Ok, you have probably already figured this out about me. I am a word person. By that, I mean, I like words. Like say, over actions, or pictures, or whatever. Don't get me wrong- I like the others too. Everything has its place. I understand in some circumstances- actions DO speak louder than words. For some people, words come too easy- promises made, declarations pronounced- but there ain't nothing there to back it up. Saying you will do something, and ACTUALLY doing it are 2 very, very different things. I totally get that.
But, when all is said and done, I like words. I like the nuances and flavours of words. I love to read, and I get literal shivers when I read a well-turned phrase. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, ah...the bliss.
I like articulate people. I like people that can speak, and speak well. This does NOT mean that I like people that use big words- on the contrary, for most people, that just comes across as douchey. There aren't a lot of people in the world that can pull off a pretentious vocabulary. I think one prerequisite is that you have to have an English accent. Otherwise, don't even try.
No, I mean that I like people that can express themselves, plainly and simply. People that can string their words together in ways that can calm you down, or jack you up. People that get their point across, without muss, without fuss. People that know the meaning and impacts of the tiniest little words.
I had a conversation the other day, while at lunch with the one girl I work with (who I adore, by the way!) We were chatting about books and other amazing things that we both like. We talked about movies that we had seen (The Conjuring and Wolverine were at the top of that list.) Somehow we got onto the topic of comic books. Sigh. No matter what, I can't get away from them. :)
Anyway, we were talking about comics and she said that she really didn't enjoy reading them. As the wife of a comic lover/store owner, I felt the need to try and sell her on them. But I realized, that while I very often really, really like the story in a comic book, I don't always like the act of reading the comic itself. I struggle with it. I read the words, but I often miss the nuances of action in the pictures. I skim the pictures. Geoff will give me stories to read, ones that he thinks I will enjoy, and at the end, when we are talking about it, I have often not taken the same message and meaning out of the story as he has. And that's because, almost exclusively, I am focused on the words. Shannon understood completely what I meant and said that it is likely because I am a woman. Women tend to be driven by words, while men are more visual. Sweeping generalization, but for me at least, some truth to it.
So, with all of this, I have been thinking about words. What they mean. How the smallest words can make the biggest difference. The best example I can think of is the word "in".
For my cats, the 2 most important words in the word are "in" and "up". That is all they want in the world. Every need they have, every want in their bodies, can usually be summarized in one of those 2 words. Hungry? Rip at the bag of food, until you get in. Lonely? Find the closest person and just get up. Bored? Look for the highest up you can find, or the tightest in you can see, and effing go for it.
But the best example of the impact of this word, is the difference between love and in love. Ah. You all see what I mean now.
Tell someone you love them. See the reaction. Tell someone you are in love with them. See the completely different reaction.
To me, that is the magic of words. This is the stuff I think about, when it's 5 in the morning, and Sawyer has her feet firmly planted on my kidneys. When my cat is scrambling towards his latest up. When the world is thinking about waking, when the day is deciding what it wants to be, when I am liquid and soft and sleepy. I think about words.
Rosie N. Grey
The N stands for "not a lot to talk about today, obviously".
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