The word 'hate' gets thrown around a lot these days. A quick search of my blog did not reveal many uses of the word but I am well aware of how much I overuse while speaking. "I hate that drink", "I hate those jeans" and other ridiculous uses of the word have completely undermined the power of the word. It gets to the point where I have to use qualifiers like 'absolutely hate' and 'thoroughly hate' to emphasise my feelings.
The word 'love' follows similar patterns. Again, looking back through this blog I have not fallen back on the word too frequently, except in relation to music. Indeed, it is one word that I concentrate quite strongly on avoiding. For many of my friends, on any drunken night out the word will be thrown around with reckless abandon, expecting it to be used again in response. I have mostly managed to evade this as I am very conscious of not diluting a word that should stand for an absolute purity of feeling.
When these words are over-used they become practically meaningless. If someone tells me that they love me what on earth am I supposed to take that to mean anymore? If you say that word and subsequently experience something stronger how do you express it? By taking away this expressive capability can you even understand your own feelings? I will most likely be faced with the drunken 'L' word a lot this week and I do not know how to deal with it.
I hope that I can be honest while retaining a remnant of linguistic integrity.
-The English Student
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