This I Believe

The Power of Words

In today’s society, there are many tools and life skills we need to maintain a healthy living. For some it’s cooking and cleaning, and for others, computers and cell phones. But for me to survive, I need family.

When I was 5 years old, me and my older sister got into a big argument over a toy. Now I don’t know if I was in a bad mood that day or what, but when she didn’t give me back my Barbie doll I told her I hated her. After the words left my mouth, I felt like I had just broken my mother’s glass dining table. She looked at me for a minute then said, “You don’t mean that,” shaking her head. And me, not wanting to resign and look soft, said, “Yes I do,” stubbornly. Then my sister said to me, “Well if I died you’d cry.” I told her I wouldn’t cry because I would have my cousin to play with. Needless to say I hurt her feelings that day in a way I wouldn’t find out about until years later.

I believe in the power of words and how they can be interpreted or affect people. Even though we were just 5 and 6, we had had probably one of the most emotional experiences we would have with each other. To this day, she still brings up that moment anytime we talk about monumental time in our life. Me and my sister have a very close relationship, and I know that if I had said what I said to her any differently, it would not have affected her as much.

Over the years, family has become so important to me, that I try to take every opportunity I can to show her that the things I said to her had no meaning whatsoever. Now, if you saw us together you’d probably think I was lying because we fight so much, but that’s just our relationship. I’ve found that I have to say a lot of things to people jokingly, or else they might take it offensively. That fact that I would have to change my voice for even just one person shows the power of words to me.