College has ruined my vocabulary.
The other day, as I was conversing with my friend over a relaxing lunch at Frary, I couldn’t help but notice how limited by vocabulary had become. My brain failed to produce the words I needed to articulate what I wanted to say. I stumbled and stuttered until I eventually gave up and just responded with, “word.” And then I realized…this is not going to fly in the real world. Shoot. What’s another word for fly. Had my entire vocabulary of words been reduced to a series of overused, cliché sayings and meaningless words? I used to be the nerdy girl who would insist on saying “I concur” instead of “I agree” when I was in elementary school (yes, I was that obnoxious). Now, I find myself just repeating every overused term or expression that has been heard on television or in pop culture.
Words (expressions, phrases, sounds etc) I must eliminate from my vocabulary as soon as I leave college
“Word” – I cannot continue to use “word” when I agree with someone at work, or when I feel I have nothing more to contribute.
“Spotted” – I love and adore Gossip Girl, but at some point, I have to realize that I am not Blair Waldorf, my friend is not Serena van der Woodsen, Chuck Bass does not exist, and for those out there in the real world that don’t watch Gossip Girl, running around saying “spotted” makes me look a little creepy. Do I also have to give up watching Gossip Girl
“Epic”, and for that matter “Legendary” – This requires no explanation. If you do not understand, Google “Not everything is epic” and click on the first link that shows up.
“Owned” – Even if a coworker I dislike gets yelled at or fired, I should probably restrain myself from saying this.
“Wooooooo” – As excited as I am at work about getting promoted, I should probably not run around the entire office saying “woooooo.”
“Your mom” – If I dislike what someone has said about me, it would be entirely inappropriate for me to respond with this phrase.
“Hit that” – If I think a guy in the office of hot, I should really avoid saying “I’d hit that” or encourage other coworkers to “hit that”. This may lead to sexual harassment charges.
There are probably a number of other terms that I should avoid once I graduate. Despite all of this, I have a number of memories associated with these words that I would not trade for the world. I, for the most part, remember the incidents that warranted the use of these words. Besides just being a series of random words and overused sayings, these terms have also been able to capture the excitement, the disappointment, and the hilarity that I’ve experienced so far during my years here. Not everything in the workplace is going to be “epic”, but for the time being, while I’m in college, everything is epic, people get owned, and I will continue to encourage all of my girls to “hit that” when they see a cute guy, although I can’t promise that I won’t be yelling “spotted!” when I see some scandalous behavior. Yah college! Wooooooooo!