The Power Of Words

I believe in the power of words.

Words express who we are as people. They show how we feel, what we're thinking, and most often answer the questions we ask. Unfortunately, people take words and their vastness for granted and tend to not appreciate the power behind each syllable. Words control our emotions: how we feel towards someone and also how we react. More importantly, they express life itself.

 There are many different forms of words in the world: Chinese, Japanese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, etc. Everyone is taught from a young age the structure or the place words take, and the importance they have when it comes to forming a single sentence. I, myself, thought that learning the same exact literary elements every single year was irreverent. I didn't see a point in it. It wasn't until I saw the power of words in action that I truly understood the greatness behind them.

 I pass at least three hundred peers in the hallway every day. Every third out of fifth child is verbally abused. Words are sent their way meant as a target, and hit the mark. Don't automatically think that all words are preposterous, because their exceptional in their own way. Even the ribald statements that are passed between each other every day. Businessmen and anyone that has the passion to sell anything uses words to achieve the goal they’ve set. In order to sell, they have to persuade their customers. With words. There's a power behind every single word you say, and every time you say it. Do you remember the phrase teachers used, and still use, as they were teaching about politeness? “A ‘hello’ a day can keep the enemies away”.

 If it wasn't for words and the use of them, where would we be today? Language was formed over millions of years ago as a way to communicate, and even then the words were selected carefully. Other than communication, they express the ideas and thoughts that consume us. Sometimes it’s the unspoken words that speak the loudest, but still words nonetheless. Once I realized the reverent and laudatory of the subject, it all suddenly got easier. We all should believe in the power of words.

 

Griddlecakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sifted flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 egg well beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 3 T. melted shortening

Preparation:
The first and last step is to add all of the ingredients together, slowly if i may add. I could always feel the Sunday pressure every week. The blare of the television news broadcast was deafening, along with the snore from my dad kicked back in the recliner. It was unusually sunny that day, i noticed as the sunlight spilled in through the double windows above the sink. My mother usually hummed an unknown country song as shes preparing the griddlecakes. Szzzzz. The pure sound of the batter hitting the pan. It had to be one of the best sounds God himself created.

The unknown thing about griddlecakes is that they don't absorb. Most people mistake them for pancakes or waffles, but griddlecakes don't absorb the syrup. I've learned to craft a small hole in the middle of the cake so the syrup will embed itself along the fluffiness of the inside. Looking out the window and focusing on the natural sounds of the birds along the trees, the whirring of the cars passing by, and of the neighborly activities prospering, i began to wonder what everyone else was doing that day. I'm positive that Meme and Poppy were still asleep, or on their computer. My grandparents seemed infatuated with laptops, and both spent their whole day browsing on it. Some of my friends would still be dreaming about the Friday night before, and some would be in church listening to the sermon. Just a typical Sunday morning.

After plopping the still-warm cakes on a plate, and drowning it in syrup, i made my way towards the dining room table. Chocolate milk went best, which i have my own personal addiction for. Switching back and forth between the griddlecakes and chocolate milk, i tried to pay attention to the NCIS premiere that was recorded so i could have something to converse with my dad about. Finally awake and making his way toward the kitchen, making complaints along the way, he playfully punched my arm.

"Why did Jackalyn get the first plate?"

"What are you talking about sweetheart?" My mother tried to comfort him in a soothing voice.

"Jackalyn. I bet she picked through the stack and grabbed the ones i wanted, too."

My dad always played around like that. For a man, he worked hours upon hours to provide everything. I admired him for his exuberance. After both parents sat down, a conversation got started up about the upcoming week and the plans we all had. It was a typical Sunday filled with the warmth of early spring and griddlecake delight. It'd happen again the next week, but possible french toast instead of this delicacy. Something old and something new; every single Sunday.

Inspiration

Out of the two texts to choose from, I chose "The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World" by Gabriel Marquez. I've had a similar experience. Not in the way that I found a drowned man along a shore, but in the way that someone so spectacular changed my life. In my opinion, that was the moral of the story. Sometimes, a little inspiration can make a major difference.
The text mainly focused on the drowned man. He was everything no one else in the village was. He was tall, handsome, strong, and virile. The villagers couldn't help but be mesmerized by the alien. The villagers had cared so much for the stranger that even after his funeral they had changed their homes and lifestyles around his life. The women came to know that his gifts were also burdens, and they wanted their village to be a place where his burdens were no more. They changed the height of ceilings, made their doorways wider, and their floors sturdier so they never forgot the experience and memory of him.
There's multiple experiences that we face that change our whole outlook. Like this story, many are surprising while others are planned out through time. My personal opinion about this change is that it's effects are subsided and often fair. The man was going to be forever remembered in that village, and the surrounding ones. Everyone gathered to say goodbye to a man they didn't even know. They fought over who would hold him, and even cried when they dropped him from the cliff. That proves that a single person can changed someone else's life.
"The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World" was a different outlook on the impact someone else has. This stranger made the woman even second guess their husbands, and influenced the husbands to be more like him. Everyone has a similar experience to this one even if it isn't exactly the same. A washed up dead man can change someone's life before they realize it.

Racism or an Undefined Reason?

The "race card" is being pulled more often than ever. Whether it's a "who killed who" or getting turned down from job openings, people claim that their race is the main problem. I read through a The New York Times article and found that educated black males are stating that racism is what is affecting their job opportunities. "In Job Hunt, College Degree Can't Close Racial Gap" was published by Michael Luo explaining these statements. Is racism actually playing a part in the increasing unemployment rate?
This article tells the many black men that are turned down from job openings even with the substantial resume they obtain. But is the reason really a racist one? Many men changed their resume where it doesn't even hint towards their race to see if there was a difference. Johnny R. Williams is a thirty year old African American male that even deleted his membership in the African-American business students association. Barry Jabbar Sykes decided to use a Barry J. Sykes in his still-going research even though he's went by Jabbar his entire life. Do all of these changes make a difference?
My personal opinion on the whole matter is that even though racism is still alive in todays world, I don't believe it lives in such important issues like this one. With as many African American programs that are given to young black men and women, the idea of racism in jobs seems to be not only false, but fiction. The same people that are hiring other educated males are the same people that elected our president who we all know is an African American himself. Racism isn't the issue. It's just a misunderstanding that is being treated like all other matters lately: by using the excuse of racial circumstances.
Every day, someone is "pulling the race card," but some things are just too far. Blaming everything on racial problems isn't going to help problems we're all faced with. The unemployment rate for black males are doubled than white, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's because their black males. This is a nation that was built on equality, and it's seen in everyday life. My opinion is just one in the millions that are there, but this issue doesn't involve racism. It's the same reason a lot of people are turned down from job offers, black and white, and it's because "you aren't right for the job".

Myself as a reader, writer, and an individual