How queer.

Flash to the past; Little nine year old Lea is driving with her dad. She is discussing something older Lea can no longer remember, but knowing her past self, it was probably something weird. During the course of the conversation, she uses the word 'queer.' To use it in a sentence 'yes, the situation was quiet queer.' She meant to use it to say something was weird, or odd. Her father tells her she should be careful using the word; it doesn't mean weird, it means gay. It's derogatory.

Now, fast forward back to 2016. When asked what I identify as, and don't want to go into specifics, I can simply use the word 'queer.' It's a word I'm comfortable with, and hearing it doesn't make me cringe. Transformed from an insult into something that has been claimed by the LBGT+ community, queer has a strange history. It's a word that has changed over time, and gained popularity.

People have done research to try and figure out where it first appeared, and to figure out what it really means. It is best explained by this article: http://www.autostraddle.com/more-than-words-queer-part-1-the-early-years-153356/

"No one can even agree on where “queer” was born, or its parents. The predominant theory holds that it’s a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European morpheme “*twerk,” which means “to twist, turn, wind, or cut,” and is also likely the root of several other vocabulary staples, including “thwart” and “sarcasm.” “Twerk” led to Old High German’s “twerh,” which means “oblique,” and then to German, where it morphed to “quer” and picked up associations of strangeness and eccentricity. By 1500, it had stretched out to “queer” and could be heard around Scotland." (Cara)

It did not start out as something negative, but was used as a derogative in 1894, in a letter between father and son. After this, queer becomes something terribly negative, and this moves into our time. It's meant as an insult, and delivered as such.

However, this is where things become interesting. Instead of letting this get to them, the community took the word back. It's something people can call themselves with pride (pardon this pun, I think I'm kind of funny.) That's one of the great things about language; meanings can change. Not only does this word mean something new, it's something people can identify with and embrace.

People are the ones who decide what words mean. It's up to us to identify and understand language, and make it our own. Something bad can become something good; How queer is that?

White girls and rap.

Allow me to preface this; I am a small white girl with little knowledge on the world of rap. I grew up in the whitest state in the US, and don't think I could bust a rhyme if my life depended on it. That being said, I do have a certain appreciation for the rhythm of it.

Writing rap requires a lot of skill, and word smithing ability. The words need to flow in order to sound good when sung. It's not just a matter of speaking fast, it's also about making sense and getting your point across.

When done well, rap can be done brilliantly, and can sound amazing. Take, for instance, this lyric taken from Hamilton: An American Musical.

I’m past patiently waitin’. 
I’m passionately Smashin’ every expectation.
Every action’s an act of creation!

While simple, when spoken out loud it's little complexities that make it so brilliant shine. It's written so precisely, and the word choice is incredibly clever. It hits all the right notes when spoken out loud, and leaves me smiling. Simply put; it has amazing rhythm.

However, some rap songs are less than stellar. For this, we look to Iggy Azalea.

Peach four a point, better pass me joint 
Gotta twist this beat, gonna sprain my joint 
Straight crack rap! PAP PAP POOM going to Rack City!

Not only is this poorly written, but it sounds terrible when spoken out loud. It does not have the thought that was put into the Hamilton lyric, and has absolutely no flow. It's not clever, and it makes my ears sad.

Rap can be great, but it requires skill. Skill that neither I nor Iggy posses, evidently.

Metaphor and ambiguity.

The power of words never ceases to amaze me. The fact that we as a species communicate by making a series of vocal chord vibrations, and gave symbols to those sounds so we could universally understand them is mind boggling. And sometimes, people can be very clever with their wording. Take, for instance, metaphor in microstyle. It's a clever way to get across an idea without having to use long, unending paragraphs.

A great example of this is Tropicana's old slogan "Your Daily Ray of Sunshine." It's understood that the consumer isn't actually drinking a glass of sunshine (because that would probably burn a little bit), and that the slogan is instead using what we understand in our cultural space as being a metaphor. Sunshine is equated with happiness, and drinking Tropicana will light up your life! It's a smart use of the slogan; simple and understandable by a large majority.

And then, of course, there is ambiguity in mircostyle. When done intentionally, it's very clever, but when it's not, it's downright hilarious. For instance, the news headline "FARMER BILL DIES IN HOUSE." When first reading this, is looks as if poor old Farmer Bill has died in his home. However, what it means to say is that a farmer bill, or law, died in the House of Representatives. This shows how strange, yet entertaining language can be, if you don't say the right thing.

Language is so strange, and yet I can't help but love it. Guess it's a good thing I'm an English major.

Post title here, read post below.

Five six word stories for you to all enjoy;

1.) It went from 'us' to 'me'.
2.) Death got the best of me.
3.) "I am okay," spoke the liar.
4.) Returned home; Never really came back.
5.) Love was everything, death meant nothing.