Stamped Envelope

You know how people say 'I’m fine' when they’re clearly not? That’s like using 'vacillation' in real life, flipping back and forth without a clear direction, trying to keep it all together on the surface.

I saw my grandma using the word 'fluctuation' while talking about her garden. It made me realize how older generations use complex words to describe simple things in their daily lives, just to sound educated and in the know.

My teenage sister uses 'pulsation' when she’s talking about her TikTok algorithm. For her generation, it’s not just about trends,it’s about how fast and strong they hit, like a heartbeat you can feel in real time.

In my team meetings, whenever someone says 'reverberation' I know they’re trying too hard to impress. It’s their way of saying 'this decision will echo through the company,' all while hiding the fact that they’re not sure what the next step is.

My friends and I were laughing about how my dad says 'undulation' when describing his morning routine. To him, it’s poetic and deep, but for us, it’s just fancy language for a man who can’t decide what to do first in the morning.