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. 

Boston Strong

I may have been born in Franklin, Massachusetts, but I will always consider Boston my home. I love going to that city because I have always felt safe and relaxed. Seeing all of the beautiful sights around me such as Copley Square, Faneuil Hall, and the Boston Commons made me realize just how beautiful the world truly is. Bostonians are very friendly (unless you’re a Yankee’s fan) and never fail to smile at you when you walk by. Everyone who is from Boston is proud to be from there. I will always and forever love Boston. It’s one of the best places in the world.

 As long as I can remember, Marathon Monday was one of the happiest days of the year. Many people who run in the Boston Marathon were participating because they overcame a sickness or disease, running for a loved one, or they just love running. On the sidelines are their supporters. Even strangers support strangers. The people standing on the side want to cheer every single runner on and congratulate them on their accomplishment of running more than twenty-six miles.  There are a lot of signs saying “Go Dad” or “Run Mom Run!” Smiles and laughter fill the air. You can literally feel the joy run through your body. No one has a fear of one another nor does anyone expect anything to go wrong. But that all changed on April 15, 2013.

As I was standing in the grocery store in Franklin trying to decide what the difference was between Fuji and Gala apples, my loud and annoying phone buzzed in my jean pocket. With one apple in hand and trying to unlock my phone in the other, I noticed that I had a text from my boyfriend, Andrew. “I’m not by the explosions, don’t worry.” My face crinkled with confusion not knowing what this text message meant. I decided to ignore the text for the moment and finish my quest of grocery shopping. As I went through the aisles, I could not stop thinking about that text message. I hurried to get out of Stop and Shop. I quickly rang myself out at the self-checkout, and jogged to my yellow Volkswagen Beetle in the parking lot and drove home attempting to obey the speed limit. As soon as I walked through my front door, my phone rang. It was Andrew. Without hesitating, I picked up the phone and asked what happened. Out of breath, he replied, “There were two explosions at the marathon. I was standing right near one, and missed it by about five minutes. I’m okay, but I need to make more calls. Turn on the news and I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”  I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t even realize I was still holding my iPhone to my ear after he hung up. So many thoughts and questions were racing so fast through my mind that I couldn’t keep up. I just didn’t understand.

A total of two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon. They both exploded near the finish line where many supporters were standing. The bombs exploded around the average time when most marathon runners would be finishing, which was a little bit more than four hours into the race.

But Boston was anything but defeated. Instead, Bostonians triumphed over tragedy. And it wasn’t just Bostonians. The world joined Boston and together all of us created a team: a team filled with courage, unity, and love. This team manifested itself in words on posters, the words of songs, hashtags, and speeches. And what powerful words they are, more powerful than any explosion.

The posters supporting Boston after the tragedy range from a tiny piece of paper that someone is holding at a sports game to an electronic display above the entrance to Yankee Stadium. Even though the posters differ in size and quality, they all have the same message: Boston is not alone. The words on the posters are extremely powerful and touching. For example, at a Yankees game very recently, people held signs saying, “Pray for Boston” or “NY loves Boston.” It’s incredible how two well-known enemies put aside their baseball differences to come together as one. Also, it’s just a great feeling to know that two enemies can come together and be allies. At a time like this, words mean everything to everyone.

In my opinion, the lyrics in a song mean anything and everything. That is what gives the song meaning. Lyrics have the power and ability to relate to so many people. I personally love listening to the lyrics because they have a power to change my emotions and really inspire me. After the Boston Marathon bombings, not only did the whole Yankee stadium show their loving support, but during the 7^th inning stretch the played the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. That was a really touching moment for Bostonians because “Sweet Caroline” is played at every Red Sox game. When the song is played, it really brings the whole stadium together. The most moving lyrics in the whole song are: “Hands touching hands/Reaching out/Touching me, touching you.” When everyone was singing along to that song in Yankees Stadium, it meant New York is extending their hands out to help support Boston and do whatever they can do help the city recover from this horrible tragedy.

Even though it’s a social media website, Twitter also extended their hands out to support Boston. On the day of the bombings, everyone tweeted “#PrayForBoston.” Believe it or not, a hashtag can go a long way, especially in a world full of teenagers. Within an hour of the explosions, “#PrayForBoston” was the number one trending topic on twitter. Tweets were composed all around the United States using that one hashtag and it brought the United States closer. Those three words attached to a hashtag ruled the Twitter world for over three days.

The day of the bombing, President Barack Obama made a nation wide speech. Of course he stated how security is going to increase in the United States and was trying his best to answer questions. However, a few words of his speech were the most powerful and moving. "Boston is a tough and resilient town," Obama continued. "So are its people. I am supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other & move forward -- as one proud city." And that is just what Boston did. The city pulled together as one and not only listened to Obama’s words, but also used them in action.

All of these words used in different forms showed that no one is going to take our Boston pride away from us. With help from around the world, Boston is now more confident as ever. All of this shows that good overcomes evil. Even though I am from Franklin, I consider myself a true Bostonian. “There’s strong, but then there’s Boston strong.”

I got this photo from here!

One Action Can Start A Chain Reaction

People always use the expression “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” But that’s not true. Words matter. They have the power to make our days great or completely destroy our moods. I have had many experiences with this word battle. Not only did I win the word battle, but I won the word war.

Being a fifteen-year-old girl is harder than it seems. Girls are constantly trying to fit it and compare themselves to others. For me, going to school every day was a struggle. During the end of my sophomore year, I was bullied verbally. Girls who thought they were better used words to tear me down.  They called me “fat”, “ugly”, “useless”, etc. It was their goal to make me feel horrible. For a while, they won. My life revolved around negativity and I didn’t try to stop it. But one morning I watched the sun rise. I then thought of the word “beautiful.” I went over to the mirror and repeated the same word. I then started a personal ritual. I would look in the mirror and say a positive adjective about myself: “Courageous, funny, confident, caring, loveable.” The words just flowed out. The positive outweighed the negative. The ritual showed me that all words may have power but encouraging words were much more powerful. This helped me overcome my bullies and I won this word war with pride.

My experience has helped me to never forget that words have an unstoppable power. Words can hurt, but they have the ability to heal and help. Only humans have language that captures emotion. With the world that we have today, positive words have the ability to make a huge impact and can turn anyone’s day around. Positive and encouraging words create great energy that everyone should have.

            Right now in the year 2013, America is going through tremendous struggles. With problems like a damaging economy to bullying in high school, people are looking for positive words and energy right around the corner. Positive words mean more to us now that ever. Foundation for a Better Life’s goal is to send positive energy and vibes to the American population by using simple words that easily captivate the human eye. The creators send motivational vibes through billboards and TV commercials that rely on a few words and a straightforward image to lift people up instead of knock them down.

            Philip Anshutz founded the Foundation for a Better Life in the year 2000 when he threw down 700 million dollars to start up the “Pass It On” campaign. The non-profit organization is all about promoting positive values. The employees of the Foundation for a Better Life want their viewers to pass on these amazing values to others. From the start, they wanted to simply make a difference in the world. Their messages are communicated through billboards, television, radio, and Internet. The first campaign launch was on November 9, 2001, a couple months after the September 11^th attacks. More than 10 million dollars was spent on the first campaign and 10,000 billboards, posters, and signs were put up all around the world. The “Pass It On” campaign became an instant hit and 12 years later the campaign still lives on and has now 55 billboard values and a total of 92 inspirational values. The Foundation for a Better Life has been recognized and received many awards and recognitions from non-profit organizations such as Cine, Creativity Awards, Gabriel, and Parents’ Choice Award. The organization has been growing with their advertisements and website, but the most effective form of advertisement has been their billboards placed on highways in America and Times Square in New York City.

            Even though the physical design of the billboards is simple, the meaning behind it is the opposite. On the left side, the designers put a picture of someone who is a role model. It is usually someone who is famous. But the campaign doesn’t use celebrities just because they’re famous. The campaign wants to make people see that the celebrities go through daily struggles just like everyone else. Not only do the celebrities take on those challenges, they work through them and conquer them. On the right of the billboard is a very short caption that describes an achievement that particular celebrity has accomplished.

Underneath the caption is a single word or a few words that sum the whole billboard up. The word is outlined in red and stands out. That word is the most important part of the billboard because it brings everything together. That single word or few words has the ability to make the viewers have a more positive outlook. The best part about it all is that it makes the viewer think. The whole idea of adding a word in each billboard is to help the viewers realize all of the good they have in them and what they can accomplish. It emphasizes just how important words are and how they help us really believe in ourselves. On the Foundation’s website, The Outdoor America Association stated that the “Pass It On” campaign billboards are “...the most successful public service campaign in the history of outdoor advertising.”

One billboard that has 38,871 views is a picture of Mia Hamm in mid scream, with a caption to the right saying, “Kicked her way to the top.” The value that was chosen for that billboard was “passion.” That value really does bring the whole billboard together. With Mia Hamm’s facial expression and the caption, it is clear to see that passion is the word that fits best. The website quotes Hamm’s words. “Her wise words to live by are simple… ‘If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion.’”

What is fabulous about the Foundation for a Better Life is that they have resources that their viewers and supporters can use to get more involved with the “Pass It On” campaign. Their website offers people to write their own inspirational stories and create their own billboards with personal values that are important to them.

Values must be actionable, freely given, and internal. Values are morals that inspire behavior. What must be on every viewer’s mind when they see the billboards is why do they choose those certain values? Well, I wondered that very question, too. I took the liberty of emailing the Foundation, and I received a very thorough response from a Foundation employee who would like to remain anonymous. “Our goal is to select values we feel most individuals will find inspiring and relevant. These values reflect the input of a large and diverse group of people. The Foundation does not have any political or religious agenda, so that people from all backgrounds might feel uplifted by these messages of encouragement and hope. Our objective is simply to promote a wide spectrum of values by providing an uplifting message around each one.” The anonymous Foundation employee’s overall point is that they want the values to relate to their viewers in a really positive way. Also, when reading this e-mail, the words that stood out were “inspiring,” “relevant,” “encouragement,” and “hope.” Those four words are what the Foundation wants to pass on to their supporters and viewers.

The main message of this campaign really struck home for me. As a girl who has conquered her demons and is beginning a new journey in life, I sometimes forget what my main values are. The Foundation for a Better Life’s “Pass It On” campaign helped remind me about the positive aspects about myself. In fact, I did a little exercise that really helped me discover my core values that I will have for the rest of my lifetime. I went to the Foundation for a Better Life’s website and looked through the list of values they chose. I chose twenty-one values that stood out. Next, I narrowed down the list to seven. After, I chose one that really described me. That value happened to be “believe.” I wasn’t surprised. If you believe in yourself, you have confidence, and if you have confidence, then you can overcome your personal challenges. When I was in front of my mirror listing all of my good qualities, it was because I started to believe in myself. I believed that I could do anything that I want to do.

The campaign clearly has great energy and has impacted many people, not just me. People have posted YouTube videos about their own take about the “Pass It On” campaign. Others posted videos sharing the idea of the campaign and made their own commercials. The videos are either very professional or not professional at all. But the message of the videos is the same, which is to pass on all of the positive values to everyone.

Whether through radio, Internet, television, or billboards, the Foundation for a Better Life has made their mission the world’s mission. The “Pass It On” campaign has clearly been very influential and is continuing to spread. The campaign’s positivity shines through and has already helped me in a very short time. I hope more people will seize the opportunity to become more involved with the Foundation for a Better Life because the world could always needs more optimism.