Operation: De-Actually-ization

Day 9: REFRAIN FROM USING THE WORD ACTUALLY

Do you actually have any idea how often we say the word actually? Actually, we say it a whole lot. Whether we use it as a transition or for emphasis, the word is everywhere in our daily conversations and ridiculously overused.

My obsession with the word actually began a few weeks ago after my mother talked on the phone with Big C, and she mentioned how frequently he said actually. So I started noticing how often he said actually. Then I started noticing how often my husband said actually. Then I started noticing how often actors on tv said actually. Then I started noticing how often I said actually. It’s like talking to someone who has a big hunk of spinach stuck in her teeth. You can’t help but focus on it every time she opens her mouth.

Today I will not say the word actually. This might actually be a good test of its actual usefulness. I wonder how hard it will actually be. Ok, I’m starting right now.

I failed my mission today. I allowed 2 “A” words to slip out. And when I analyzed when and why I used them, I realized that the word had absolutely no purpose in my statements. I said it simply out of habit.

Remember when we were younger and we drove our parents crazy saying “like?” (I guess that question makes me seem either really young or really old, depending on the age of the reader.) “Like, Mom, that is so lame.” “I am, like, so hungry.” “Like, that book is, like, so awesome.” Well, actually is my new like. It’s almost entirely superfluous, and it’s, like, so irritating.

However, I am not the only one carelessly throwing out the A word. I noticed the A word over a dozen times in conversation today, heard it 5 times on television, and read it 4 times in email correspondences. All superfluous. But I think I’ve gotten the obsession out of my system. Now I can move on, hopefully to completely ignore future A word droppings as I would ignore that spinach stuck in my friend’s teeth.