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Life on Tour cast member, Haseena, shares her thoughts on "making it" in the music industry.

Since I was little, I knew that the same, cubicle, boring desk-job was not going to be my thing. I wanted art or culture or whatever else people call it, you know? LIFE in my life.

Since Life On Tour Season 2, my guitar “hobby” has started feeling like more of a career choice. Despite all the daydreams though, one huge factor continued to slap me in the face: my age. Sound familiar?

A lot of people my age have the passion and the talent to “make it” or get recognized, but we’re all just too young to get out there on our own. Or so we think. It’s time we realize that we are in the “Age of Technology,” and  it is our biggest advantage. If there was ever a time to expose ourselves and show the world what we can do, it’s now.

Artists don’t make money off of the number of CD’s they sell or how many people write them letters. Who does either of those things anymore? People are getting famous off of the number of YouTube subscribers they get, or how many friends they have on Facebook. These things are constantly around us and the majority is absolutely free to access. Artists now make money off of the number of people who come to their live concerts and their number of mp3 sales on iTunes.

We’re not helpless because of our age anymore; do you know how many people are on YouTube every minute? Don’t be afraid of showing your stuff. People are getting sick of the same-old, same-old; originality is where it’s at. Thanks to Soulja Boi, music has now hit a new low; and if we’re starting at the bottom, there is no way to go but UP honey buns. So get to rocking dudes and dudettes; you’ve got nothing to lose and success at your fingertips.

Taking the perfect photo: Matty Aye's photography tips

 Hey guys, it's Matty from Life On Tour Season 2. Getting that free trip to Spain and Morocco was beyond legit, and as an aspiring photographer (who recently got accepted into two art schools, give me some love), I would like to give you my top 5 tips for taking pics on tour. Thank me later:



5) Ok seriously, please make sure your batteries are charged. I stole my mom’s batteries when I went to Disney World back in 1990-something. Didn't turn out so great for me. Don't let that happen to you.



4) Memory is important. Yes, the crack in the sidewalk may look really "artistic," but when you get to the Great Wall of China and have no space left on your card, you're going to be asking yourself: Was it really worth taking a picture of that sidewalk? Probably not.



3) Learn how to use your camera. Not even professionally, just basic stuff, people. When you think you have an awesome shot of that tribal dance in Kenya and then you get home and realize the only thing in focus is that tree to the left, you will be pretty blown.



2) Mother Nature does NOT care about your camera. At all. Snow, rain: not so bad when you're just chillin' at your house. Snow, rain: VERY bad when you're trying to get some dynamic, crouching snapshots of the Eiffel Tower. These weather torments may look amazing if taken properly, but if you damage your camera in the process, what's the point? Exactly.



1) Rule #1, probably the most important one of all. Sigh, ok. Listen up. When you are in Morocco, whatever you do, do NOT let Haseena take your picture with snakes because she will only get 25 percent of your face in the picture. You've been warned friends.


 There you go!

Remember these things whenever your life goes on tour, with EF or otherwise. Good luck to the Season 3 hopefuls. Some of you guys seem really interesting, but good luck beating Season 2. Haha. Love, peace and hair grease.

Signing off, Matty Aye :)

Top 10 tips to get Life on Tour votes

There’s less than a week left to audition (bit.ly/EFcasting) for the third season of EF’s reality travel series, Life on Tour. Jeruska Lugo, the winner of last year’s Life on Tour Facebook vote-off, has some tips on how she was able to win a huge majority of votes. If you’re looking to guarantee a casting interview with producers, check out Jeru's advice:

I remember how stressed out I was when I was auditioning for Life on Tour. Yes, it was such a stress; I needed to get a certain amount of votes in an indicated time. So, I want to help those auditioning for Season 3 and give you guys the top 10 tips to get votes:

1. Post the link to your video on your Facebook status.
2. Tell ALL of your Facebook friends online on the chat to vote, and make sure they vote. (Don’t be shy—stalk their profile and check if they really voted! lol)
3. Tell the friends of your friends to vote.
4. If you really, really want to win, take your laptop to your school and tell people to vote from your computer. That way, you really make sure they voted. ;)
5. Tell people from your mommy and daddy’s work to VOTE FOR YOU.
6. Involve your entire family in this.
7. Don’t limit yourself to Facebook—post it on your Skype, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
8. Add everyone you know on Facebook and make them vote. If you want to win, SPREAD THE WORD!
9. Stay on your computer day and night … literally! lol
10. JUST BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!!

Submit your audition video for Life on Tour casting at bit.ly/EFcasting, and be sure to get the word out about voting. But, remember, EF is considering all submissions, regardless of vote totals.

Life on Tour on Twitter

The highly anticipated second season of Life on Tour—EF's reality travel series—begins filming tomorrow in Spain, and you can follow along on Twitter.

Life on Tour follows the adventures of seven high school students on their educational tour throughout Spain and Morocco. The tour itinerary was specially created for the group by EF Tour Director Steve Hart and is sure to include several surprises along the way.

The reality series will debut online this fall, but you can follow filming for the next week and a half on Twitter. EF staff members will be posting behind-the-scenes update on the official Life on Tour page at @LifeOnTourTV, and Steve Hart will be tweeting at @stevehart2.

There also may be tweets from the student cast members. To catch all of the action on Twitter (and even participate in the conversations), be sure to search for (and use) the hashtag #LOTtv on Twitter.

For more about Life on Tour, check out the LOT fan page on Facebook and watch the entire first season. Also, be sure to follow @EFtours on Twitter and become a fan of EF Tours on Faceook.

Life on Tour voting details

There's still plenty of time for high school students to apply for EF's reality travel series, Life on Tour—and there's plenty of time to get out the vote.

EF Educational Tours already has extended the casting deadline to Friday, May 22. For details on how to enter, you can check out EF's Casting Call on Facebook or read our latest blog post.

Four of the six cast members will be selected by EF and the series producers based on their audition videos and subsequent interviews. Two cast members will be selected by a popular vote on Facebook.

Casting extended for Life on Tour

There's now more time to apply for EF's reality travel series, Life on Tour.

Due to popular demand, EF Educational Tours has extended the casting deadline to Friday, May 22 for high school students to submit their audition videos to star in the second season of Life on Tour.

Students who are interested in traveling to Europe for free this summer and starring in an online reality series just need to submit a two-minute video introducing themselves and explaining why they want to travel abroad.

All video submissions should be uploaded to EF's Casting Call on Facebook by the end of the day on May 22. On Facebook, you also can vote for your favorites. EF will announce more specific details about the voting this week.

For more about Life on Tour, check out:

• Life on Tour's entire first season
• EF's Casting Call on Facebook
• Life on Tour posts on Following the Equator
  

Last chance for Life on Tour auditions

Tomorrow is the deadline for students to submit audition videos for EF's reality travel series, Life on Tour.

EF Educational Tours is casting six high school students to travel on an educational tour to Europe this summer and star in the second season of Life on Tour. Students just need to submit a two-minute video introducing themselves and explaining why they want to travel abroad.

All video submissions should be uploaded to EF's Casting Call on Facebook by the end of the day tomorrow, April 30. On Facebook, you also can cast your vote for your favorites until May 31.

For more about Life on Tour, check out:

• Life on Tour's entire first season
• EF's Casting Call on Facebook
• Blog posts about Life on Tour

Submit your Life on Tour casting video now

There's one week left for students to submit casting videos for the second season of EF's reality travel series,
Life on Tour.

EF Educational Tours is looking for the next student stars of its online series, which will film in Europe this summer. Students should submit their own casting videos—two minutes in length, describing themselves and why they want to travel abroad.

All videos should be submitted through EF's fan page on Facebook. The deadline is Thursday, April 30. You also can watch other video submissions and vote for your favorites.

Once the deadline passes and voting ends, EF will cast six students to travel on a free educational tour to Europe and star in Life on Tour.

To find out more about Life on Tour, check out:

• Life on Tour's entire first season
• EF's Casting Call on Facebook
• Blog posts about Life on Tour

EF casting for reality travel series

Last year, EF Educational Tours launched Life on Tour—a reality web series that followed six high school students on an amazing journey through Europe.

This year, YOU can star in the second season of the successful travel series—if you're a high school student who loves to travel and wants to be cast for a lead role.

We are now casting for our reality travel series through EF's fan page on Facebook. High school students should submit their own casting videos—no more than two minutes long, introducing themselves and explaining why they want to travel abroad.

The deadline for submissions has just been extended to April 30. Visit us on Facebook to view other student submissions and vote for your favorites. Once voting closes, EF will select six high school students to star in the series and travel this summer on an educational tour to Europe for free.

For more information about casting, visit the official casting page on Facebook. And for more about Life on Tour, you can watch the entire first season or check out our blog post of Top 10 Moments.

Our 10 Best of 2008

This is the 320th post of 2008 at Following the Equator, and we decided to commemorate our blog's first full calendar year with a top-10 list of favorite posts.

We had a lot of stories, videos, photos, interviews, tips and perspectives about educational travel. We launched some regular weekly features, including our Tip of the Week and Photo of the Week. We debuted Life on Tour, introduced EF on YouTube and EF on Facebook and promoted the EF Tours group on Flickr (above). And, along the way, we encountered a lot of inspiring travelers.

Following the Equator also was nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award and finished fifth out of 1,177 blogs for Best Travel Blog. Thank you to everyone who supported our blog in 2008 by voting, reading, sharing, commenting and subscribing. We're looking forward to an even more successful 2009.

Life on Tour Poll: Favorite moment

We made our choices with a top-10 list of memorable moments from EF's reality web series Life on Tour. Now, it's your turn.

poll by twiigs.com

Life on Tour's Top 10 Moments

Six strangers brought together on one educational tour through Switzerland, France and Italy. That's Life on Tour. EF's reality web series produced countless memorable moments, as the student travelers made it up Mount Pilatus, up the Eiffel Tower and up to their elbows making pizza in Rome.

Now that the first season is complete, I watched all 10 episodes again and compiled my list of the most memorable moments of Life on Tour.

Let us know what you think of the list and post your own comments
(or even your own list) below. And be sure to cast your vote for your favorite moment in our Life on Tour Poll.