Words.

I know it sound cliche, but I'm a big fan of Taylor Swift. I received her new cd for Christmas and I love her prologue on the inside of the cover. Let me share a bit of it with you. . . .

"Speak now or forever hold your peace, the words said by preachers at the end of wedding ceremonies all over the world, right before the vows. It's a last chance for protest, a moment that makes everyone's heart race, and a moment I've always been strangely fascinated by. So many fantasize about bursting into a church, saying what they'd kept inside for years like in the movies. In real life, it rarely happens.

Real life is a funny thing, you know. In real life, saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. So crucial, in fact, that most of us start to hesitate, for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But lately what I've begun to fear more than that is letting the moment pass without saying anything.

I think most of us fear reaching the end of our life, and looking back regretting the moments we didn't speak up. . .Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. . .I think you deserve to look back on your life without a chorus of resounding voices saying 'I could've, but it's too late now.'

There is a time for silence. There is a time for waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you'll know it."

Thank you, Taylor Swift. Could it be said any better?

Words. They really are so powerful. If you are reading this, you are taking time out of your day to read my very own words. The power of words really does amaze me. No wonder I am majoring in journalism. Words can empower others, or tear them down, give them hope, move them to tears, make them laugh, or sway their opinions.

Words have power.

Like Taylor said, our biggest regret may be the words we never said, rather than words that were said.

I think this is very true.

I cannot think of a time I have ever really regretted something I have said to another person. I have said some rude things to people before too. However, even though I have said rude things, I usually meant them. Thinking back, I regret times I wanted to say something but never did.

Like the times I wanted to tell someone they looked nice. Or just say hello even though I didn't really know them. But out of fear, I held my tongue.

My mom said something to me today that really got me thinking. She asked if I had ever wondered if maybe there were important reasons I felt like speaking certain words to certain people. Like promptings. And maybe if I ignored the prompting and let the words go unspoken, I was passing up a chance to change someone's life.

Maybe the change would only be small. For instance, maybe if I would have told that random girl I thought she had pretty hair, it would have made her happy. Maybe she was having a horrible day and needed to hear a stranger compliment her.

And maybe the change would be huge. Seriously life changing. And for some reason, those times are the scariest times to speak.

I use to be so brave with my words. I use to have no problem telling someone exactly what I thought of them. Nowadays, I really struggle. Maybe I got nicer. I don't know. Maybe I just grew more timid. Either way, I have came to one of those times where I need to speak.

If I really am a good friend, I need to reach out and say what I am terrified to say. Because what I say could change a life. That'd be nice. And even if it doesn't, at least I won't live the rest of my life wondering, 'what if'.