Today, we discuss words. =]
I love words. They are so powerful. I think the written word has particular power, though that's probably because it's the best way I have to express myself. I like the written word because it lasts in a way that the spoken words cannot. Certainly people remember the spoken word, but often that memory gets mangled and changed, like in the childhood game Telephone.* Amazingly, even though we played that game when we were 6, it teaches us a lot about how powerful language is but also how easily its meaning or message can be changed. The written word, on the other hand, has lasted for centuries, sometimes millenniums, with little changed, with the exception of translated works. It shows us how human thought has changed over time, and how we can use our voice correctly to make a point or spread an idea or maybe just to make someone laugh or cry. In many ways, language and words shape the way we live, the world around us, how we think, and how we act.
Actually, in English today we were discussing how a lot of English classes kind of beat your voice out of you while teaching you to write in an exact way. And while there are certainly syntactical structures that work best and a basic organization, we should be allowed to keep at least some style of our own writing, so that we really feel it is ours. They're our ideas, and should be expressed in a clear but stylistic way close to our hearts and minds. As my English teacher said, the reason we love the authors we do is because we love their voice. How powerful and true and beautiful their voices are. That's certainly why I love John Green and Maureen Johnson and Shakespeare and Fitzgerald.
Anyway, moving away from the academic stuff. I really did have enough of that at school today.
I really grew to love words just for their sound or meaning when I did the spelling bee in 8th grade (all the way to regionals in the Colorado State Bee!!!) Words are just so COOL. So here are some of my favorites, for their meaning, the way they sound, or both.
Foible: idiosyncrasy
Eloquence**: powerful and effective language
Pfeffernuss: small German biscuit
Heifer: young cow that has not yet had a calf
Carapace: hard outer covering of organisms
Reticent: temporarily disinclined to speak
Soliloquy: drama technique, speech to oneself
I don't know. Maybe I'm just weird in how much I love words. Maybe so. But I don't really care, because I still love language. For some reason, I really love Italian. I speak French quite well, and really want to learn Italian too. Language is a complex thing that truly connects communities and societies and people. And I really wish we studied it more.
Second day of school was okay. A little stressed about the amount of English homework I'll be getting over the year. Ack. But History was a lot of fun. I'm glad I get to end my Blue days with that class. I also had a dentist appointment after school today, and I kind of hate getting my teeth cleaned because I hate that little metal vibrating toothbrush thing.
Hmm. Well. Get used to the short blogs on weekdays at least! And some general complaints, probably. Ha.
Cheers!
Word of the day: Insouciance--lighthearted unconcern, nonchalance
Inspirational quote/photo of the day: "Words are the most effective weapons of death in a man's arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life. They may be the only ones." ~Paul Rusesabagina
*Didn't you love that game? It was really funny to see what something like "The cat has paws" could become. Powerful teaching tool, too
**Favorite word ever, in case you were wondering. It just sounds so pretty. :)
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