before you speak

Before I met a certain someone in high school who introduced me to a certain new way of living, I used to have a very dirty mouth. You know when you watch a movie and think, All that swearing was so unnecessary! Every other word was a form of the word f*ck! Well, that was how I talked. I threw words out there that could have been left out, that offended people, and that got me into trouble.

Being in the major that I am in, I am more aware of how the things we say affect people. I did a project about a year ago in my Multicultural Education class that was based on the book Dude, You're a Fag. It was about how the gay and lesbian are treated in school, and how they are hurt by people who aren't even aware they are doing it. For example, people who say "That's gay!" are putting another meaning to the word gay other than homosexual.

I've uploaded my project below.. so let me explain a little. Based on the book I read, I asked some people questions based on the topic. When I created the video, it cut off some of the letters, and I don't know why! I did it over and over again and it kept cutting the letters off... so yes, I do know how to spell. I promise. Obviously I'm not a professional movie maker, but this video gets the message across and that's all that matters. Big thanks again to Ryan, Rob and Brooke for letting me ask you these questions.

Along that line, people who throw out the word retarded are doing the same thing. I am currently working with someone who I look up to a lot, and have looked up to for almost a year now. She is teaching me how to be a teacher, and she is absolutely wonderful all around. However, when she is not in the teacher setting and casually talking with friends, I overhear her several times use the word retarded to describe the curriculum or an assembly or something else. I have lost a lot of respect for her after hearing her use this word because she was someone who was supposed to be modeling how I should be acting as a teacher. Yet, I still need to look up to her to some degree in order to get through the rest of this semester.

Think before you speak. Don't just think about how the listener will take what you're saying, but think about who else out there you are offending. Gay does not mean stupid. Retarded does not mean dumb or lame. Instead of saying gay or retarded, just say the words you are really meaning to say, instead of using words that are unnecessary.

Take it from a girl who has used many unnecessary words back in the day.