When I first met Katie we were in the same class. Even though, I haven’t had many face to face interactions with her, I decided that today I would like to talk to her. Ever since we became friends we both have shared with each other things about ourselves that can be difficult. I thought that with our difficulties, she could share with me her own stories about determination. We first caught up on life. While we sat under a blossomed tree on a bench, Katie told me about her own fears and how she is getting over them by doing what she loves. She is going to school to…
-
-
How Nellie Bly Changed the World
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Nellie Bly. The thing is that before Istarted school and learned all about journalism, I didn’t know who Nellie Blywas. You probably don’t either so here’s a little bio about her. Her name isn’t actually Nellie Bly. Her name was Elizabeth Cochran and shewas born 1864. When she was just 19, she read an article called “WhatGirls are Good For” and she became enraged. She replied back to the paper with her own version of the story. The editorwas so impressed he asked her to write an article. She wrote the article“The Girl Puzzle” which was about what women go through when…
-
The Best Way to Be an Authentic Leader
I have a ton of weaknesses. The thing is that I don’t want anyone to see those weaknesses so I try to hide them away and make sure that no one sees them. It’s the best way to make people think that your perfect, that you are the type of person that they can trust. The thing about this is that it is stupid. Everyone has weaknesses and no one is perfect, so when it comes to being a leader in any type of way, the best way to be the best leader you can, authenticity and all, is to be genuine and lead with your heart. This is hard…
-
How to Be Authentic
As people, we are afraid of what people think. When we live our day to day lives we might wonder if someone may be judging us or if they think that we are doing something weird or wrong. But we are not the only ones who are worried about this, Rebekah has thought the same thing. “I feel like I am shy at first and I’m worried about people pretending to be my friends because I think people are being my friends because they don’t want to hurt my feelings,” Rebekah shared with me. She has been deaf since birth so she knows what it is like for people to…
-
The Mask of Authenticity
Links in this post are not a part of the affiliate program but are links to more information if you would like to research the topic further. I am not getting paid to put these links in, they are just for your benefit. Authenticity is a paradox. On one hand you might want to be authentic so you start thinking about what authenticity is and how you can use it for yourself. The other hand, by thinking about how to be more authentic, you have already not become authentic. Because authentic is being who you are and not trying to be something you’re not, by trying to become more authentic,…
-
The Secret of Succesful Change
Have you ever played a sport? One that required teamwork and perseverance in order to do well. When playing on that team, did you ever take over for a more experienced player? That change is exactly what Jarod felt when he moved from junior varsity to varsity for lacrosse. At the same time, he replaced the school’s star player, who had just graduated. When Jarod joined the new team, he found that his fear of failure was constantly running through the back of his mind. “The fear of failing with everyone’s expectations kind of got inside my head,” Jarod said. “I think at first [people’s] expectations pushed me to…
-
What Everyone Ought to Know About Second Chances
Back in my junior high years, there was a program called ZAP which means “zeros aren’t permitted”. When the program was first introduced, the school showed a video. This video gave off the impression to a, at the time, a 12-year-old girl that if you got any zeros in school that you would go to prison. This terrified me. I have never been a good student and I thought that something so little as a zero on an assignment meaning that I would go to prison was just something that was too realistic for me. Thankfully, going to prison over a zero was not a thing but back then I…
-
May You Have Courage!
Wow, I can’t believe my first month of blogging is over. It’s been a wonderful journey and I’m looking forward to doing this more. While this has been amazing, I have struggled with the thought of starting a blog. I have almost given up more times than I can count. That’s why I started this blog off with the topic courage. It takes courage to do something that is unknown to you. When I thought about doing this blog all the way back at the beginning of the year I thought that I would probably end up giving up. When I have an idea or something that excites me, I…
-
To Have Courage Like Them
Most people imagine their role models when they think about courageous people. However, even “ordinary” people like you and me have had experiences in which we have had to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. My neighbor Melissa is a great example of that kind of person. “I’d like to say [that I’m pretty adventurous],” she said. “I’ve gone cliff jumping several times which is one of my favorite things to do… this summer I went to the Dominican Republic and jumped off of waterfalls which was fun. I am always down to try new things.” Even though Melissa can do scary things, she still has her fears. Courage…
-
How do You Face Fear?
Feeling a lack of courage is frustrating. All you want to do is get out there and show people what you are made of, then the anxiety kicks in and you start to wonder if you really should. It could all go wrong, you could get laughed at, or you could even fail in general. When all we want to do is have courage, what makes us stop? Back in ancient Greece when philosophers such as Socrates were making it big, they had a debate on what courage is. Some said it was standing at a post when you could die, others said it was an endurance of the soul. …