The Power of Words

Beverly, MA—Maria Kangas, a freshman at Endicott College, has always been interested in symbolism and its impact on people. On May 14^th, 2013, she released a new blog called “What’s in the Words We Wear.” Based on her troubled but conquering past, Kangas is writing about words that people wear on their bodies, such as tattoos, jewelry, clothing, and even more. 

As a sophomore at Franklin High School, people in her grade constantly bullied Kangas. After being at rock bottom for a couple months, she decided to fight back. She bought a necklace saying “Believe,” and she wore it every day. Not only did it give her self-confidence, but also it made her defeat the bullies. Since then, she has been interested in why that single word had so much power. She wanted to know if words gave such power to others.

This blog features all types of articles about the choice and meaning of words. It ranges from a “How to Iron Letters on a Shirt,” to an article about powerful words that came out from the Boston Marathon Bombings. She even wrote an article about a college student who likes to cover herself with Sharpie. It also includes interviews with experts with words and ordinary college students.

Kangas’ goal for the blog is to find new and deeper meaning behind words. She wants to figure out why someone chose to wear a certain word and how it impacts their lives as well as others. The blog is made for mostly her generation, but anyone of any age can read it. To become more engaged and read more articles on Kangas' blog, click here: "What's in the Words We Wear."

Endicott Pride

It’s that time of year again! It won’t snow again until next winter (hopefully), the birds are chirping, the grass is green, and the leaves are back. It’s the perfect time for Dr. Wylie’s famous end of the year barbeque, where students can eat and relax before the horror of finals comes along. The barbeque is all about school spirit, and school spirit is what Endicott is all about.

In December of 2011, I knew that Endicott College would be my future home. The reasons why I chose this school are endless. But one important reason was school spirit. I took a total of three long and tiring tours, and at each tour I saw many students wearing their Endicott gear. Some students wore the word “Endicott” on their sweatshirts or pants; others had pinnies saying “Gull Hard or Go Home”, and more had t-shirts saying “Gull Nation.” But it doesn’t stop there. When walking around campus, gulls are all around, both in obvious spots and hidden ones. You can just tell that the students are proud to attend this college and they love being gulls. Even on my first tour, I felt so overcome by school spirit that I even bought a sweatshirt. But I didn’t want my school spirit to end there. At orientation, I bought three sweatshirts and two t-shirts.

 I am about to finish my freshman year of college, and I still wear all of my Endicott gear with pride. But my collection won’t stop there. During the next three years of college, I plan to buy a lot more Endicott clothing and souvenirs. After college, I will still wear my Endicott gear because I love Endicott and everything it offers, so I will show the world with pride that I am a gull.

One man who will always be known as the King of Endicott Pride is Dr. Richard Wylie. He became Endicott’s fifth president in 1987, and is going on his 26^th year. He is very involved with the Endicott College community.  He is a very hands-on President. It is clear to see that he loves what he does, and he treats his students as if they were family. He has transformed Endicott from a two-year women’s school to a 2,300 co-educational undergraduate college. The college also has 2,500 graduate students, too.

Dr. Wylie is very passionate about Endicott’s academic offerings. Over 90% of the degree programs that are now available at Endicott College did not even exist in the late 1980’s. He has helped the college literally expand—it’s now double the size it was in the late 1990s! Dr. Wylie knows how to bring Endicott College community together and make us one. He handles any situation with ease and wants to make the college and students as successful as possible. He is no doubt the most caring and loving man on this campus and I’m sure that he will continue to expand the college and make Endicott even better.

Dr. Wylie and the students wearing Endicott gear are not the only ones who show spirit. The students also display their pride and school spirit though many events, but the one that is most fun is “Mr. Endicott.” Mr. Endicott takes place at the end of the academic year in the Wax Auditorium. People line up out of the building to get into the event, and this year it became so crowded that people had to stand in the back or sit in the aisles. But it was worth it.

Mr. Endicott is a beauty pageant for boys, basically. After being selected, each one of the men goes through intensive training in such competitive categories as swimsuit, evening attire, talent, and Q&A. Most of the contestants are deliberately funny and don’t think of this as competition, but just for fun.

Some people make up funny t-shirts to support their candidate. One shirt said, “Devon is my roommate.” Others had signs for their favorites. The rest of the audience, including myself, didn’t need shirts or signs to show their love. All they needed were their voices. All the girls would scream and all the guys fist pumped and hooted. Even though my two favorites didn’t win, I went back to my dorm happy and hoarse.

All of this love and support is shown at the barbeque, too, but not as loud. As I walked into the barbeque with my two roommates, I first noticed how crowded it was. At least 150 students roamed around Dr. Wylie’s front and back yard. The smell of hamburgers and hotdogs sizzled on the grill and filled the air. As I approached the sundae bar, I turned around and noticed a guy who was dressed in Endicott gear from top to bottom. He had an Endicott hat, sweatshirt, and sweatpants. I have never seen someone wear so much Endicott gear before! I quickly approached him and learned that his name was David, and he was a sophomore at Endicott. When I asked why he was so spirited, he simply cheered, “I’m a gull. Being a gull is awesome.” Even though that was a typical boy response, it still made me smile. It never will cease to amaze me how passionate the students are about Endicott.

As I looked around just trying to notice what people were wearing, I saw one of my good friends, Rachelle, who is a freshman. She stood out because of her bright outfit. She had a neon shirt with bright neon sweatpants. She was different from everyone else because she wasn’t wearing Endicott gear. When I asked her why, she said, “Don’t get me wrong, I love Endicott with all of my heart. But I don’t feel like wearing any Endicott clothing tonight.” Again, I asked her why she didn’t want to wear Endicott clothing to the last barbeque of the year, and she smiled and said, “I’m not in the best mood, so I guess you can say that affects my school spirit. I don’t think that makes any sense, but I think you understand what I mean.” When I looked down at Rachelle’s shirt, on the front it said “He loves me,” and on the back it said “He loves me not.” This is one instance where Rachelle wore her love life on herself. She is choosing to tell Endicott College about her love life through the words she wore.

After I ate my hotdog and moved to get some ice cream, I ran into another freshman named Stacy. While holding her vanilla ice cream cup with rainbow sprinkles, Stacy was showing her Endicott pride through her sweatshirt. It had the small Endicott logo on the upper left side. What made her sweatshirt unique were the stitched words underneath the logo that read, “School of Hospitality Management.” Stacy said, “I wear this sweatshirt a lot. Not only because it’s super comfortable, but because it represents my major. Everybody loves hospitality majors!”

My roommate, Kayla Scheffler, decided to wear her hockey sweatshirt to the barbecue. Even though she doesn’t go to any hockey games or know many hockey players, she decided to get the sweatshirt in the beginning of the year since she didn’t have any Endicott apparel. When I asked Kayla about her Endicott pride, she stated, “Endicott is like my second home. I love the people here, the professors, and the school pride.” After talking for a bit, we got on the topic of Endicott’s pride. “Our school pride is huge. Not to mention, there are so many people on campus who wear Endicott clothing every day. You seriously don’t go a day without seeing anyone wearing clothes that have something to do with Endicott. I mean, look around at this barbecue. So many people are representing Endicott right now!”

Kayla couldn’t be more correct. There were groups of people all over the backyard standing around wearing Endicott sweatshirts and coats. It was clear to see that the students loved Endicott and everything about it, including these yummy barbecues. However, I stood out like a sore thumb. I brought all of my Endicott sweatshirts home the other weekend. Ironically, I wore a Northeastern sweatshirt to the barbeque. Not only did I end up walking right in front of Dr. Wylie, but also he called me out on my sweatshirt. He laughed said, “I am a bit insulted that you wore another college sweatshirt and had the dignity to walk into my house with it on!” Oops!  

Kayla Scheffler

Stacy Castelli

A Graphic Tee Story

Young teenage girls go to the mall and shop for clothes. They mostly love to look for those perfect graphic tee's because they are what's in style.

One of the most popular store that young teens go to is dELiAs. Not only do they have a great clothing selection, but they have an amazing graphic tee's selection with many different and unique styles. 

This is one of the oldest graphic tee's that dELiA's has. It is mostly bought in the summer time because of its summer colors. As the dELiA's employee's say, "You love your life more in the summertime." 

This shirt is brand new, and the store only got it in about a week ago. Fourteen year olds are most attracted to this shirt. With its short length, pretty lavender color, and the classic "Keep Calm And..." logo, this shirt has been selling very quickly. 

dELiA's has endless possibilities of graphic tees. Their graphic tees are the most popular section in the store. They have over twenty different designs of graphic tees. Some do sell more than others, but overall they sell very well. The employees of the store expect young teenagers to continue to shop there in the future. 

How To Iron Letters on a T-Shirt Video!

Click Here!

How to Iron on Letters on a Shirt

As people grow older, their handwriting changes. If you’re a girl, yours usually gets a lot neater and easier to read. If you’re a boy, you’re out of luck. But some boys do prove people wrong, and have just as neat handwriting as girls do. No matter how neat your handwriting is, not a lot of people have an easy time writing on t-shirts. So many things can go wrong. You write too small so no one can see. You write too big so you can’t fit all of the letters. You misspell a word so now you awkwardly have to try and squeeze a letter into a very small space between the other ones. You think you wrote perfectly and then you take a step back and notice you didn’t write in a straight line. You’re on a roll until a wrinkle in the t-shirt gets in your way and the marker smudges, and then it’s all downhill. Well, all of these problems can one hundred percent be fixed with iron-on letters. They can fit into almost anyone’s budget; they are only ten dollars for a whole pack! Iron-on letters are stress-free and easy; you can put them on a t-shirt in a matter of twenty minutes. All you need are a white or dark colored t-shirt, a package of iron-on letters, an iron, a bandana, and a flat surface.

I got my supplies from A.C. Moore in Danvers, MA. You can get your supplies there, too. Luckily, everything was close together and easy to find. Head for the aisle of t-shirts. You’ll see the iron-on letters right next to them, and the bandanas were nearby. All of the supplies were right near the cash register, so it’s easy to get in and out fast. Whether you need to make a team t-shirt, a party favor, a t-shirt for fun, or a present, it doesn’t get a lot better than iron-on letters. It sure beats the fabric marker! 

Step 1: Find a flat surface to iron on (this may not be so easy if you live in a dorm room or are a typical teenager or young adult, but try your best).

Step 2: Gather your materials together. Just a reminder, your materials are a t-shirt, iron, iron-on letters, scissors, and a bandana (or other square cotton cloth). Make sure all of your materials are in sight.

Step 3: Cut out the letters you wish to iron on the t-shirt and arrange them in the order the word(s) is spelled.

Step 4: Fill your iron halfway with water. Make sure to set the iron to “wool mode.”

Step 5: Wait a minute for the iron to heat up. DO NOT touch the metal plate or else you might have to make a trip to the emergency room!

Step 6: Place your t-shirt on your flat surface. Iron out all of the wrinkles on the shirt and try to make the surface smooth.

Step 7: Arrange the letters on the t-shirt from left to right as you’re looking at the shirt’s surface. It would really stink if you by accidently placed the letters from right to left, then the word would be backwards!

Step 8: Make sure the transparent side of the letter faces up. The transparent side is the shiny, plastic one.

Step 9: Place your bandana (or cotton sheet) on top of the letters.

Step 10: Iron the bandana or cotton sheet on top of the letters for approximately 1 minute. During this time, you could sing a happy song to make the time fly by.

Step 11: Take the bandana off, and flip the shirt over (letters side down) and iron the back for approximately 20 seconds. That may be too short of a time to sing a happy song.

Step 12: Put the iron to the side and make sure its in stand up position. Don’t forget to turn it off.

Step 13: Hold down the t-shirt with one hand and slowly peel off the transparencies one at time. Start the process by carefully lifting a corner. Take your time peeling.

Step 14: Throw away the transparencies in the garbage and put all other materials away.

Step 15: Admire your t-shirt, and put it on with pride!

Motivation at its Finest

There I was sitting in chemistry minding my own business, when I looked across the table and noticed Kelsey Baker writing on words all over her arm with sharpie. I was kind of confused. I thought, “She must be really bored.” For the rest of the period, I watched her doodle and attempted to read the words she wrote. But for how long can you tilt your neck? Later when we became best friends, I finally asked her about it. She laughed and replied, “Oh, they’re just song lyrics. I have songs stuck in my head all day, and this is one way to get them out.” A few months after becoming friends, Kelsey and I formed an A Cappella group with five other girls. We called ourselves “Sincerely Seven.” Kelsey always picked the songs we sang, and eventually the lyrics of those songs ended up on her arm. None of us ever picked up the habit.

When did you start drawing on yourself?

I started drawing on myself around sophomore year of high school in chemistry class. I always got really bored in chemistry, as you know because you were in the same class as me. Our teacher never made sense, and I always had a sharpie in my bag. So I figured why not.

Yeah, that class wasn’t the best class. What is your favorite thing to draw?

I always love to draw song lyrics on my left arm or hand. I’m a singer and I always have songs stuck in my head. Feel free to call me a human iPod (laughs).

So song lyrics are important to you?

Oh my gosh, yes. They’re the best part of a song. You see, I always listen to my iPod in the morning before I go to class. I try to listen to songs that pump me up and get me excited for the day. Then around lunchtime, I listen to songs that describe my mood. When a song gets stuck in my head, I usually write a lyric on my arm, hand, or wherever. Song lyrics are really inspiring to me.

How are they inspiring?

Lyrics have the power to affect me emotionally. They can make me happy, sad, motivated, etc., and they’re very relatable. Like a good example would be Taylor Swift. Her lyrics literally describe my life. When I find song lyrics relatable and powerful, I bet you a million bucks I write it on myself.  It’s almost like a reflex. I guess that shows you how powerful words can mean to someone.

Do you want everyone to see the song lyrics on your body?

That’s what you would think, right? I mean sure, my friends do notice and grab my arm or hand and read aloud the lyrics. But I don’t really care if anyone sees it or not. It’s a reminder for myself to be happy and confident with myself. I try to not write sad song lyrics on myself because that will just make me more upset. I try to write something motivating.

Why don’t you just get a real tattoo?

Well first, my parents would probably disown me (laughs). Second, a tattoo is permanent. You can never change it and it stays with you until you die. I can’t deal with that. I’m really indecisive. Since I draw on myself with black Sharpie, it comes right off in the shower at night and then I can write something new the next day. I like it better that way.

I bet a lot of people have warned you about writing in Sharpie on your skin.

Oh, yeah. A lot of people have told me it’s dangerous and I could get ink poisoning. This is going to sound bad, but nothing has happened to me yet, so I’m not too worried.

Do you think you’re going to continue to write on yourself for a long time?

I probably will stop doing it when I get out of college. But as of now, I continue to write song lyrics on myself everyday. I just love it.

Kelsey's current favorite motivational song is "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato. Today (May 5th), she wrote these lyrics from the chorus of the song. "Go on and try to tear me down/I will be rising from the ground."

Kelsey Baker