Words are quite literally a part of every single person's daily life. From reading nutrition labels on our food to sending emails at work to just verbally using words when we converse with the people around us. I think it is safe to say that words are always around us. Without written words I would obviously not be able to post in this blog every week to share my thoughts with whoever in the world may stumble across this page. Without words we would never be able to fully explain to people how much we love them or we wouldn't be able to express our frustrations to one another. There are both incredibly positive ways we use words, but some negative as well, and I think it is important to truly understand that.

The inspiration for this topic came from an unusually unexpected place this week. I was reading a fun article online that listed some spooky books to read in the month of October. As anyone who is close to me knows I am not all that into scary stories. October is usually the exception and I usually have a little fun and read something a little more on the spooky side. Well with this list the description of a book including a particular short story came up. So many people described this short story as absolutely horrific. Well being oh so curious by these sorts of things I was intrigued. This short story happened to be available online, so I figured I would see if those comments were exaggerated. They weren't. I almost immediately regretted starting to read it. The details were excruciatingly vivid. I only read about half of it before I had to stop but even then I had the words embedded into my brain. When I say I was literally sick to my stomach thinking about it later on I am not even slightly exaggerating. From that experience, however, it dawned on me just how powerful words can be. Just reading a few paragraphs of details left that kind of impression on me. It is quite amazing if you truly think about it.

So what about those emotions I love to talk about so much? How do words play into those? Well many ways really as I am sure you already realize. I think writing is such a great way to cope with our emotions. Write a short story where the characters are based on the events in your life potentially causing you grief. Writing in a diary/journal is a great way to let feelings out. Poetry is an amazing option as well. Not all poems have to be about love and happiness. As long as true feelings and emotions are put into your work it is going to shine. If you are writing in order to simply express your emotions, it doesn't matter how good it is either. Years ago I started a short story based on someone who hurt me at the time. It made me feel a lot better to let my feelings that way rather than bottling it up. I had no intentions (and still don't) of ever doing anything with that story, but it helped me deal with those feelings. In some ways I use this page to express my feelings with the world as well. Unless you absolutely hate writing with a passion, I would say to give that a try. 

"Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both infliction injury, and remedying it." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

We all know I love a Harry Potter quote and will find any opportunity to use one. I felt this one was incredibly fitting for my last section of today's post, though. I know we are taught as young children that words can't hurt us the way physical things can but I simply find that untrue. Yes, actions do speak a lot louder than words do (as cliché as that is) , but I also feel like words stick with us for a very long time. A physical wound heals a lot faster than the memory of truly rude words that were said to you. Just as J.K. Rowling states (or should I say she had Albus Dumbledore state?) words are truly powerful and can both heal and create wounds in us. With that all being said I want to remind you all to always do your best to stay kind. Remember that we can also leave emotional scars on the ones around us simply based on a few words we say to them. You never know what someone is struggling with behind closed doors so always remember to use you words in a positive way rather than a negative one.

I get it. Words are probably a lot more prominent in my life than to someone else. I love writing, and it truly is my passion to not only keep up with the blog but write for myself on the side too. This past year especially I have expanded my writing, and I hope to keep doing that as time goes on too. Not everyone can have the love of words and the written language that I can, but we can be mindful of the ones we use. As I have said throughout this entire post, words are incredibly powerful. From creating absolutely grotesque images in our minds, to helping us cope with a strong emotion, to possibly hurting someone's feelings for a long time. These same words can also create beautifully vivid pictures in our minds, immortalize our loved ones in verse or prose, or even help undo the hurt of other words. Always remember the power that words can hold, despite not being able to physically touch us.