happy new year!

The new year has arrived and soon millions of resolutions will be made around the world. I long ago quit making lists of things I wanted to change about myself and began choosing a word to think about and incorporate into every part of my life for the year. My word for 2015 is ... words!

From the time we utter that first, often mispronounced, word as a baby, language - and words in particular - are part of our everyday life. We use them to communicate with others and to express our thoughts to ourselves. As we grow up, our vocabulary grows along with us. At some point,  usually when we leave school, we neglect our vocabulary and fall into the habit of using the same words over and over until they lose meaning.

For example, do we REALLY "love" spaghetti? Or do we "enjoy" it, "look forward" to eating it? Throwing words around carelessly or over-using them dilutes their meaning. If you "love" everything, how much do you love me?

A few people use a variety of words, including new ones they learn, in their everyday conversations and when they write letters or email. I find these individuals interesting to talk to because they express their ideas accurately, concisely and without ambiguity. It's nearly impossible to finish their sentences for them because you don't know for sure how they will say what they have to say.

As a very simple illustration, look at these two sentences:
Jack went to the store.
Jack walked to the comic book store to purchase the latest Superman issue.

Both sentences could be true statements about the same event but the first is boring and without details. It is what my third grade teacher, Mrs. Thompson, called a "ho-hum sentence," one that puts you to sleep.

People with extensive vocabularies paint word pictures for their listeners. They don't do it by using ten-syllable words most people don't know; they do it by using more exact words. A quick search in my thesaurus (a real book, not the on-line version) revealed 28 synonyms for the verb "eating" - words or phrases like nibbling, devouring, gobbling and pigging out, each painting a slightly different word picture.

This coming year I am focusing on my words - choosing them wisely to encourage and build others up (including me in my self-talk!), choosing them carefully to be as specific as possible and choosing to learn new words.

I have found reading a variety of books, magazines and newspapers to be a great way to learn new words. I recently discovered the words "opprobrium" (a noun meaning something that brings disgrace) and "sobriquet" (a noun meaning a fanciful name or nickname) while I was reading The Wall Street Journal. I think it will be an amusing year!

Happy New Year!