#12 I’ve done something very stupid and embarrassing…
One thing that does not quite make sense is why people never explain to kids why they aren’t supposed to say certain words, and how to recognize said words. I always knew the stigma of swearing, but never what words constituted a Forbidden Vocabulary. My dad has one of the most colorful array of words I have ever heard, and young people are very impressionable. On many different occasions I have uttered the Cursed Words that were so dastardly to say, and had no idea the significance of them. Too often did my mom have to explain to me why I wasn’t supposed to say them.
A prominent moment in this time of accidental swearing was in fourth grade-when I was much too old to be saying curse words without realizing what they meant. I said “screw you” to my teacher, during a moment of joking, thinking I was adding to the humor of the moment. After everyone had been dismissed my teacher had to sit me down and explain what connotations that phrase held behind it. The horror that settled upon me was a blanket too itchy and hot, and had a large ugly stain added when I realized that I had taught twenty minds as easily influenced as my own that exact same phrase.
Luckily, I always managed to avoid saying the Mother of All Swears prematurely, despite how fond of it my dad was when he was frustrated. However, this was mostly due to the fact that my family had a special tradition of watching A Christmas Story every year on the very holiday the movie revolves around. If not for that innuendo-packed film, I would have almost definitely have learned the alternate to fudge.
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