Sunday, August 22, 2010

How Vanessa Hudgens Started Her Acting Career

How did Vanessa Hudgens get started in her acting career? Born Vanessa Anne Hudgens on December 14, 1988 in Salinas, California, her looks can be attributed to her parents’ backgrounds. Her dad, Greg Hudgens, is an American with a Native American and Irish background while her mother, Gina, a Filipino, grew up in Manila with traces of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish blood.

Career Path

Vanessa was prone to the performing arts since she was a child. At eight years old, she got involved in musical plays. She was in the lead and supporting casts of plays such as "The Wizard of Oz”, "The Music Man”, "Damn Yankees", "Evita", "Carousel", The King and I", and "The Music Man”. Everything happened by chance for little Vanessa. Her first gig was a commercial, but she landed the part purely by accident. She went on the audition because her friend, who was supposed to audition, got sick and asked her to go in her place.

After completing seventh-grade at the Orange County High School of the Arts, Vanessa opted for a home school setup.

In 2003, her film debut was in the feature film "Thirteen", starring Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter. Vanessa also starred in "Thunderbirds", an action-adventure film, but Hudgens hit it big after playing the part of Gabriella in “High School Musical”, a Disney Channel original movie that was first released in 2006. That same year, she released her debut album “V”. In July of 2008, her second album “Identified” was released.

In addition to movies, she also had bit parts in television, including guest spots on TV shows such as “The Brothers Garcia”, “Still Standing”, “Quintuplets”, “Drake and Josh”, and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”.

Hudgens continued to play the role of Gabriella Montez in the two equally successful “High School Musical” TV movies, when she played the love interest of real-life boyfriend, Zac Efron. Their roles had given them the “Best Chemistry” award given by the Teen Choice Awards. The first movie also had a hit soundtrack, and it brought the group on a worldwide concert tour. A book series was also made out of it.

With all the success she has garnered, Hudgens became number seven on Forbes magazine’s top earning list of stars under 21. She was 18 years old at the time with an estimated $2 million of earnings. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” was released on October 24, 2008.

She was also ranked 62nd of the Most Sexiest Woman on FHM, and she was also number 12 on Maxim’s 100 Hot List. She was also part of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People.

Life in the Spotlight

Her career was marked with controversy when provocative pictures of Hudgens proliferated on the Internet on September 6, 2007. The photos were passed through emails, mobile phones, and other devices. There were also rumors then that she would be pulled out from the High School Musical franchise because she was no longer fit to be called a model for the youth.

Above all that, however, everything was settled with Hudgens apologizing to fans and her family. After that, all is well again for this young superstar. Just looking back on how Vanessa Hudgens got started in her acting career will inspire young minds about this craft if they are planning on joining the bandwagon.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Tips on How to Help Your Children Finish Their Homework

Homework is always the point of contention between parents and their children after school. One side just wants to rest after a whole day of schoolwork while the other side wants their children to learn the value of hard work; therefore, that side wants them to complete the work assigned by their teachers when they get home. Homework is a necessary part of the school life and does not need to be something that parents and children will fight about. In fact, parents can even help their children with their homework without really providing the answers to it.

Here are some of the ways that you can do this. They are so obvious that you may already even be doing them with your children.

1. Put Value Into It

Children are logical beings. When you explain how important it is to do their homework, they will learn to place value into it. You can do this by rewarding your children for a job well done. Award them with toys that they like when they get into the Top Ten of their class or give them certain privileges when they make good grades.

Rewards do not need to be something material. They can be in the form of praises and words of encouragement. This is especially true for children who are sensitive or those who get frustrated easily.

You should be careful in giving too much reward because too much tends to make children focus more on the rewards than on the deed itself. That can be a problem because their motivation and their efforts to do things will depend on the reward. If they do not want the reward, they will not do anything, or worse, when there is no reward, children will feel it is not worth the effort. So keep it balanced, and then you can teach your child values in the process.

2. Make It Fun

Studying and doing homework may be serious, but you can make it fun too. You can do this by giving your children a special corner for themselves. Having a spot where they can work will emphasize the importance of studying and doing their homework. It also gives them something to look forward to so that they will be motivated to study.

Another way to make it fun is to inject games into the learning process. Create tests that they can answer as a review for their lessons. Also, create some guessing games or word games for their English and history lessons. You can also perk up the learning process by giving your children colorful and child-friendly reference materials. For instance, if you plan on buying an encyclopedia, don’t buy the heavy ones. Rather, purchase those that are age-appropriate with accompanying pictures.

You can also give your children access to the internet. Here, your children can find virtually anything that can help them with their homework. Of course, when doing this you have to make sure that there is an adult that will guide them.

This will help your children learn the importance of hard work, not only in school but also in their adult lives. Remember, skills begin to develop at an early age.

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