A young 12 year olds desire to change the world has became a reality. Craig Kielburger the founder of "Free the Children" has done remarkable work worlwide, already having built 500 schools! "Me to We" has also played a significant role in making this all possible, they have inspired over 1 million youth of today to take action and notice. Craig, who had the dream of changing the world after a newspaper article he had read, and along with his bother started the "Me to We" organization. This allows 50,000 students to get the proper education they deserve. "Me to We", donates 50% of it's yearly revenue to "Free the Children".

"Me to We", takes action to those at home and gets the word out by prints on t-shirts, speeches, books and etc!
"Me to We", main goal and wish is to eventually have all 100% of profit go directly to "Free the Children", which can only happen with OUR help.

Craig proves that age does not play a factor, he had a dream and made it come true with only being 12. We are never too young or too old, to start a "change". I am so lucky to be apart of the "Miss Teen Canada World Pageant" and to raise money for this worthwhile charity.

In our second blog we were to imagine we were the “star” of our very own TV show. Shows came flying through my head, wondering and thinking to myself, which one is most like me? I thought of the hills, but no not exactly like me. Kate plus 8? Well I don’t exactly have 8 kids, nor would I want too. Then I thought of MTV and Jessie Cruikshank. Jessie Cruikshank is how I first found out about “Free the Children” organization! It was the beginning of my grade 12 year and I was skimming through the channels, and seen “ Jessie Cruikshank: In India”, it was a documentary on her going to India and working with the Free the Children organization. I was so fascinated and realized how I would love to work for this charity, the following day at school we were to write about a modern day role model, I picked Jessie Cruikshank, MTV’s host. When I applied for a delicate for Miss Teen Saskatchewan World, I was ECSTATIC to find out that Free the Children were their official charity. With that being said, my TV show would be a documentary of me going place to place, with Free the Children, titled Karli Bigknife: Around the World.

My show would be real, no edits, simply me. I would want to change the stereotype on girls who like to dress up! I love wearing my heels, my dresses, and my accessories, my over-sized rings, shopping etc, yet I would throw on a pair of sweat shorts, and help those in need in a heartbeat. Karli Bigknife: Around the World would show all different areas of third world countries, and me personally doing whatever I can to help out with Free the Children. Dealing directly with the children, and socializing, and playing with them is something I would do on and off the camera. In hopes this would change the stereotype on “pretty girls in pageants”, each girl going is more than a pretty smile and nice hair. Were dedicated to making a difference in the world, whether it’s big or small.

I know after the documentary on Jessie: In India, she was my role model. Not for being famous on TV, not for running the MTV show, not for having great fashion sense...But for going to a drastically different country, doing something worthwhile of her time, working with Free the Children. I would hope the youth of today’s society would watch this documentary and look up to me as a role model, and realize they want to help out just like me!

Karli Bigknife: Around the World would be featured in :

Faze Magazine. 

It would make perfect sense for an article about this to be written in this magazine. This magazine doesn’t focus on “teen gossip” and “lose 5 pounds in 5 days”. It’s real and has valuable articles that are worth reading- like the article they would write about on my journey in different countries.

During my Trip I would also blog about the different countries I went too, I would of course use:

SMOJOE. Our blogs helped those in the community, the other contestants, to get a more understanding of you as in individual and not just the title of “Miss Teen Southern- Saskatchewan” etc. Using this tool, would also help get rid of the stereotype on "pageant girls".

You’re Miss Teen Southern Saskatchewan 2010 is from the small town of Grenfell, Saskatchewan. You’ve reached Grenfell when you have passed the “Big G” along the number one highway. Grenfell is the place to raise your families, to discuss the crops on “coffee row” and to create lifelong friendships. Coming from a small town after all isn’t all that bad.

The town of Grenfell was established in 1882. Grenfell is located 129 km from our province’s capital- Regina, Saskatchewan. Grenfell is also situated only 20 minutes from the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley, where your Miss Teen Southern Saskatchewan spends the majority of her summer. The Qu’Appelle valley is beautiful year round, from the ripples of the water under the July sun to the snowflakes on the branches in the brisk December air.

More fun would be at Grenfell’s Regional Park. The Regional Park offers year round recreational activities. You can swim, camp and play mini golf or check out the Grenfell Titans win a game! Another huge thing for Grenfell is hockey games! The community of Grenfell seems to fill the stands of the rink during the winter seasons, cheering on our local Grenfell Spitfire Hockey Team. The Grenfell Regional Park is operated by the Grenfell Athletic Association.

One of my favourite places in Grenfell is the “Koffee House and Bakery”. The Koffee house is the cozy connection for you and your friends to get together! My friends and I gather here regularly for their daily lunch specials and after school cappuccinos. The Koffee house was my work place for the summer of 2009, and is one of my generous sponsors for the Miss Teen Canada World Pageant! Another great place to hang out would be the “Sooper B’s Esso”! This is the place to eat, get ice cream, rent movies, and socialize! The Sooper B’s Esso is located along the service road, it’s generally the place to stop for travellers! I have also worked at the Esso during my grade 10 and 11 year, which I loved! The bosses were great, and also one of my sponsors <3

The Grenfell Museum is also a beautiful “must see”! The Grenfell museum was built in 1904 by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fitz-Gerald. The museum is filled with a wide collection of facts of Grenfell, and it is beautifully restored. Grenfell is also the home to 8 churches, 2 grocery stores, one co-op hardware, 2 other restaurants besides the "Sooper B's", 1 pharmasave, CD's Entertainment- where you can also rent movies, get ice cream and play pool, 3 hair salons, 1 library, 1 skating rink and curling rink, and a whole lot of "mechanic/autobody/fixing tire places".. hehe.

For being as small as it is grenfell has a big heart. While driving or walking down our one mainstreet everyone gives a smile and a wave. What also ties this community together is the strong love of agriculture. I personally believe being titled "Miss Teen Southern Saskatchewan", suits me perfectly from living in Grenfell. I also live on a farm and notice how farming plays a big role in someones life. I also believe coming from a small town prepares you for the big city that lays ahead...

My last post I was getting all ready for grad, I’m sad to say it is all over! I woke up grad day to a… thunderstorm. Despite the fact it was pouring rain all over my silk dress, and that my sister accidentally stepped AND ripped the back of my dress the whole day was unforgettable. I wouldn’t want to graduate with anyone else than those 12 unique individuals that I sat on stage with; even if the week of grad we’d exchange glares from the frustration of grad decorating, hehe.

I was lucky enough to receive the following awards/ scholarships that will definitely help towards pursuing my Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing!

English Award

Grenfell Pioneer Home Auxiliary Award

School Service Award

Terry FitzGerald Honor Award

J.Hubbard Memorial Bursary

Humanitarian Award

Horizon Credit Union Award

My best friend Dana was our Valedictorian for our class, I honestly can’t think of a better person to speak on our behalf. Here is a peak of her speech:

“ It is these people that we go to every Monday morning with advice, celebrations, sadness, and laughter…. In a few years, we won’t remember every party, every tear, or every inside joke. But we will always remember the people that we spent our best years with. We now know just how much we relied on our friends over the years, and how different it will be to know that we are separated, and won’t see each other every day.”

These few lines significantly stuck out to me on stage, thinking to myself how unbelievably true this is. My friends are always there no matter what, it also made me think of my “Miss Teen Stuff”, and how supportive and how willing they are to help in whatever way they can.

I’m holding a Steak Night Fundraiser for “Free The Children” on Friday in Fort Qu’Appelle, and all my friends were so willing to drive the hour down and help! High school wouldn’t be the same without these girls. I certainly wouldn’t be the same without these amazing girls I’m so lucky to call friends!

Even though I am somewhat upset grad is all over and done with, a part of me is excited that I can finally put all my attention to my “Miss Teen Southern Saskatchewan World” obligations. I can’t believe it’s ALMOST been two months since I was crowned in Saskatoon! In no time I’ll be packing to Toronto, which I am extremely excited but nervous about! My up coming event would be my Steak Night- that once again my family is holding and helping organize! Also a girl I know Nicole Rieger is biking across Saskatchewan for cancer research! Which I think is amazing and would love to do it, but it’s the week I’ll be in Toronto! However, we are brainstorming ideas on fundraising for her and there ill be able to make an appearance and help in whatever way I can! To leave this post I thought it would be perfect to leave with this quote –

“Life changes. You get it all lined up just the way you like it and then something beyond your control comes along and bumps you off center. How nice it would be if you could get everything just the way you want it and say, 'Okay, now, stay.' But nothing stays the same. You grow up, make friends, lose friends, go to college, lose track of people, meet new ones, and sometimes you ask yourself why. But all I can tell you is the every single experience you go through like this changed you in some way. Every new person who comes into your life changes you. Every moral dilemma or emotional experience you come up against changes you. It's your job you decide how. That's how character is developed.”

On Wednesday May 19^th, I held a Hamburger Sale and it was quite a success. I was very impressed with the turn out J. I give credit to my mom and her co-workers for making the event a success, and of course all the people who came out and supported me!!

Everyone was so willing to flip burgers, hand out drinks, make cupcakes… etc. It means a lot to me to know that I have people rooting for me! I would like to thank Joyce, Nathan, Chrystal, Raylene, Chloe, Pat, Michelle and of course my family for helping out! Thank god the weather was beautiful out…

Another Fundraiser I had was in Fort Qu’Appelle, my family put on a “Merchandise Bingo” for me, which was also a huge success! Big thanks to my awesome family for helping me put that on!

All my family is so supportive and I wouldn’t be able to do this alone, so thanks to you all!!

Besides from fundraising I have been so BUSY. 4 days till grad? That’s. Insane... I honestly don’t know where this year has gone, I can’t believe ill be done high school in less than month. I’m not looking forward to June…tests and more tests. My post-secondary plans are coming along great, officially accepted into the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan! I am so excited, my acceptance letter was the first round of letters to be sent out, considering there was 600 applicants! As for living arrangements… I’m still working on that!

I may have listed some of these before! But here I go again…

Sponsorships and Donations:

Dale Anderson from Trail Excavating

Clifford Starr

Amy Bourkart from Serene Hairstyling Salon

Donna and John Cherkewich

Mike Bellegarde and Susanna Yee

Bruce and Bobbi Jo Urschel from Sooper B's Convenience

Joes Corner

LBB Convenience Store

Debbie Norton Insurance

L & J Grocery

Chatterson Lumber

Valley Drugs

RW and Sons

Chloe Friesen

Shelley Thiessen

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT <3

My Grannie, my cousin Cameron and me!

Joyce Flipping Burgers!!

I can’t believe my grad is in 19 days! My class and I have been so busy making grad plans these past few weeks, slowly but surely everything is coming along. With only 12 of us graduating you’d think there wouldn’t be much planning… but there is! Grad planning isn’t the only thing that’s keeping me busy these past few days; I have also been going to businesses and asking for sponsorship’s and have received so much positive feedback! Yay! Thus far I would like to thank … Clifford Starr from the TLE office in Fort Qu’Appelle, Dale Anderson from Trail Excavating in Swift current, Amy Bourkart from Serene Hairstyling Salon in Regina, Mike and Sue for there generous donations along with Donna and John Cherkewich!!!

Yesterday my mom and I spent the day making “Rice Krispie Bears” to sell at the elementary and high school! We started at 12:00 and didn’t finish till 4:30; it’s a long process but there so cute! (I will post pictures of them soon). Kids love them and it’s a great way to raise money! Thanks for all you help mom, I’m sure baking is what you wanted to do on Mother’s Day hehe. Another fundraiser I am doing is a BBQ that will happen Wednesday May 19^th -cheeseburgers, drinks and goodies! I want to thank everyone who has helped me this far!!! A possible steak night might be in the mix I’ll keep you posted.

Other than grad planning and obtaining sponsorships, I have been attending the gym regularly even if it’s 10:30 at night! Last Monday I went to the Our Lady Peace concert, which was ammmazing. We have also been practicing later at dance for our year-end recital that is May 15^th! I can’t believe another dance year has gone by and that it’s my last year…ever. Another exciting thing is that my cat had kittens yesterday morning on Mothers day, too cute! Anyways it’s 3:26 and I should get ready for work!!

Karli

Ps. I promise I won’t take this long to post another blog up!

The cute rice krispie bears

"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way." -- Unknown

Hey everyone!

Wow! Where to start? I am so pleased and excited to inform you all that I won the title of : Miss Teen Southern Saskatchewan-World 2010.

I want to thank you all for your support and the encouraging comments you all have left on my “Facebook Group” page. I appreciate every little comment and smile every time I see I have a new post. I’ve recently started working at the Grenfell CO-OP- Food and Grocery! It’s such an amazing feeling to have people come up to you personally… while your stocking shelves, and congratulate you on your achievement! And to my family- No matter what they have always supported me 100%, bending over backwards to help me out in anyway. I appreciate it so much <3.

If you would like any more info on the pageant please check out the website -- http://www.missteencanadaworld.com/

With all the excitement comes a lot of responsibility! For the past few days I have been writing up sponsorship letters, brainstorming fundraising ideas for “Free the Children” and “My Platform”.” Free the Children” is an organization founded by Craig Kielburger; its mission is to help those in need from poverty and exploitation. “Miss Teen Canada-World Inc” strongly believes in helping out with this organization, as do I.

“My Platform” is something that I strongly believe in as an individual. I’ve chosen to support the “Cancer Society”. The Cancer Society is a cause that I am passionate about. It would give me a great deal of satisfaction to assist this worthwhile cause. Cancer is a dreadful disease and has affected members in my family and close friends. As such, I believe that supporting the “Cancer Society” is the right thing to do!

Although I have been extremely busy with all the “Miss Teen” stuff, school/homework (yuck!), and work I have managed to fit in some “fun time”. On the weekend my dance team and I competed in the Indian Head Competition placing second in our Hip Hop Routine! Wooo, way to go girls! It was so exciting to get 2^nd, however apart of me was sad that this would be the last time I would compete with the girls on stage! After the Dance Competition, my boyfriend’s family and I headed to Regina! We packed up all Nathans belongings from his dorm…so, he can move back to Grenfell for the summer! We then headed to Rock Creek for supper to celebrate, which Colleen (Nathans mom) quoted: “ Nathan moving home for summer and completing his first year of university, Megan getting first in her numerous dances at the competition, and Karli for becoming a finalist!” It was a great way to end off the eventful week and weekend, Thanks Hollinger’s!

Another exciting event for me is my up coming photo shoot with Marcy Velestuk. I work with Marcy and she’s been extremely helpful in assisting me on my new job! Check out her site she does amazing work: http://www.paradeimagery.com/blog/. I can’t wait for my sash to get in so we can start shooting!!

Thanks everyone again,

Karli