A Requiem for Repeller

Public Speaking

● INTRO

Hook: An old adage goes, “all good things must come to an end”. We pray it lasts
forever, but therein lies the plot twist. Sooner or later we must face the truth… all good
things end. That truth has come for the fashion website Repeller, and now it’s time to
bring down the curtain.

Thesis: So, here I stand today, to express my gratitude to Repeller.

Summative Overview: First I will touch on how Repeller was a haven for writers,
second how it helped me with my personal style, and third about how it wasn't just a
blog, but a best friend.

Benefit: With this, I hope you can see the importance of online magazines beyond just
being magazines.

● BODY

Point 1: Thank you Repeller, for being a temple for raconteurs. With Repeller being a
blog, and blogs being made up of words, each and every one of us has a common
thread: the love for writing. Everyone there was of a feather, and we flocked together.
Whenever I wasn’t quite feeling like myself, I would go to Repeller. Perusing those
beautifully written words was therapeutic and soothing. Reading Repeller never felt like
reading a blog. It felt like going through my own diary, except it wasn’t written by me.

Point 2: Thank you Repeller, for shaping my personal style. I had a limited and
restricted sartorial sense, and it vandalized my self-confidence. Something had to
change. The easiest - and fun - place to begin with was my wardrobe, but I had no clue
about fashion. So what I did was I copied what other people were wearing via Pinterest.
However it started to feel fake instead of fun. I would jump on the trend bandwagon and
buy things, only to realize, ‘I am not going to wear this again’. Repeller guided me to find
my personal style and taught me one very important thing: that fashion is never about
wearing what’s trending or impressing others -- it’s about expressing yourself. I was
reminded of this lesson recently when I was watching a talk by Molly Bingaman, a
personal stylist, and she said “Everybody has style. The question is not whether or not
you have it, it’s whether or not you express it.”

Point 3: Thank you Repeller, for not just being a blog but a confidant too. Words are
magical. Words can change the world, and words can also be remembered forever. I
will always remember Harling and her gorgeous curly tresses, I will always remember
Iman and all her toilet jokes, I will always remember Leandra and her invention of the
one-legged selfie, and everyone else. Without Repeller, without the words they have
written, I wouldn’t have known them. Some of them have gone their separate ways, but
I’m subscribed to their newsletters, and they are on my Instagram following list. It gives
me this sense of relief knowing that I can still read their writings, that we are still
connected.

● CONCLUSION

Restate Thesis & Summative Overview: To wrap it up, I have conveyed my

appreciation for Repeller, for being a place oddball writers can come together, for
helping me find my personal style and for being a trusty friend that I could always go to.

Restate Benefit: Through my speech, I hope that all of you see how life-changing
online magazines can be.

Clincher (echoes with hook): Looking back, Repeller had come a long way since it
was started circa 2010 by fresh journalism graduate Leandra Medine in her one
bedroom apartment. We don’t know what we have until it’s gone, but Canadian author
Lucy Montgomery said it best: “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember
it.” And I will always remember Repeller.

Thank you.