This is a rare post for me: one where I talk mostly about the mental health world that occupies most of my time. I tend to prefer to leave my bookish side separate. But this post is a rant about words, that happens to overlap with the other stuff.
I know that it's totally in fashion with The Youth to use extreme language. Everything is "the worst" or "the best" and you "love" everyone and you'd "rather die." Blah blah.
The words that really irk me are those that people use because they think they know what they mean but it's my job to really understand what they actually mean. Then I have to talk to them about why what they are describing is NOT actually what they are calling it... and then convince them to take action to make some sort of change in their lives.Not surprising, then, most of these words are mental health related. Words I wish would fall out of mainstream usage:
Nerds have always been cool. Well, to other nerds. But there was a time when it was harder to be a nerd. Start rant: You know what pisses me off? Today's young nerds don't know the struggle of staying informed about the next author signing, the next comic con, the upcoming previews available at free comic book day. There was no facebook page for each event, each author. There was no app for that. They'll never know how hard it was to connect with people who had the same obsessive commitment to collecting EVERY SINGLE Marvel Skybox card in a particular series. We actually either had to buy infinite packs or KNOW people close enough to trade with. When you wanted to get the Spawn action figures you had to go find them; there was no Amazon to drop these geeky bits of joy at your door. You had to make all the parts of your costumes and then NEVER be seen in them in general company. You actually had to converse with other socially inept and holier- than-thou nerds and geeks in the few approved hang- outs: comic book stores, arcades, and used music stores. Maybe a less- than-ideal section of the food court at the mall or the movie theatre. Being a nerd/ geek in this day in age is like walking the beautiful sunny scenic flat route to school compared to the uphill walk I had to take both ways, in the snow, with no shoes on! There was no hashtag for how real the struggle was!! Can you even imagine? Can you even even!!? No. You cannot even. Role- playing games were ON PAPER, for gods sake!! Don't get me wrong. I never played any RPG's. I'm a different kind of nerd. You didn't know there were different kinds? Welp. Here's web page link for you with 19 different answers to the question of the difference!
