What it supposedly means:
Oh, that’s interesting… cool even.
Why it’s silly:
How many of you have had this conversation?
“Hey, what have you been up to?”
“Oh, not much. Just hanging out with my best friend. We saw the new Marvel movie together yesterday.”
“Oh, awesome. Was it any good?”
What is wrong with this exchange? You’re probably thinking something along the lines of, “Well, I don’t know. It was pretty ordinary.”
That’s the problem. That conversation was completely and utterly mundane. There was absolutely nothing “awesome” about what those two people were talking about.
“Awesome” is not a word that should be used lightly, and yet our society insists on doing so. “Awesome” is supposed to denote that something is worthy of our awe. If we see something that is truly awesome, we shouldn’t be able to speak. Let me help you out by giving you a few examples of awesome things.
This is the Orion Nebula and it is truly awesome.
Climbing Mount Everest. Awesome.
Jesus Christ. His birth, His death, His resurrection and everything in between… And if you’re not Christian, CHRISTMAS!!! You wouldn’t have that without my savior.
You see, these are things that really are awesome. I can’t see the Orion Nebula, or any picture from outer space for that matter, without thinking about how amazingly insignificant I am in a vast universe. I can’t imagine climbing Mount Everest without thinking about the incredible difficulty of such a climb and the feeling of utter elation the people who reach the top must feel. Finally, I can’t think about Christ without being humbled by the thought that I could never have done what He did and that without Him, I am worth nothing.
This is the true meaning of “awesome.” Let’s try to use it the right way, people.*
* In no way am I not guilty of misusing the word, but even when I do it, it bothers me. Just so you know.
Thank you all for reading the 5th installment of my Silly Words Series. My post tomorrow will be on… well, it’s a surprise and you’re going to have to come back tomorrow and find out. Yes, this is essentially my way of saying I have absolutely nothing planned. 🙂
See y’all tomorrow!