Tag Archives: word nerd

Thirty Day Writing Challenge, Day Nine

Words of wisdom that speak to me….

I find that every day I see new words and phrases that inspire me and speak to me.  I have ALWAYS been into motivational quotes, inspiring words, and I believe that using words is the best way we can inspire action in ourselves and in others.

I have SO MANY OF THESE examples (visit my Pinterest account to see my folders of them). But currently, I am focusing on a lot of self affirmations and the like. Also, song lyrics speak to me, so a lot of my faves are found in songs.

I’d say I am not going to choose a few to highlight but rather just suggest that anyone reading this go and find their own words of wisdom. It doesn’t have to be motivational. Or uplifting. Or positive (some of the best things aren’t!). But really find those quotes and words that inspire action in you and speak to your soul. I could list about 2087 of them here, but I would rather someone think on words of wisdom that speak to them. Feel free to share yours in the comments, if you are so inclined.

Words are our most powerful tool. And I’m madly in love with them.

Fork! Fork! Fork!

It’s no secret that I am a Word Nerd. I love words. Their beauty. Their simplicity. Their complexity. Their power.

My favorite thing, since I was small, to do with words is to see how many times I can say or write a word until it no longer makes sense. Or even sounds like a real word. And then I would count how many times it would take until that happened. Usually I could get pretty far into it before a word started sounded ridiculous or nonsensical. Potato was one. I would say it, over and over, until it sounded like I made it up. I would use different accents (POH-TAY-TOH…PUH-tah-TOH) and make it really silly. And this was just last week! 🙂

Fork is one that doesn’t take long to say repeatedly until it starts to sound completely made up. I can usually get to about seventeen or eighteen times and then go, “that isn’t even a real word!” You can’t use a fancy accent with it. You can’t even make it sound dignified. You can draw it out (FOOOOOOOOOOHRK), but that’s about it. I think it’s fun and a neat way to really think about the words we use everyday.

How powerful are the words that you choose everyday? Why do you choose one word over another? Is it the way it sounds? The way it feels? The message it conveys? Is it because you actually know what it means? DO you know what it means? Could you have chosen another word instead? How ridiculous do our words sound to someone with no experience with the English language?

And then I make up scenarios (told you. NERD Alert) where I have to use the word in a sentence to explain to someone who doesn’t know the language and teach them how to say and use it. I would have to convince myself that yes, this word was real, after making it sound completely asinine, and then explain how to use it to someone else. It really is quite enjoyable to do. And it’s a mental thing, so no one has to know you’re being super ridiculous unless you blog about it! LOL

Some people count steps. Some people walk over cracks. Some people imagine others naked. Not me, buddy. I say words repeatedly until they sound like they aren’t real. We all have our “things.” What’s yours? Go ahead and share; we’re all friends here. 🙂

Am I right?