****

      I mentioned in my last blog post that I don't swear. Which is true. I don't. Now, I'm not morally opposed to cursing, and it does not offend me personally when others do it. In fact, I don't bat an eye anymore when I hear curse words spewed by peers or people on TV or strangers walking down the street. I remember during subbie year, possibly freshman year too, innocent little me would wince or even say, "don't say bad words" when a friend would curse in front of me. Now, I even gently tease one of my friends sometimes who is a few years younger than me because she freaks out when someone says a bad word in her presence.

      We read an essay earlier this semester about a mom who let her child have a short time of word freedom every day. When I was younger, I don't think there were any explicit rules in my house about words my brother and I could or could not say. If I had spontaneously started swearing profusely at age 11, yes my dad probably would have scolded me, but there were never rules because Neil and I never created a need for them. I don't think that strict swearing rules, complete with punishments such as washing the mouth with soap, are necessarily a good idea, because, just as the essay said, this will just encourage kids to want to swear more at school or elsewhere. Just having a positive role model (Neil) who refused to swear taught me not to do so myself.

       Curse words are a strange phenomenon in language and slang. They are words that have been somewhat removed from their original meanings and, somewhere along the line, given heavily negative connotations. In most every language, curse words fall within the categories of either vulgar and inappropriate or religiously offensive. Their only useful modern purpose, aside from strong exclamations, is to add emphasis. However, there is almost always a good alternative or synonym to use instead of the curse word. Or it can be removed altogether with no effect on the meaning. If this is the case, then why should I add these curse words to my common vocabulary?

       I have had people tease me for not cursing, calling me "innocent" or "cute." I have also had peers try t pressure me into saying "just one bad word," not believing that I really don't curse. I sometimes feel like I'm not taken seriously in that respect. One time, I was getting very frustrated with a machine at ballet, and I accidentally said a word I usually wouldn't. My friend laughed when I freaked out about it. "That's not even really a bad word. Why do you care so much?" she said. I was unhappy because I wanted to uphold my own personal rule about not swearing. I can't give you one reason why I don't want to curse, it just doesn't seem necessary to me, especially when some people may find it offensive.