Essays that worked!

Andrew D. Patton '11
Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

I've always been told that everything in life could be solved through "my words." But it seems to me that we as humans expect too much of words. Now, I don't want you to think I am an anti-wordite. I am not. Yet it has become clear to me that there is a world outside the jurisdiction of words. While words can elicit some of the most moving images in the world, they are only black and white. Even the most complicated of words is simple. That word is always set down on paper in exactly the same way. Its spelling never changes. Each word has a set definition that everyone believes it to mean. Words are simply too inflexible to truly describe the complicated nuances of life.

In order to survive in this life, one has to be flexible. Was that not the point of learning about human evolution in sophomore biology class? Human beings have been evolving and adapting since the beginning of our existence. Each generation brings with it new ideas, beliefs, and sometimes even slight changes in anatomical features. In short, you have to adjust to new developments. But words are not sufficiently malleable to cover the evolution of mankind.

Now you might argue that words and language evolve just as mankind does, but do they evolve at the same pace? Off the top of my head, I can't think of the proper word to describe the world today. Each day is too eclectic to cheapen with a definition or the use of the cacophony of words it would take to capture an ounce of its essence. If you view the world in this light, you always have something to search for.

Words are being created every moment of the day. Eventually some word may be perfect enough to describe a particular moment. Even if it is just a moment, that word will define something dear to you in a way it has never been defined. It will be a new perspective on a familiar situation. As a friend once told me, "There is beauty, there is bliss, there is no perfection." While that may be true, one can come closest to perfection in a moment. If a word can truly recreate a moment of near-perfection for you, that word has enriched your life. What is life other than a collection of moments, some moments you want to remember, while others you try very hard to repress. If on some level a word can bring you back to those moments of glory it is truly worthy of the high praise it and other words receive.

I am not the first person to see a limitation in words. A group of philosophers called deconstructionists and I share the same gripe. As the deconstructionists once said, "Words refer to words. They wrestle endlessly with each other in an infinite dance." In the end words all come back to nothing. While I may not be looking to transcend  words in the same way the deconstructionists  are, I am still looking to find a greater connection between the words I use and the feelings my soul expresses.

There appears to be irony in this situation. I told you that because of how finite words are, they diminish life, but then I proceeded to use my words to create a great oversimplification of life. Yet, I just wrote more than 500 words trying to express my belief that words cannot express me, and each and every word I wrote expressed me in some shape or form.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 16:10