"Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don't [sic] mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime." - Rachel Wolchin

Words--everyone says them. The average person speaks somewhere between 20,000 and 7,000 words a day. Some of those are positive and some are negative. Some people question the worth and purpose of their words, or wonder if anyone is even listening. Why do we all continue speaking when our voice may never be heard? Why do we continue writing when we fear our message will never be understood?

We do it because somewhere, someone out there needs to experience the power of words, our words, your words.

You tell someone you love them because it may be the only thing that gets them through the day. You call your friend after a rough breakup because you feel they need comfort or advice. You say everything you do because someone needs you to. You don't do it for yourself. You do it for the person closest to you. You do it for the stranger you met in passing on the street that looked as if they needed an encouraging word. You do it for those whose voices cannot be heard without yours. You do it for the person battling cancer in a cold hospital room, who's struggling to make it through that next round of chemo. You do it so people will keep fighting, for themselves, or for others. Words kill. Words give life. Words can mean the difference between someone's decision to give up or to try again, to leave or to stay, to cry or to smile.

You may speak the same words millions have already spoken. You may write the quotes of those who lived long before any of us ever came into existence. But no one. No one says them quite the way you do, for the person who needs you to be their messenger.

Every word you ever bring into this world matters. Everything you write, everything you say. Never let go of the idea that your words matter.

Your words, once written or spoken, join an unending chain of those alike and unlike floating about, gravitating towards their place of belonging. Make sure yours find their place amongst words that educate, encourage, and motivate, and far away from those that don't.

Words--so innocent, yet so potent. Words can seem meaningless when only skimmed through, or spoken in a nonchalant manner, but we must never forget that our words, no matter what form they take, are powerful, that what we say and write has great impact on those who are exposed to them.

Words bring pain. Words produce joy. They're either poison or fruit. You get to choose which yours will become.