rebelling against low expectations

AuthorAudrey French

Audrey French is a graduate from Grand Canyon University’s Honors College. She works for Feed My Starving Children as a program facilitator. She also does the communications work for AIM for Christ, a ministry that serves the San Carlos Apache reservation. Nothing makes her happier than catching up with good friends and hanging out with her family. She is passionate about growing in her faith in Jesus and helping nonprofit organizations such as Compassion International. You can find her blogging at Living Blessed With Less.

Dear Social Media: A Letter To My Obsession

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Dear Social Media, We have had a complicated relationship for many years. Now that I am in college, I need to reevaluate my obsession with you. You have shown me many things, both good and bad, that I never would have seen on my own. You have familiarized me with many unique lifestyles and have enabled me to travel the world without leaving my bed. You have given me wonderful acquaintances. You...

Are You Working for God’s Glory or Your Own Expectations?

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Stop Striving. Just Rest. I obsess over checklists. I love New Year’s Resolutions. I revel in beating a deadline. I defend my 4.0 grade point. But all my striving often leads to let down. I am crushed when I fail to achieve my goals. I beat myself up mercilessly when I feel that I have failed. My overly intense personality manifests itself in physical symptoms. My shoulders and neck are often...

4 Reasons Why We Should Use Our Summer Wisely

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Summer is the time when I typically slip into a slump. It’s the kind of slump which makes me avoid productive tasks, watch way too many YouTube videos, and look at political commentary far too frequently. Last year, after starting my summer off by taking the SAT and ACT tests, I completely crashed. For several weeks, I sat around being an unproductive blob. This year, I feel the temptation...

Why You Can Stop Freaking Out Over the Future

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Folding laundry one day, a wave of panic over my future hit me. With high school graduation fast approaching, major transitions and decisions loomed. I desperately wished I could see my future path neatly laid out in front of me. In the middle of my panic, I felt God impress upon me, “Just worry about the next step. Then once you reach that, think about the step after.” This thought stopped me...

4 Things I Discovered After Deleting My Gmail App

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Controlling non-productive media and entertainment, such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, is obviously important. But what about technology mediums we deem necessary or important? We couldn’t possibly turn off our phones. What if someone texts us? We must have an app for our email, so we can respond immediately, right? Since I try to respond to emails promptly, I never, ever thought I...

6 Reasons You Should Start Tracking Your Time

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I climbed into bed Sunday night, discouraged before the week even started. The upcoming days were ripe with potential, but I was afraid of squandering them on unproductive activities. For the previous seven weeks, I had diligently chipped away at a college dual enrollment math course. The assignment deadlines had forced me to copiously manage my time. Now that the course was over, I was scared of...

Get Outside Your Comfort Zone!

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Standing outside the small, white church, I watched cars loaded with eager children climb up the steep drive. I was unsure if I should be excited or scared, so I chose to be both. The sun and the anticipation already had me sweating. This is it: first mission trip experience. Both this trip and a later one would push me far outside my comfort zone, and in the process, teach me to lean on God in...

When Dying Is the Best Kind of Living

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I have a crime to confess. I have been living for me. I have been living to glorify the name of Audrey instead of the name of Jesus. I have prided myself in the identity I’ve crafted instead of the identity Jesus won for me at the expense of His life. I have created the appearance of a girl who’s got it all together. But when I fail, I realize how frail this identity truly is. There’s no hope in...

6 Lessons Teens Can Learn from Benjamin Franklin

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Literature is rarely my favorite subject because many of the books have seemed boring and difficult to understand. They appear to bear little importance to my modern-day life. However, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has been different. While the writing style is antiquated, the stories and the lessons from Franklin’s life are timeless. Franklin was an outstanding printer, statesman...

How the Chronicles of Narnia Promotes Doing Hard Things

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Peter stood trembling with a heavy sword in his hand. At the other end of the sword a huge, snarling wolf crouched, ready to pounce at any moment. Peter gulped, unsure of his next move. Suddenly, the wolf sprang. Peter fell backwards, hoping that the wolf would fall on his outstretched sword. The scene that I just retold should be quite familiar if you have ever watched or read The Lion, the...

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →