by Madeleine Bentley
The word “awesome” is synonymous with “dreaded.” At least according to the Oxford English dictionary. Granted, the first seven adjectives that come up are somewhere along the lines of “breathtaking” and “amazing”, but then the terms become somewhat darker. “Imposing,” “fearsome,” and “dreaded” were some of the more dismal adjectives good old Oxford aligns with “awesome.”
The date was August 28, 2013. It was the first day of school, and I was just about to take the usual left hand turn into the lower parking lot when I caught sight of the single phrase: Be Awesome. Now, I can understand Barrie wanting us, the students of WSA, to be “excellent” and “inspiring,” but does she really want us to be “daunting” and “feared?” As terrifying as our school mascot, the nautilus, would make as an enemy, I’m not sure I want to be remembered as “dreaded.” More importantly, how did “awesome” come to mean both “dreaded” and “amazing?”
In an attempt to answer this question, the staff at The Inkless Link asked students to submit examples of what they found “awesome.” We received exactly three submissions one from a teacher and two from students. The teacher responded by emailing an image of Secretary of State John Kerry with the title “Kerry Gaffes” and a caption describing how the “Third World War” might have been avoided by Kerry’s seemingly unplanned answer to an unexpected question from a journalist at a press conference on September 9th. The students submitted cat memes and a fact about lobsters. Clearly, these are three very different definitions of awesome.
The page entitled “Awesome” on The Inkless Link’s website was created to showcase our school’s vast diversity just by the way people define “awesome.” For example, the editors and I have posted what we find “awesome,” but we encourage students, teachers, parents, and staff to submit their own personal definitions of “awesome,” whether it be through a YouTube video, a piece of news, a fact, or even a meme. Whatever the school body demes “awesome.” Submissions can be sent to The Inkless Link’s email address at [email protected]. Now go forth and be awesome!
The date was August 28, 2013. It was the first day of school, and I was just about to take the usual left hand turn into the lower parking lot when I caught sight of the single phrase: Be Awesome. Now, I can understand Barrie wanting us, the students of WSA, to be “excellent” and “inspiring,” but does she really want us to be “daunting” and “feared?” As terrifying as our school mascot, the nautilus, would make as an enemy, I’m not sure I want to be remembered as “dreaded.” More importantly, how did “awesome” come to mean both “dreaded” and “amazing?”
In an attempt to answer this question, the staff at The Inkless Link asked students to submit examples of what they found “awesome.” We received exactly three submissions one from a teacher and two from students. The teacher responded by emailing an image of Secretary of State John Kerry with the title “Kerry Gaffes” and a caption describing how the “Third World War” might have been avoided by Kerry’s seemingly unplanned answer to an unexpected question from a journalist at a press conference on September 9th. The students submitted cat memes and a fact about lobsters. Clearly, these are three very different definitions of awesome.
The page entitled “Awesome” on The Inkless Link’s website was created to showcase our school’s vast diversity just by the way people define “awesome.” For example, the editors and I have posted what we find “awesome,” but we encourage students, teachers, parents, and staff to submit their own personal definitions of “awesome,” whether it be through a YouTube video, a piece of news, a fact, or even a meme. Whatever the school body demes “awesome.” Submissions can be sent to The Inkless Link’s email address at [email protected]. Now go forth and be awesome!