Words, Words, Words

Bravo to those of you who picked up on the Shakespeare reference.

We had a discussion in my English class a few months ago about texting and its effects on relationships.  Is the ability to have a conversation through text messages inhibiting our communication skills as couples?  Are we less likely to feel comfortable in a face-to-face conversation with our significant other?  Is texting a crutch?

Some said it might, most of us weren't sure.  It brings up an interesting idea:


Some people are talkers.

Some people are writers.


Some excel in verbal communication, words just pour out of their mouths and serve any purpose the speaker wishes.  They say everything right, their grandiloquence is humbling.

Others need a little mental editing to work out and tweak their abstract thoughts until their sentence is sculpted into the beautiful poetry they intend.

One skill isn't necessarily better than the other, I think they're just different avenues to the same destination: communication.

B. is a speaker.  She has the confidence and commanding presence of a seasoned public speaker.  When she talks, people listen; she has a boisterous voice and a wonderful laugh.  I admire that so much in her.

Meanwhile, I sit in another camp; I'm admittedly more reserved and soft-spoken.  I won't say timid, though; get me started on something  about which I'm passionate and I'll be lawyering you 'til your ears fall off.  I'm verbose enough to be comprehended, but I like being able to plot out my thoughts into coherent sentences and guide my audience/listener/reader through the logic and reasoning of my point.  This is hard for me to do verbally.  I favor writing, which is why I've loved this blog so far.  I think I get my point across much clearer in writing.  Plus, I can go back and edit my words and tailor them to appeal to my reader much easier than I can pause mid-sentence and plan out my next discourse.

Even as I write this, there are roughly twenty other posts waiting for some final expounding and editing before being published onto the blog. 

I can think of a few times when I stopped and edited a text before sending it to B. while we were dating.  I'm almost certain this avoided a fight, which is just miserable when you're in a long-distance relationship, because you can't fight it out face-to-face, and even after the fight's over, you have to postpone making up.

That's not to say that I have to verbally tiptoe around B., either.

On those rare instances where I did go back and edit my texts before sending, it was because I saw something in the wording that could be misconstrued as offensive when no offense was meant.  We don't bully each other, but we don't walk on eggshells either.  We can disagree and still have a healthy marriage.

All I'm saying is, choosing your words is a vital skill in school, work, and especially relationships.  Different people communicate in different ways.


I just happen to be better in writing.



How do you choose your words?  Are you a speaker or a writer?


Does texting help or hurt you?



S