Tag Archives: danielle rehor

Value of speaking honestly discovered

By Danielle Rehor

Acoustic Thoughts

Synonyms of my favorite pastime include brazen, unabashed, and vivacious. Sounds down right delightful, right? It is, when done in the right way. Often times we say exactly what we think, but for the most part what our brain tells us to say has become diluted. Perhaps you are ok with that, but for me, I am not. Do not settle for saying a half-truth because it will not offend. It is lame.

I am here today to teach you a lost art in today’s world. That is speaking brashly. Now this is a tool that can help you out, or completely hinder your ability to make and sustain friendships.

Point One. Do not use this as a technique to make first impressions. That comes off bad. You are often seen as a self-conceited, careless, rude person whom people would like to sling names at.

Point Two. This is an art best used for finding out information you are afraid to ask. Essentially, if you like someone and want to find out if they like you too, ask them. Yes, it does seem rudimentary and practical, but few have the guts to do it. Additionally, if someone is clearly crushing on you, do not leave them guessing, do the right thing, just tell them no.

Point Three. This is a good technique for getting out things that just need to be said. I have saved my mother a few times from a terrible fashion mistake just by speaking the truth. You all know, you have wanted to tell that girl in the hallway to wear a whole shirt or offer to buy some guy a belt just for your own sanity. That is perfectly fine to do, when you say these things, though they may sound crude, they need to be said.

Point Four. This can be a complementary note. There is a way to just straight up tell someone. “Hey, you are extraordinarily good looking.” Or “Hey, if you would like to sit by me, I would be perfectly fine with it.” Without fear, it is called speaking brashly.

Speaking brashly is not hard to do, provided you are not obsessed with what others think of you. Be yourself, say what is appropriate and comes to your head. It works.

When you speak free of fear of what others might think about you, it is enjoyable. People think highly of those who speak without fear of repercussions. There is a time and a place, but it is admirable to be true to you.

Two of the most common deathbed regrets are not living a life you want, and not having the courage to express your feelings. Are you going to be one of those people?

The most courageous thing is speaking truth, aloud.

Personalities persuaded by peer pressure

By Danielle Rehor
Acoustic Thoughts
I am sitting in class, surrounded by robots. Teens who look the same, act the same, talk the same, and treat others the same way. No, this is not the opening scene from the next science fiction movie. This, boys and girls, is real life.

When we are little, we are bombarded with ‘just be yourself’ and ‘I love you just the way you are.’ So we proudly march out to the bus on the first day of kindergarten with our Winnie the Pooh backpack and clothes that probably do not match. As we step into the elementary school, we see billions of kids milling around with their friends, and we think. ‘This is not what I signed up for. Where are my friends?’

Quickly, we learn to ‘adapt.’ We change to please people and make friends. I call this survival of the fittest. What our world categorizes as ‘succeeding’ is a multitude of ‘friends,’ a look similar to pop stars, and money. Maybe that is also what you categorize as success, but I believe there is more to it.

I have had many friends from middle and high school who have been taken and twisted by the grasps of society to become the ‘social norm.’ They believe they must conform to an idea of skin and bones, raccoon eyes, bleach-blond hair, and booty shorts to truly be ‘someone.’

But in reality, the someones are just that: someone. Not just anyone. People that I consider ‘not just anyone,’ or someones are those that go out and do something for themselves, be a first, do something different, and are not willing to conform to fit in. Those are the someones. They do not obsess over who is their friend and who is not. They do not concern themselves with seeming cool. They have the confidence to make their own decisions and be their own person.

My question to you is: how much of your personality is lost in trying to fit in?

We are born with certain quirks, some adorable, some not as much, but do we try to embrace these quirks or instead shrug them off? Personalities are to be embraced. They make us who we are. Our morals and personality are all we have of value. They are what we will be recognized and remembered for, not what brand of clothing we wore, or if we were up to date with trends. We have to remember what is going to stay with us for the rest of our days: what we do and what we say.

Someone who clearly has himself figured out is Apple figurehead Steve Jobs. This quote really embodies what we should strive to do. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

We are all different, but what we do with our peculiarities is up to each and every one of us. Are you going to stand out with courage or instead blend into the background, being just another ‘everyone else’? If you think rationally, we all fall short of being someone’s imitation.

We are best being ourselves. Not a carbon copy of anyone else.

Graphic By Summer Haynes

Spirit Week: 80’s Day

By Bekah Landers, Blake Dykes, Grace Runkel, Claire DeFrancisci, Eli Bolus, and Danielle Rehor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY5DvgPvG1U]

Music: “Motivator” Composed by Kevin MacLeod

In order of appearance: sophomore Nicole Williams, junior Kesley Moorefield, senior Jenna Bain, sophomore Autumn Greenwell, freshman Danielle DeLuca, and freshman Hannah Greenwell.

Need for patriotism grows

By Danielle Rehor

Acoustic Thoughts

What is patriotism? If you are anything like me, you cannot even spell patriotism. Sad, but true. Perhaps patriotism, to you, means pride in your country, maybe devotion in a cause. In my opinion, patriotism is the act of supporting your homeland. It’s a part of you, and should make you want to change it for the better.

I do not know if you remember how old you were or even what year it occurred, but I know you remember where you were when you heard the towers had been hit. I was in my first- grade class. I didn’t even know where the twin towers were at the time. I remember wondering why my teacher suddenly left the class and gave us busy work. Then later on in the day we watched the news channel, and had a moment of silence.

This event causing great patriotism was Sept. 11. When a disaster this momentous occurs, it brings a nation closer together. We mourned together, prayed together, rebuilt together and got stronger together.

So why is that not the case now? Don’t give poor excuses like the economy or our government. It does not bother me if you do not particularly care for something about our country. Believe me, I am the same way at times. But, I do believe as a whole our country’s patriotism is greatly lacking.

We live in a country that has been blessed beyond belief. Whenever I think of Sept. 11, it makes me reconsider all I have. This country is safer than a lot of places, we have a trustworthy government and a place I can sleep without worries. It’s going to be our generation’s nation soon. Our generation is the future of America. It’s our responsibility to see what is coming down the pike and do something.

We are in an economic crisis. Yeah? There was one in the 30s. Are we going to all starve and die? Nope, I am not planning on it anyway. We are going to struggle through, make it, survive, and then prosper.

Our nation needs to be restored back to a humble, hardworking yet proud country, just like in the 50s. We had just been on the winning side of WWII. We were in some economic trouble, yes. But we were proud of the soldiers that had fought and died fighting for our country. We were ready to start fresh and be better than ever.

We are not in the best of times economically and socially speaking, but we need to stand up for our government, back them up even if you do not always support their ways. It is a matter of pure respect.

We should respect our leaders, even if we cannot stand them. Probably a hard pill for most of us to swallow. I know you are thinking, ‘Well if I don’t like them I’m not going to give them the time of day.’ But we have to play the hand of cards we are given, even if that means shooting for the moon.

There are always going to be good guys and bad guys. Leaders are always going to make some bad decisions. This doesn’t mean we give up and scorn our country. We strive to be proud Americans with pride for our country.

Here are a few songs to get your patriotic blood flowing and inspire you to become more loyal today.

  • “Made in America” by Toby Keith
  • “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson
  • “American Soldier” by Toby Keith
  • “God Bless the U.S.A” by Lee Greenwood
  • “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” by Lee Greenwood
  • “Where the Stars and Stripes And the Eagle Fly” by Aaron Tippin