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  • Sana Basheer

The Underestimated Power

You may have heard of this common icebreaker: “if you were a superhero, what would your power be?” Common answers would include the ability to fly, the power of invisibility, the power of telepathy, and other enticing skills. But if I were to ask you the question again一only this time you have to choose a power that you can actually get in reality一what would you say? Perhaps your power would be making great first impressions? Or maybe you want to be extremely good at communicating with others? Now what if you were given a single option to think about, becoming better at using words, what would your first thought be?


We often tend to underestimate the power that words hold. Perhaps you can reflect back to a time when some words impacted you a lot. Maybe an argument with a friend left you shaken and hurt through their usage of words. Maybe a teacher complimented you and made you feel confident and worthy. Maybe an article you read online completely changed your perspective on a topic or issue. When you think back to moments like these, it’s extremely evident that both spoken and written words alike are extremely impactful and can affect you in ways you never expected.


A common saying thrown around quite casually is “the pen is mightier than the sword.” I’m sure you’ve heard of it somewhere. But what does that really mean? Obviously, it’s not meant to be taken literally; hopefully, you realize that a pen and sword are not physically comparable. But in a figurative sense, the message is clear. The usage of a pen to write words, sentences, and statements in general, can turn out to be much more powerful than the use of a sword, which represents force and violence in many situations. An exceptional example that showcases the true power of words is books. Books are all around us. Despite many of us not being avid readers, books are the best way to really experience the power of the pen. With just words, books can make us experience a variety of emotions from happiness to sadness, excitement and anticipation, longing and nostalgia, and many other feelings that we may not even experience in our regular lives. And how are they able to do this? Just through words. By piecing together words like puzzle pieces, and crafting together sentences into worthy paragraphs, books ultimately take basic words and transform them into a unique world of their own.


So, what’s the point of the saying? Sure, words are super powerful and cool and all that fun stuff, but what is our takeaway from this? Well, there are two main points I’m trying to make. Firstly, be mindful of your words. If such a tool is misused, you can end up hurting yourself and/or others, and your words can leave a negative impact if you’re not careful. Secondly, acknowledge such power and use it to your best! You can do so by reading, writing, enjoying the usage of words, and sharing your words with others!


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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash



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