Words by Qaisara binti IdrusIf a word is put next to another word, it would form a phrase. If a word is put in a line of other words, it would form a sentence. But sometimes words could stand on their own and sometimes, words need help from other words in order for them to be able to stand. Sometimes one tiny word could bring a couple of different meanings and sometimes, a few words could only have one meaning and in some cases, they mean nothing. Words if studied thoroughly might have deeper and different meanings than what they stand for. Sometimes words are easier to understand if we had not looked so deep into them. Words themselves go through evolution. Words evolve into different ways of spelling and usage in sentences and as time goes by, more new words are created be it formally or not. Words can be misconstrued or not understood at all. Sometimes, words need to be followed by corresponding actions for them to be understood. A bombastic word stands out from the rest of their friends in a sentence. Some words could even be ignored and a sentence would make perfect sense. We might get lost in words, or we might discover something through words. Words if not chosen wisely could change things from good to bad.Where am I going with this, you may ask?The point is, we are as much as it is hard for us to see a lot similar to words than we know. A lot of people find it hard to put into words when it comes to describing themselves. I am one of those people. Whenever being asked to describe myself, I would end up mumbling words that I myself could not understand. I tend to get lost in finding words to describe who I really am. The worst question that one could ask is Describe yourself in one word. I dont think I could ever describe myself in one word. I am a lot more than one word. Then I look at my friend who asked me the question, I wonder if she could answer that question herself. Hmm, a friend we all need one in our lives. The word friend itself cannot stand on its own. A friend, your friend, my friend, her friend, their friend, were friends, the word friend itself needs a friend next to it for it to be able to stand on its own. How can you say you dont need one? But perhaps the word friend can stand on its own if a letter or two is added to it. Friends. Befriended. Befriending. But the root word still needs another letter to attach to in order to stand. Therefore, it is verbosely illogical for you to say that you dont need a friend in your life.I looked around to see my other classmates. There, that girl in her baju kurung. Sitting all by herself in a corner, a pencil in her right hand and a ruler in the other. I wonder if she could describe herself in one word. Well, I could. That girl has always been so quiet in the class. Does she even have real friends? She doesnt talk to anybody except the teachers and she is not even trying to socialize. Whats her story? The mysterious quiet girl wholl end up being a super star? Mysterious. That one word would suit her. But maybe theres more to this girl than I know or anybody in this class knows. She is like the word word itself. Deep. So deep. A quiet girl on the outside, hmm, could she possibly be wild on the inside?Now to my right I see my friend, Emira. A lot of words coming out from that girl, I see. What is she even talking about? Shes talking too fast! Her seatmate Athirah seems to understand as she joyously laughs to whatever that girl is saying. Her many words only mean one thing to me shes talkative. How can a girl of many words only mean one thing to me? From what I know, this girl, on the surface is talkative. I tried looking deeper into this girl on who she is. It took me a few years to get to know her. She is definitely not a one-word, this girl. She is an incredibly lazy girl who is overly-attached to her mother and has a great fashion sense. I know her since I was ten. She has changed so much. She has evolved from a girl who cared not about how she looks to someone who cares so much about her skin tone, her hijab, and basically about how she looks from top to toe. She has evolved as much as words have.Alright girls, you may go for your recess, says Mr Ong, our Additional Mathematics teacher.Qai, where are you sitting? Canteen or bengkel lama? asked Adilah.Canteen.One word. Canteen. Perfectly understood.There, I pointed at the empty table.She walked towards another empty table beside the table that I pointed at.No, I mean the other table! stopping her from sitting at the table.There. One word. Totally misunderstood.Recess is always my least favourite period of the day on a typical school day. The rush, the food to choose, the friends to sit with, they are a lot of things that need to be decided in a short time. Cliques. It is always during recess you get to see the different cliques sitting at their own tables. Some cliques even have their official tables that no one dares to sit at. They know sharp at 10.20 a.m., that table will be filled with a group of pupils.Some people, when theyre in a group, they seem rather superior. They seem confident, brave and proud, especially proud when theyre in a group. There is this girl named Sastika. An amazingly smart and funny girl. Everyone wants to be her friend, get to know her and be around her. Shes always the talker in her group. Pretty much like a host in a show where she does all the talking and her friends are the audience who just laugh, agree, clap, and whatever audience do in a comedy show. Shes like a bombastic word, she stands out from the rest in a sentence. Shes different.In any clique, theres always that one girl who doesnt really open her mouth. She rarely talks. But there she sits, in a group of people who actually talk. Why doesnt she speak up and most importantly, why does she even sit with them? I know this kind of people. I used to be one. The one who sits in a clique just so she could belong to something. Sitting alone in the canteen is never fun. Its sad, in fact. I know how it feels to not have a group to sit with, so when there is a group who accept us, we just join in. We hardly speak up when were in that group because were afraid that if we say something or just one thing wrong, we might be isolated again. So we dont want to risk being kicked out of a clique, so we stay quiet. Then we become that one word in a sentence that if ignored, the sentence still makes perfect sense. Were the misfits.I am done and over with those days of finding cliques. I mean, why do we try so hard to fit in if we were born to stand out? I realize that I am a word of my own. I could stand on my own but a friend or two could help me stand stronger. I always get lost in finding that one word that could describe myself and in the midst of getting lost, I discover something. I discover that one word.Hey, I already found that one word to describe myself.What is it? my friend asked.Its word.