None of us know how our world began. Whether it started with a bang, or just an idea, none of us know. Things formed, evolved, and changed. Humans came walking along, seeming somewhat rugged and deformed. We grew and changed. People traded in Ancient Egypt, fights began and wars erupted. Settlements were reached. Columbus sailed across the ocean blue, America was formed, the light bulb was developed, and not long after came the iPhone 5s.

The world we live in is an ever changing place. It seems that we can rely on nothing to stay the same. The way we dress, the way we look, the way we speak, how we judge, and the way we rule. From the slightest detail to the holes in our ozone layer, things keep getting bigger and smaller, new problems keep forming and old ones are being solved.

How do we all relate? Can we relate to the people living hundreds of years ago, whose problems encompass nothing less than learning how to build a pyramid? No matter where we are, what century or millenium we are living in, there is always that hunger for power, and we can always find the most power, in words.

Words surround us. They live on the tips of our tongues, hidden in between the pages of books, and constantly swimming around in our thoughts. They are the biggest secret, the most amazing magic trick, pulled out of thin air with the snap of our fingers or the help of an imaginary hat.

Words have to power to set us apart. It’s not the way we look or the way we dress, despite how much we have convinced ourselves. It is the words we choose. From the girl who so rarely speaks, but spends hours stringing together the perfect sentence formed by the words she fished from thin air, to the boy who talks incessantly, throwing the words at people as they come to him. It is the way we arrange our words in the fashion only unique to ourselves that gives the words their power. They have the power to heal a broken heart, or to break a whole one. They are a gift, not a privilege, because in the wrong hands words can be used for great evil. They can cause hatred against one person, a certain group of people, or half of a country. They have the power to start a war, or to end it.

Words have the power to break us. If you hand out a sentence, or a phrase, that you never meant to make, it can turn the world against you, and it can change you. We can pelt angry words at people or things, but they will never leave. Once a word is spoken, it sticks onto you and the people around you. We cannot change our words once they have been spoken.

Words also have the power to make us the happiest people alive. We find beauty in words that can be found nowhere else. They have to power to make us laugh, cry, and smile. With the right words, we can change the world in nothing more than a second.

We must all learn in this day and age to choose our words more wisely. We must know when to use our words and when not to. We need to hold them close to ourselves, and sometimes we need to lock them away so we cannot hurt people. We only have so many words, and so many opportunities to share them. Words can save you, or they can destroy. Think twice next time you are choosing yours.