5. Introducing WoW: Words of the Week
A dictionary
Introduction
In high school, I had the rare fortune of having English teachers who touted the value of a rich vocabulary. Because of my high school English teachers, I’m able to connect with my readers more deeply through my newest webpage, Words of the Week (WoW).
My old vocabulary
During my sophomore year in high school, my English teachers inspired me to start a personal vocabulary list.
At first, I’d glean fresh vocabulary from physical books and online articles and add it to a Google document. But I didn’t add these words to my vocabulary list because they were special to me. I’d add them simply because they were new to me. Back then, most words were.
Each day, I’d spend hours adding fresh vocabulary to the list, and trying to make sense of the growing collection. Despite my best efforts, however, the task quickly became overwhelming. There were hundreds of thousands of words in English I hadn’t read, how could I ever memorize all of them? I’d simply set an impossible goal.
By the time I reached this point in my journey, I’d collected over one hundred pages of vocabulary. But did I realize how much more I still needed? Had I truly thought my hobby through?
After pondering these questions, I realized that I’d developed an addiction I could never satisfy.
That I’d started on a journey I could never finish, and my only solution was to halt the journey—
Delete my entire vocabulary list.
Creating a new vocabulary list
However, old habits die hard. That’s why I started a fresh list on my phone. Starting over allowed me to reassess my approach and set new standards for the words I chose to include.
Due to my previous experience, I realized that vocabulary lists are like the novels and articles they come from: they’re only meaningful to you if they have relevance in your personal life. As a result, my new vocabulary list is much more selective. Before taking a screenshot and adding it to my phone, I always ask myself the following three questions:
Does it resonate with me?
Does it match my personality? And,
Does it describe a person or thing I know?
These questions have helped me filter out words that don’t have significance in my life. Thanks to this method, the process that began in 2021 has now gifted me with over eight hundred meaningful words.
The inspiration behind WoW
Word of the day lists from sites like Dictionary.com inspired my WoW webpage.
But I wanted something more personal. Those lists felt impersonal and detached from my reality. WoW, on the other hand, is deeply personal. It’s about sharing a part of myself with my audience. Each word tells a story, whether it’s about a book I read, a conversation I had, or a thought that crossed my mind.
WoW is also a way to document my personal growth and experiences. Each word added to the list marks a moment in time, capturing a piece of my journey. By sharing these words with others, I hope to inspire them to explore their own language and discover the power of words in their lives. WoW is about creating a connection with the reader through words.
Wrapping up
Words have taught me valuable lessons about the value of words. With WoW, I aim to create a platform that not only shares novel words but also connects with the audience on a personal level.
Join me in this weekly exploration of words. Every Monday, I’ll post a set of three words that are meaningful to me. I hope each word will open new perspectives and connections. Together, we can build a richer and more meaningful vocabulary.
Finally, please feel free to comment any meaningful words you may have!
The reference artwork
