Use Your Voice

As I continue to read The Diary of Anne Frank, I have realized she talks about her personality a lot.  While she likes to say what's on her mind, and stand up for what she believes in, the rest of the hidden people in the Annex look down upon her for that.  They say, "Why can't you be quieter and not talk back like Peter and your sister?"  However, Anne looks down upon people like her sister because she thinks them cowardly for not standing up for what they believe in.  Overall, I agree with Anne.

I agree with Anne because I think people who never talk back or push for things they really want will be tossed about in society.  If they don't speak up, they can get taken advantage of and end up being unhappy.  For example, Margot is quiet but then in the end she does whatever others tell her to do.  Though Anne doesn't describe Margot's feelings, I can only imagine that Margot often does not want to do these things or agree with others.  Thus, many unhappy feelings may be bottled up inside of her.  Anne later mentioned how everyone is depressed, and Margot complains about headaches.  Maybe this is the affect of not expressing her true feelings.

Another example in everyday life is when others make a mistake about what each individual is supposed to do.  For example, they might think they volunteered to do something, when they didn't.  A lot of times when this happens, I notice that the person has a confused look on their face but then slugs off to do the task without informing the person who made the mistake.  They often end up doing something they don't want to do.  Sometimes it annoys me that they didn't just speak up and tell the person that they made a mistake.

In conclusion, I think that standing up for yourself is a really powerful tool in life.  Though I'm not saying you should talk back to everyone who disagrees with you, I think we shouldn't always back down and let others command our lives.  I think being a little agressive or a "go getter" can really help you lead your life.

Starting Anew

     Doesn't everyone think about what they would be like if they could just change a few things in their past?  Who would you be if you were able to have a fresh start, in a place where nobody knew you?  In the book, Two Truths and a Lie, by Sara Shepard, that is one thing that the main character Emma gets to experience.  In her life, she's under a death threat she can't let anyone know about, and has to live the life of her dead twin sister.  However, her friend Ethan was able to take her to a place where no one knew her and she could be whoever she wanted to be.  Although that only lasted for a few hours, it really got me thinking about who people would be if they were able to "reinvent" themselves.

     When Emma was at the concert for the No Names, she was able to be anyone she wanted, and choose to do actions that no one would know if they were out of the ordinary for her.  This made me think that this is one reason why people run away, although I'm not for that at all.  It lets me understand how starting anew could be beneficial.  For example, you wouldn't be under the pressure of others because they wouldn't know that you're "not that kind of person."  Maybe the reason people keep doing things is because they feel pressured that that is who they are supposed to be.  However, if given the chance to start over in a new place, they would never do such things.  Overall, I think that starting anew is a great way to find out who you really are.  People can start anew when they get new jobs, meet new people, go to different schools, etc.  I think that when this happens, people should think about who they want to be, and not who they were.  That way, maybe people would be happier with who they are, without the weight of the past on their shoulders.