As humans, we begin to learn at a very young age. We are taught what to do, what to say, how to say it and who to say it to. After all, our first words are usually "mamma" or "dadda." The way we learn shapes our opinions for political views, our hobbies, what we eat and even our vocabulary. However, there are a few words that seem to have worked our way into our everyday vocabulary that are never OK. I understand words slip out. I understand people were raised differently than I was. But the misuse of the words "retard" and "retarded" is getting out of hand.

I hear the word everywhere. I have heard it while walking down the hallways at school, shopping at the mall catching a sentence of someone's conversation as we pass each other. My teachers have used the word in their lectures, my friends in their gossip. It isn't the use of the word itself that gets to me, but the way it is misinterpreted, and used in our society. Every time I hear the word, my stomach drops. I have learned that speaking up and correcting a person does absolutely nothing. To you, it may just be a word, but to some people with and without disabilities, it means more than that. Medically speaking, the word retarded originated from a person with "mental retardation." Using the word retarded to describe a person being stupid, foolish, ineffective, etc. is basically implying that people with disabilities are all of those things.

You, the ones who use the word, seem to have no problem saying it aloud to your trusted friend groups, but would you call someone who had a disability "retarded" to their face? No. Of course you wouldn't, because that would be disrespectful, right? If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, you shouldn't say it at all. Out of all the words in your vocabulary and the English language, it is truly sad that you can't think of another word as a description.

If you got to know these individuals, you would want to end the use of the r-word too. If anyone wants to succeed to most it is people with disabilities. They want to learn, to play sports, to draw, to play music and so much more. I have never experienced such happiness from any other group of individuals. They make me smile and change my entire mood even on my worst days. They are funny, intelligent, loving, but most importantly, they are human, too. And just like everyone else they deserve to be treated with respect.

The next time you use the r-word, imagine if the world used your name as a derogatory term, and I hope you'll realize how ridiculous it is to use these words. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you find it in your heart to take the pledge and spread the word to end the word.