For My Fear-Riddled Juniors

For my fear-riddled Juniors:

You may be looking at your syllabus thinking: "Sweet merciful mustard, this is a LOT of work...!"

But let me ease your fears.

We will be walking through each and every task TOGETHER. As in side-by-side. Your proverbial hand in mine. Every single task on the syllabus has been broken down into smaller, manageable steps so that you, dear Junior, are neither overwhelmed nor stressed.

So, sharpen your pencils and charge your laptops cause we are about to get this show on the road!



Oh, and here is a picture of a puppy...you know...cause puppies are cute and non-threatening (unlike your syllabus, so it would seem).

Archaic Expressions and the Political Climate

I live next to a public park. As I was sitting on my front porch reading some horror story about the upcoming elections, I saw a man jogging. His t-shirt read: "Dooms Day is upon us!"

My wheels got to turning and I contemplated that phrase in context of my current reading.

Is Doom's Day really upon us?

Not really. But it felt like the right thing to put on a t-shirt, apparently.

There has been much talk, especially in the current political climate, of change and innovations, both scary and exciting. However, it feels like the age-old song-and-dance.

Dooms day is upon us, for some.

A new day is dawning, for others.

But really..

Isn't it all about perspective?


As we approach such notions, we must consider a couple of things:

1. Innovation sometimes boils down to simple semantics.

The expression "Dooms Day is upon us" is no more than an archaic expression denoting the demise of the human race. But the last time I checked, that particular phrase has been spoken more times than I can personally count (then again, I'm not a "math person") with little to show for it save some highly terrified people waiting for the sky to crash and burn.

How about "a new day dawing"? It feels pretty Captain Obvious, doesn't it? Of course it is a new day. Today is not yesterday. Obviously.

Neither phrase really bears weight because neither phrase has much substance apart from tradition.

2. Change is relative.

Change is cyclic. Approaching change is about as easy as approaching a Grizzly Bear with a chip in its shoulder, but hear me out. Change is the only constant in our lives. We all change. We all grow. We pass from one place to another. Our bodies betray us by showing us that, no matter what, change is inevitable


What does all of this have to do with English, you might ask? Well, consider that all of our ideas boil down to the words we use to convey them. The way we say something is almost as important as the meaning behind the word we use to express our thought.

Therefore, be careful of your words as we "approach" whatever day you feel like you might be approaching. Our words shape our realities.

Language is a big deal, y'all.