Let me ask you a quick and simple question. It will not hurt in the slightest, you have my word.

Please, take a moment and recite within your mind the following phrase: “Ahhh, the water is boiling.”

Now, let me ask you, how did the phrase make you feel? What image did it put into your head?

At first reading the phrase, did you imagine a person screaming out, surprised that the water was beginning to boil, possibly overflowing onto the stove?

Or, did you imagine a man sighing in cheerful anticipation, awaiting the pot of tea he will make with the boiling water?

Further yet, did you imagine a scientist articulating her curiosity as she analyzed the effects of air pressure on water’s boiling point?

It is curious, is it not, how one word, on interjection, “Ahhh,” can transform a sentence and the emotions and imagery responses we have simply by our own perceptions?

If I were simply to write upon a blank notecard the word “Ahhh,” one could cycle through the multitude of interpretations of the word in the absence of any context, from an “Ahhh” of surprise to one of anger, relaxation, curiosity, pain, realization and so many more.

One interjection, one word among so many in the English language yet set apart from all others on a single notecard can encompass so many facets of the human mind and experience.

I have long been fascinated by such examples of the power of the English language. It intrigues me how one word can hold such immense potential within itself and when combined with other words create a force of subtle yet impactful significance.

Unfortunately, the potential of words and the English language is something many of us take for granted. In a world of total sensory immersion, it is easy to forget the impact words have on us when we encounter them every day, non-stop, in our textbooks, in our phones, on the Internet, on television, on the radio, on billboards and even in communication with our friends and family.

Just as when you repeat a word over and over again it can begin to lose its meaning, so too can the words we hear every day slowly desensitize us to the impact and potential of the mere squiggles and syllables that flitter past our eyes and ears.

However, I urge you, the reader, do not simply intake the words you read here and dispose of or neglect their meaning and significance. As you drift through your days, take time to recognize the way words can not only sway our thoughts and emotions, but our actions as well. Because, ultimately, if you do not recognize and realize this power, it could come to control you.

Tim Deters is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].