Anyone who is familiar with Twitter has probably seen the hash tag "That awkward moment when..." some event occurs that the user thinks is awkward. The truth is, most of these moments aren't really that awkward. People mention things they do that are embarrassing or stupid, but rarely are they situations that would make somebody feel really uncomfortable. The word "awkward" has become so overused that we don't even understand what it really means anymore. The dictionary defines "awkward" as an adjective to describe somebody that "lacks skill, social graces, or manners; clumsy."
It is true that we all have moments when we feel truly awkward. For example, when I am around the boy that I am attracted to, I feel like a tactless nincompoop. Maybe it's because I actually am, but I think it's because the idea of "awkward" has been so ingrained in my head as the word's usage became more widespread. We all are a lot better at handling social situations than we let ourselves believe.
A few days ago, some good friends of mine challenged me to eliminate "awkward" from my vocabulary for a day, mostly because it's a trait I convince myself that I possess. However, it's a good idea for all of us to stop using "awkward" so much and expanding our lexicons a little bit.
I'm just saying a thesaurus can be a beautiful thing.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
HARRY POTTER.
I can guess what you were thinking when you saw the title of my latest blog post. "Typical Greta, talking about Harry Potter."
That's the problem.
I remember seventh grade- it was the year before the seventh harry potter book was published. At that point in my life, I had read all of the books once, but I didn't remember much. I thought it would be a good idea to re-read the entire series in preparation for the next book. It was at that time that I realized that the series was pretty amazing. The magical atmosphere adds a fun and interesting twist on the struggles that every teenager faces. I read the books again, each time catching new details or making different connections to the characters. I was obsessed. I read analyses of the series, listened to podcasts, bought t-shirts... You name it- I probably did it. By eighth grade, I was a full-fledged fanatic. I avidly read fan-fiction, and even took a stab at writing a story or two. Ninth grade proved to be more of the same. It was all Harry, all the time. But by sophomore year, the passion I had felt for the books started to decrease. I still liked to talk about the books (and occasionally sport my time turner) but I could feel the obsessive-ness dwindling. When the premiere of the seventh movie rolled around during my junior year, I hardly even had time to get excited. What used to occupy nearly all of my waking thoughts had become a fun thing to do on a Thursday night.
It's not that I don't like Harry Potter anymore. I still think that JK Rowling is a genius and that the books are phenomenal. But it isn't my life anymore. In hindsight, I think I liked the attention I got in middle school from being such a big fan. Everybody knew that I was the girl to talk to about Harry Potter. Now, it isn't such a big part of my life. I am no longer the squealing fan girl I was freshman year. The hard part is getting everybody else to see it. While I have changed, people's perceptions of me haven't. I'm still the obsessed geek in the eyes of a lot of people at my school, and I'm struggling to show them that I am so much more.
That's the problem.
I remember seventh grade- it was the year before the seventh harry potter book was published. At that point in my life, I had read all of the books once, but I didn't remember much. I thought it would be a good idea to re-read the entire series in preparation for the next book. It was at that time that I realized that the series was pretty amazing. The magical atmosphere adds a fun and interesting twist on the struggles that every teenager faces. I read the books again, each time catching new details or making different connections to the characters. I was obsessed. I read analyses of the series, listened to podcasts, bought t-shirts... You name it- I probably did it. By eighth grade, I was a full-fledged fanatic. I avidly read fan-fiction, and even took a stab at writing a story or two. Ninth grade proved to be more of the same. It was all Harry, all the time. But by sophomore year, the passion I had felt for the books started to decrease. I still liked to talk about the books (and occasionally sport my time turner) but I could feel the obsessive-ness dwindling. When the premiere of the seventh movie rolled around during my junior year, I hardly even had time to get excited. What used to occupy nearly all of my waking thoughts had become a fun thing to do on a Thursday night.
It's not that I don't like Harry Potter anymore. I still think that JK Rowling is a genius and that the books are phenomenal. But it isn't my life anymore. In hindsight, I think I liked the attention I got in middle school from being such a big fan. Everybody knew that I was the girl to talk to about Harry Potter. Now, it isn't such a big part of my life. I am no longer the squealing fan girl I was freshman year. The hard part is getting everybody else to see it. While I have changed, people's perceptions of me haven't. I'm still the obsessed geek in the eyes of a lot of people at my school, and I'm struggling to show them that I am so much more.
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