Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
image of two women whispering
image of two women whispering
Photo by Ben White from Unsplash
SBU | Life > Experiences

A Not-So-Secret Language

Leah McElheny Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Hung E Lung Lung O!

You’re probably like, in what state did she start writing this article. And to that I say,…

Soob O Boob E Roob, Doob U Hoob!

To literally everyone except my mom and my cousin (and maybe my roommates), this means literally nothing (my mom is for sure laughing her head off right now).

Now, I can’t explain to you what it means. Boo, tomato tomato tomato, I know. But that ruins the fun of a secret language. When my mom created this and taught it to me, I felt so special, like I was on the inside of something with her that no one else was, not even my dad, who is probably the main hater of this language because he always thinks we’re talking about him (we are).

But what about a not-so secret language?

An “I FEED MYSELF!” here. An “I want you to take out your teeth” there. Heck, even a lady in pink shoulder shimmy!

Now again, unless you’re my roommates, you probably are like… literally what is this combination of words.

THAT, is the beauty of a not so secret language.

I love to feel included, sue me. In the digital world we grew up in, we knew what everyone was doing that we were not, all the time. I have raging FOMO. So yeah, I love to feel in the know on a joke.

My roommates and I love to have a debrief about literally anything. Nothing is too much or too small to be picked apart at a microscopic level. 

One of the major advantages of this debriefing tradition is the quotes that are encouraged to be shared.

Sometimes when I’m looking for the exact right thing to say, I can’t find my own words to say… but I can find someone elses. I LOVE to dip into the bucket of TV and music quotes, random ad libs from a night out, or even a funny movement to be able to perfectly encapsulate what I am trying to say.

Some of them are forever ingrained into my brain and I am so lucky to have something that makes me so tightly bound to some of my favorite people in the world. 

So, if you ever see me doing a weird movement, or saying an odd phrase, just know that there is someone on the other end giggling or doing it right back at me.

Leah McElheny

SBU '25

Leah McElheny is the co-campus correspondent for Her Campus at SBU. She is responsible for the general managing of chapter and executive board logistics with her roommate and co-president, Claire! She plans to write about her experiences and her opinions on all things pop culture.

Outside of Her Campus, Leah is a senior at St. Bonaventure University and is currently double majoring in Adolescent Education with an English concentration and English. She has worked with multiple school districts in the area, tutoring and substitute teaching for middle school and elementary school. She currently works for the university as a writing tutor and is a student teacher. She loves helping students find their passion in English!

In her free time, Leah enjoys dancing for the SBU dance team, reading, and watching movies. Her favorite books are "The Similars" and "The Pretenders", both by Rebecca Hanover. Her biggest personality trait is loving Harry Potter and she prides herself on being incredibly mediocre at all forms of trivia, other than Harry Potter trivia of course.