The Words We Use Matter: Practicing Compassion and the Power of Speech

Title: The Words We Use Matter

By Lena Zhu

As a person in the journalism field, I believe words hold a certain power. One word can be the difference between a sentence that makes an impact and a passing statement. That being said, I would like to share with you a situation I encountered a few months back when someone else’s words affected me.

As many of you may know, I work with the public as a part-time Library Technician. I interact with many patrons and check out their media for them to take home. 

I was working the evening-to-night shift that night when an older woman came into the building and retrieved her books. Now, since COVID-19 is rampant, the system that I work for has emphasized that they prefer those who work at the desk to ask the patron to turn the books over themselves for us to scan the barcode to limit contact. 

I asked the patron nicely if she could turn the books over for me after I scanned her card. Immediately, she huffed and emitted a pompous attitude. 

“Ugh!” she huffed dramatically. “You’re so lazy!” 

She slammed the books over to the backside as I stood there, aghast. How could someone say something so mean without even knowing me? 

I silently completed the transaction and printed out a receipt. I mustered up a weak yet still cheerful farewell as she walked out the door. 

What exactly had I done wrong, I will never know. I was silent for the rest of the night. Without knowing, the words and tone she inexplicably threw at me had affected me tremendously, wherein I am still left thinking about the situation months after it has ended. 

The moral of the story is that the words we use matter. Be kind to everyone because you never know what may be going on in their lives. Maybe she had to take her frustrations out on me because she had a bad day. Perhaps that’s just her personality. 

Either way, I was able to learn something from this encounter with her. I make it a point in my life, now more than ever, to be kind and practice compassion towards others. Because (religion aside) God knows we need it.