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#WordsMATTER

9/6/2017

12 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever thought about how the words you use impact other people?

This summer I visited the Statue of Liberty for the first time ever. I’d been on a ferry ride the summer before and passed by her, but experiencing her up close was incredible! Being on Liberty Island was like getting a HUGE diversity-filled hug. I saw people of all colors, in different types of dress, and speaking many languages. It was almost like Lady Liberty was telling me,
“Liv, this is what love looks like. Love is every color. Love is in every language. Love lives in your words.”


My heart needed that visit and here’s why. For the last 6 months, I’ve been confused. I want to believe that love is greater than hate. I want to believe that people’s sense of wonder about each other is bigger than their fear. I want to believe the words we say matter in every single way.

It’s scary to see what is happening in my country. It’s more confusing when it seems like words are used carelessly by some leaders. I’ll give you an example. The phrase “on both sides.” If you just read that phrase right here in my blog, you would probably think I was saying something about fairness. But, when that phrase is inserted as an explanation for why people are marching in Charlottesville, VA, and that is a march promoting hate, it doesn’t make any sense to me.

Another example is the slogan: Make America Great Again. If you deleted the word again, it feels like a positive message. But, when you add the word again, it makes the meaning negative. It manipulates how I feel and challenges me to defend why I think America IS great in so many ways.

There are other words, like disaster: “The previous administration was such a DISASTER.” When said with such force, it seems like there wasn’t anything done well in all the years I have lived on this earth. I know that I wasn’t as aware when I was younger, but one thing I do know, I felt like the leader of my country cared about being thoughtful, and especially cared about the kind of world he imagined for kids everywhere.

There can be things that happen to kids that make them grow up faster. I am worried that there will be A LOT of kids who grow up faster in the next four years. They will hear, see, and experience things that make them understand grown up ideas. It’s like being a kid doesn’t matter.

I am too little to think about having a political party. But, I am not too little to know that I want a leader who is about love. I want someone who knows his words sit inside kids’ hearts everywhere.

Sometimes my mum says I might have been born in the wrong time; she says I am like a misfit hippie in the wrong decade. What I know about hippies is that they were filled with love, so maybe she’s right about me. Grown ups everywhere should know how important love is, and they should find ways everyday to show love to one another. They should especially think about how kids are watching, wondering, and learning from their example.

Lately, I have been calling myself a “book activist” when people ask me about my LivBit work. But, recently, I have started to think that maybe I am actually an activist for words everywhere. Like if words could decide how they were put together into phrases and sentences maybe they would tell a different story. Maybe words would feel disappointed in how they are being used.

So, I am Liv. I speak for words everywhere. Words matter. Use them kindly.

Keep Reading! Keep Thinking! And, thank you for following LivBits!



12 Comments
Erika Victor
9/6/2017 08:18:52 am

Yes, yes, yes! I especially love this part: I speak for words everywhere. Words matter. Use them kindly. Thanks for continuing to share your thinking! #kidsCANteachus
Best,
Erika

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Pana link
9/6/2017 05:51:39 pm

"...if words could decide how they were put together into phrases and sentences maybe they would tell a different story. Maybe words would feel disappointed in how they are being used."

What an amazing perspective to take on. How would we all speak and write differently if we reflected on this first? As always, thank you for your voice Liv!

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Joy Kirr link
9/10/2017 09:05:01 am

"Words matter." YES. I found out about Peter Johnston's book CHOICE WORDS a few years ago, and it's really made me think about how I use words - in front of EVERYONE, not just children. For our thoughts become our words, and our words become our beliefs, and our beliefs become our habits. I will continue to watch my thoughts, so my words relay what I truly mean to say. Liv, thank you for writing about such an important topic - it seeps into ALL we do! <3

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Nancy N
9/10/2017 03:18:40 pm

Peter Johnston's wisdom guides me. So glad you made this observation connecting Liv and Peter.

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Carrie H
9/10/2017 12:30:29 pm

Wow. Very well spoken.

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Cynthia Levinson link
9/10/2017 02:04:02 pm

You said, @thelivbits!

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Mrs. Bauerly
9/10/2017 02:30:37 pm

Everyone matters, all ages. What I love about teaching middle school is that my students have amazing ideas, they support each other, and they see the problems of the world and wonder why we have them and how they can fix them. I think we need more people wondering about our words and how we can use them for love, for wonder, for learning, and for support.
You've got a new reader in South Dakota!

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Nancy N
9/10/2017 03:16:46 pm

"Love lives in your words."
Thanks for saying that, Liv. I will keep that thought in my heart while I teach my second graders this week.
Nancy (from Idaho)

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Amelia
9/13/2017 09:25:12 am

I love you 😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻

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SC
11/29/2017 11:49:53 am

Hi Liv,
You have inspired me to think about how the words we use may impact other people in different ways.I really have never thought about it the way you thought about it. This post made me think a lot more about how I should use words. I had never in my life thought about how words could matter so much in life. I love the line “Liv, this is what love looks like. Love is every color. Love is in every language. Love lives in your words.” I never thought love could have such a huge meaning. Yes, it is true that love means a lot to many people, but in my case, I didn't really think of it having an important meaning, until now.
I know love means a lot to some other people, but does it mean a lot to you personally?

- Sonya

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    Hi, I'm Liv and I am super excited to share my thinking with you!

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