Slumming It

There are a few words that are best to avoid in writing: interesting, weird, and funny. If you find yourself using them, you might not get your point across as succinctly as you could. Other vague words and phrases that are easy to dismiss are "a real learning experience," "that was really something," and "it sucked." My past six months have been all of these things wrapped up in one trite personal essay, waiting to be written.

These words are like blanket statements that can apply to any situation with a hint of complexity. I say them, in the speaking world, to avoid saying what I really mean, or if a situation is too difficult to process and judge while I'm in it. They are like void-fillers in my cute little life narrative that I claim I'll fill in later. Sometimes I do. But most of my experiences remain interesting, weird, or funny. They are inevitable "learning experiences" that often "suck," and involve people who are "really something," in lots of ways that are "good" and "bad."

It's "hard" to break these words apart and find the zillion synonyms and paragraph-long explications for these divine gifts to the English language. It can be "problematic" when you can't find the perspective, or the proverbial balls, to explain your reasoning, or your actions, or your emotions regarding an experience.

It is also "hard" to write an essay when you are unwilling to give an illustration of your point.

But it is "easy" to give it a trite conclusion because it's "funny."