This is the south entrance of Orem High School.

[/media-credit] This is the south entrance of Orem High School.

“Hi!” “Hello!” “Hey!”

At times, walking through Orem’s school hallways, this is all a student can hear whether it be from a bubbly friend, peer, or a teacher. Each word spoken in these hallways are said for a specific purpose and always contain an aftereffect. The greetings stated above are simple and short, meant to say quickly as a student passes by, but these words have greater meaning to students than some will realize.

According to writer Haley Colton, “human beings crave and need attention, and by offering up the simplest greeting or the softest smile, it could impact another’s day and you wouldn’t even know it.”

Saying hello can change how someone thinks of a particular person, and it can help form a kind, respectful relationship, untimely of whether or not a student sees one another for long periods of time. Sometimes a simple ‘hello’ is an extended invitation of opportunity, a possibility of getting to know new people.

Emily Llewelyn, an OHS junior, said, “There’s a reason we’re social. Without positive interaction, people have been shown to go insane within one week.”

Saying “hello” has many social and self esteem benefits. However, as there are positive benefits of saying “hi,” there are also downgrades to not saying it either.

Hannah Davenport, an Orem sophomore, explained, “… the main reason that people don’t stop to say ‘hi’ in the hallways is because they’re too busy focusing on their next class or what’s going on later that day. Or, often, there may be someone you know, but not very well, and you don’t know if it’s worth the time or the risk to say ‘hi.’”

At times, not saying a greeting can hurt someone, more than one thinks. Hannah also elaborates on this, stating, “I understand that often people don’t see me or have somewhere to be quickly, but sometimes I wish that they would’ve said something.”

Sometimes students wonder what they can do to make any sort of impact on anything or anyone. Sometimes what we do and say does not necessarily have to be large or grand. It can be a simple greeting, a traditional “hello” that can make a lasting impression on the world and its inhabitants.    

 

 

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Taylor Gardner

Taylor Gardner is an avid lover of three things: food, reading, and of course, writing for her local high school's paper. She enjoys inspiring her fellow peers and readers by flavored sarcastic comments and sly puns (if she can 'taylor' them).

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