No Cussing for a week

When being introduced to this assignment I was interested in many different experiments. I was really interested in changing my diet up, however, living in dorms where food changes every day that seemed as if it were doomed to fail. My next thought was to change how I got to my classes, like taking alternative routes or riding somewhere instead of walking. Not having a car, this also didn’t get me far into thinking. Another thought was changing my wardrobe, however, having to wear specific things for ROTC that plan as doomed as well. As I was hanging out with some ROTC buddies I realized how often we curse and why the term “curse like a sailor” is what it is. I then decided that in 10 years, I don’t want to be the naval officer who has a vocabulary like that. And so I decided for my weekly experiment I would not swear (or at least try not to). This assignment would be a drastic change for me, and would lead me to believe if I could actually change things about myself that I had wished to change.

The first thing I did when deciding this was to tell everyone who I speak with on a daily basis. Usually when someone has a habit, they don’t notice that they are doing it until they are called out on it. I relied on my peers to call me out when I would curse. Throughout the week  I don't necessarily believe that it got easier to stop swearing but I did develop ways to have a conversation and avoid swearing. I realized that times where I would swear the most would be when I was half asleep at Physical Training, or when I would be working on a math problem and I would get it wrong. In addition to that, when working hard for something and it paying off I also caught myself swearing. Not in a bad way of course, but out of habit.

Going throughout the week I would record when I would swear and what I was doing, I realized about halfway through my week that my music was a big part in my vocabulary. According to the NY Times, one in three songs have explicit content. If I have 300 songs on my phone, that’s 100 songs that contain some kind of swear that I listen to on almost a daily basis. Even singing along to a song is going against my assignment. Ith this change in pace I then needed to move my music away from this since it was such an important part in my daily life. Changing up musical styles also began to change my mood. Every movie has some sort of change which leaves the main character in a daze of sort. Switching up my music style did that exact thing to me. I would find myself getting irritated at little things and needing to find ways to let my frustration out. Whether it was a couple hours of studying, getting up at 0500 for Physical Training, or working hard on a math problem and getting it wrong. By the end of Friday I was emotionally exhausted and waiting for this assignment to be over. However, I was influenced (both personally and needing to complete my blog posts) to keep going and finish this assignment. Even possibly continue on with this task until it is completed to my assignment.

As my assignment was coming to a close I found it easier to perform tasks which were difficult in the beginning. Thing such as running multiple miles in the morning, to having a casual conversation with my friends were done with ease. I actually confused some peers when they forgot I was still doing the assignment. In addition to completing these tasks, I began to feel better. I was far from perfect when I ended this assignment, however this showed that I was progressing and that I was able to later change things about myself that I had wished to change for awhile. In closing, I’m thankful for this assignment. If it weren’t for this I wouldn’t have begin to change something about myself that I wanted to. Just like trying a new detergent, you must do a test batch to make sure it's possible to use. This assignment was a test batch to see if I can create the motivation for myself to change the things which I want to. Bad habits exist, and luckily after this assignment, I’m now able to break the habits which I’ve wanted to.