This Is My Circle And That's Yours...Keep Your Words Out Of Mine

People are naturally territorial when it comes to many things in their lives. These range from political views to material things, and everything in between. Speaking personally, when I first got to Berkeley I was so against using the word "hella". Looking back, the only reason I refused to say it was because all my friends back home in Los Angeles made fun of that word. I was being pretty close-minded. I came to realize this when I was speaking to some people originally from Northern California and confused them with my choice of words. I then realized I was simply letting what my friends back home thought influence me. But isn't that a major part of how we grow up? We are influenced everyday in our life. Whether it comes in the from of what are parents tell us, or our teachers, friends, random strangers, iconic figures, books, the news, etc. Life is all about who you surround yourself with and what you let influence you. It's not easy to grow up conservative your entire life and come to a place where liberal is the norm. It is difficult to accept a new idea, way of speaking, language, or even a type of food if you have been used to something else for years and years. With respect to Bakhtin, I feel it is hard to make other words your own because we already have a system we go with that works for us. Making someone else's ideas, or words, your own entails changing something that has been working for you. Change can be scary, and many times people steer clear of change. Although I don't adore the word "hella" I have stopped judging those who do use it, because I don't always use the most intellectual words myself. I am human. We all are. Change is good. That is all