"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." This is one of the oldest sayings in American history. It's also one of the most untrue. This statement undermines the power that words have on people. It tries to hide the fact that words do have power. And that power is often used to discourage, to destroy. That power has broken spirits and destroyed lives, it definitely destroyed the life of someone that I care about.
And we like to lie to ourselves. We tell ourselves that the shit people say have no effect on us, but they do. More than we'd like to admit. But guess what? That's ok. Why? Because we're human. Because we have feelings. But we're pushed to ignore these feelings. Every single day someone is told to "toughen up" or to "stop acting like a bitch."
Too many people in our society fail to appreciate that words can hurt. They fail to realize that words do have power. Now, flip side, because words have power they can be used to uplift. They can be used to heal. As cliché as this sounds, telling someone that they are "valued," that they are "unique," that they are "beautiful," is just as effective and influential as telling someone that they are "stupid" or that they are "God's biggest mistake."
But, for whatever reason, it's easier for us to be mean. To be hurtful. But what we need to do as a society is to start acknowledging the fact that words do impact people. That words can heal. That words can destroy. That words do have power.
Before I finish, I want to leave you with this. In my young age, I'm starting to realize that in order to see the change that I want to see in the world, I have to enact that change. I have to be that change. So the question that I want to leave you with today is: how will you use your words? To heal? Or to destroy?
