where everything is. Vegetables aren't really that important. If I'm on my phone, maybe I'm using it to achieve world peace so give me the benefit of the doubt. Freaky Friday premieres Friday, August 10 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW.
