The talk of the town is that the students are back! As much as I enjoy the slower pace of summer, the students bring energy and life. They fill the sidewalks and the streets. They walk, bike, and ride scooters. I catch flashes of their smiles and hear snatches of their conversations.
And they curse. Loudly.
I am not fooled into thinking that foul language is exclusive to this age group. If anything, they have learned it from us. I also understand that college is a time to break the mold and test boundaries. The freedom to express oneself is positive and, I think, a necessary step toward self-actualization.
But the f-bombs. Wow.
To be clear, I’m talking about the casual use of curse words, ones uttered not in anger but in jest or exclamation. Perhaps out of habit. Elders taught me that cursing was a product of lazy thinking, meaning that if I resorted to profanity, I hadn’t thought enough about what I wanted to say. Maybe I sound like an old fart (another four-letter f-word). I am by no means perfect, but my bias against crude language is that it reflects willful ignorance.
My children, ages seven to twelve, look up to these long-legged students in more ways than one. We waited to cross Franklin Street with a group of co-eds, and my kids hung on their words, a few of which would not be considered family-friendly. A young man caught sight of the awestruck audience behind him. He turned to his friends and admonished them, “Watch your language.”
Language is audible. However, “to watch” can also mean to guard; I watch over my children. Presumably, that young man grew up with adult eyes on him, and though those elders will never know this particular story, I hope they are proud.
(featured image via Town of Chapel Hill)
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
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