The Breakdown of Communication.

"Guess this means you're sorry/You're standing at my door/Guess this means you take back/What you said before..." - Kelly Clarkson "My Life Would Suck Without You"

The first time I heard this song, I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics. Granted, the first time I heard "I Kissed A Girl" I didn't think much of THAT either. Then, halfway through, I listened to the words and actually said out loud (to myself), "WHAT am I listening to?!" and changed the radio station.

I digress...

Okay, so when I had that moment of realization with Kelly Clarkson's song, I considered two things: 1 - I should really stop listening to pop music and 2 - Why are we INFERRING apologies?

Somehow standing at her door means that he's sorry and that he's taken back everything he has said? You know how to know that for sure? WORDS!

I think that words are highly underrated. There are the sayings "Actions speak louder than words" and "A picture is worth a thousand words." I think that it somehow gives the impression that words aren't important. That somehow doing something or taking a picture is more valuable than saying something.

Communicating IS important. As times goes on, I'm learning just how important communication is.

Beyond words, you know what else there is to communication? Body language. Voice inflection. Facial expressions.

And...

I'm going to say it.

You can't get this through texting and chatting online.

It's driving me insane. I'll have different people recount these intense conversations they have had, especially with members of the opposite sex. I'll be amazed by their boldness and honesty. Then I'll ask - I have to ask - "What was the expression on his/her face?"
The response, 9 times out of 10, is, "It was through texting/chatting."

UGH. WHY?!

When I was a teenager, before texting, MySpace, Facebook, and every other online community was created, I had all my awkward, intense conversations face-to-face. Those were the days...

Granted, with this technology driven world I now live in, I've been guilty of it, too. And sometimes life just lends itself a bit easier to impersonal forms of communication. But I always think later that it would have meant more face-to-face. I usually feel cheated. And talk shouldn't be cheap.