The Magic of 26 Letters

Letters.

And words.

They're magic, did you know?

The same 26 letters make up every little word we know. But those words by themselves don't mean much. For example: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! (Any of you who knew that's a quote from Albus Dumbledore (first book, pg 123)*, you're my favorite ever. Have a cookie.) That random bunch of words has no real meaning. But it's what you do with those letters and words that matters. You can  combine them so that you create a piece of art.

I found a picture of this place.
Now I really want to go there.

Here's what I mean. I was looking through a National Geographic magazine about "The World's Best Hidden Adventures" and came across this: [talking about the Andaman Sea Reef in Thailand, wherever that is] "Dive Beacon Reef near the Similans to explore under the scrutiny of inquisitive batfish, or check out East of Eden, where soft corals resemble an underwater Japanese garden. Translucent waters, white beaches, caves, and coral walls await."*

I have absolutely no idea where this place is, but dang do I want to go there! Those particular words create a magical feeling. They make it so you can imagine this amazing place. Of course, that's their job at National Geographic, to make you want to go see these places, but still.

Honestly, it just blows my mind that you can do so much with 26 simple letters. You can make people feel happy, you can make people cry. You can make them go to a place they've never even heard of, just because you chose the right adjectives to describe it. It truly is amazing! :)

And then I thought about what I'm choosing to do with my words. I've never written something like what's in the National Geographic magazines, but that doesn't mean I'm not having an effect somewhere, somehow. We don't know who sees or hears what we choose to say or write. So try to have your words represent who you really are. Don't let your words be something you'd be ashamed of being associated with, because once you say them, you can't take them back. So just be aware, friends--you never know the effects your words may have :)


*And yes, I know I didn't cite those quotes how I really should have, but the credit is there (more or less) and I'm lazy.