Your tongue is easily one of the strongest muscles in your body. It can hold up to a pound, but can also tear down the people around you. Here’s a cliché for you: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.”

Growing up on the playgrounds of St. Jude Elementary School, I vividly remember that sticking your tongue out at someone was the best way to find yourself sitting out of freeze tag the next day at recess. I wondered why such a small altercation could get someone in such big trouble, I grew up to realize words are weapons and what is said to others can either make them or break them.

You don’t like my hair cut? Does the fact that I like country music make you want to plug your ears? Am I stupid for taking a level five math class simply because level seven was too challenging? Does my handwriting look like a five year old’s? These are just a handful of things people have said to me within the past month.

It’s been almost a decade since my St. Jude days and I am still realizing over and over again that people are ignorant with what they say to others. I hate to break it to you, but your rude and demeaning opinion is never needed. It is crazy how people can say such mean and rude things. No, you’re not funny. No, you’re not cool. No, it doesn’t make you a bigger person. It’s easy to say that words are just words and we need to ignore them. Statistics show that when someone says something disrespectful or demeaning to you, it stays in your brain ten times longer than a compliment.

It’s not hard to be a nice person. “What Sue says about Sally says a lot more about Sue than Sally.” You might’ve heard this saying before but it’s something I keep in mind every day;  whether I want to remind myself to only speak kind words, or if I want to remind myself that what people say about me shouldn’t affect me. Next time you feel like saying something mean or sharing an unnecessary opinion, bite your tongue. Your words have consequences.