The Word "Like" (From previous Facebook Note)

In just about any verbal interaction you may have with someone between the ages of 15 and 30 you will notice a preponderance of one word littered throughout, seemingly indispensable to conversation. This word is "like."

Once relegated to movies about teens in the 1980s who grew up in the valley suburbs of Los Angeles (the "valley girl" stereotype), or perhaps never actually more common in that region but rather increasing in its infectious popularity, the use of this 4-letter word has reached ubiquitous, excessive proportions. Apparently, "like" has no less than a dozen or so meanings. There is one thing common to almost every usage of this word: it severely diminishes how intelligent one sounds when he or she speaks.

An example:

Sally: Oh hey, what's up?
Jordan: Ah, not much. I was just headed to my econ class. Hey, I didn't see you like all weekend.
Sally: I know...I was doing this paper on like Nietzsche and his views on like Christianity and stuff...it's due Tuesday and I'm like freakin' out about it!
Jordan: Oh damn, good luck with that. Well you missed out on like the best opera ever...Tristan and Isolde was playing at the Hippodrome and it was like incredibly good. I was like, wow, this tonal progression is...like...incredible!

Though discussing intellectual topics such as Nietzsche and operas by Wagner, the two people in this discussion are hampered by their use of "like" that it sounds like they could be talking about an MTV reality show and, like, the Jonas Brothers.

It was about 8 months ago when I started to pay close attention to my own use of "like" and that of others. I believe I was inspired to do this when reading some trivia about Indian brethren and ascendant actor Kal Penn, I saw that he was once in an acting exercise where the budding thespians were challenged to ad lib without using "like" whatsoever. First, in noticing how often people said "like," it was jarring and it completely distracted me from whatever issue they were speaking of. The caveat in picking up on the word in other people's speech was that it actually became VERY harsh on my ears and thoughts. Moreover, these were people as educated and smart as myself, and certain people stood out as being chronic offenders. Secondly, it took a fair amount of difficulty to consciously avoid my own use of the word when speaking to people; however, I became accustomed to it, and I knew my own speaking abilities would improve greatly. I wondered what it was about the word that made it SO common. I thought, are young people just not really certain of anything these days? Look at the statement "I was like upset that he wouldn't speak to me." Well, are you SURE you were upset? If you were, then why say "like upset"?

CHALLENGE - Be conscious of your own use of the word "like" and try to avoid using it. I promise you that your speech will dramatically improve into at least making you sound much more intelligent, or at least reflect the true intellect you have. I'll help by giving you some alternatives.

First off, you can eliminate "like" completely and not even have to replace it with any word at all. Example: "This TV I want to buy is like really expensive."
- "Like" is completely useless...yes, everyone's definition of "expensive" varies but that should be evident anyways.

"I was like, are you really going to charge me for sharing my buffet with my friend?"
- A common usage of "like" instead of simply saying "I said" or "I told" or "I asked" or any word that expresses that you verbally pronounced something!

"I'm really into shitty music, you know, like Nickelback and Fergie." - You can replace the dreaded word with "such as."

"She acted like I was a deviant when I ate that eclair out of the trash can." - Replace "like" with "as though."

Please don't call me an elitist or grammar Nazi. I truly want to improve the world a tiny bit with this Note and have my friends' language reflect their intelligence and possibly sophistication. Yes, I know, some of you are vagrant, drunken, uncouth sons of bitches...but you could be all those things and still be eloquent. After all, a 26 year old medical student who's about to treat patients' illnesses and "save lives" deserves not to come off like some Hannah Montana worshiping teenie-bopper.