I hate ever thinking about “wishing away” time, but I found myself being quite anxious to get rid of 2013.  I know for numerous people close to me, it was a pretty terrible year.  Most of the despair revolved around poor health or the death of loved ones.  My family suffered a terrible loss when both my father and sister passed away within five months of each other. Many friends and patients of mine have experienced similar issues.  The economy has been rough for several folks.  Those of us in health care are pretty much left wondering about the future of insurance and our practices.  U.S. foreign policy is up in the air as usual, and we have seen even more homeland violence in the form of school shootings, gang warfare, “knockout games” and more.  So, yeah… I’m happy it’s 2014.

On a more lighthearted note, with the arrival of the new year, here are my top 10 words and phrases I hope will disappear along with 2013.  See what you think, and feel free to comment and add your own that you hope take a hike.

10.  “Turnt Up”:  A slang word meaning “excessively drunk” or “high to the extreme”.  There are plenty of words and phrases to describe being intoxicated or drugged up.  We don’t need another one, especially that uses a “t” instead of “ed” as a past tense suffix.  Pretty soon my kids are going to come home from school with poor spelling grades because they “messt up”.

9. “Nofilter”: Another “hashtag” liberally applied to photos on social media posts saying that there was no photo-editing applied.  I guess it’s supposed to be a badge of pride that the person posting didn’t need to change the photo to sepia.  I don’t know what filters are on most peoples Instagram or Twitter programs, but I promise none of mine make me look any better or worse!

8. “Bullying”:  I’m probably going to anger a few people here.  Please understand, I am in no way supporting any form of bullying, but we’re creating a nation full of unrealistic wimpy children.  In life, people win and people lose.  It takes effort.  Unlike second grade, not everyone gets a medal.  People will pick on you and try to push you down as an adult.  It helps if you know how to stand up for yourself and handle it.  There won’t always be a teacher or anti-bullying organization to protect you.

7. “Reality Show”:  They’re not reality.  Every single one is a set up in some way or another.  Don’t believe me?  Look in the credits for the “Writer”.  Real life doesn’t have writers.

6. “LOL”: Acronym in texting and type for “Laugh Out Loud”, but I’m sure you knew that.  Stop putting this down.  Use “Haha” or “Funny” or anything else.  I’ve been guilty of this one in the past, but I’ve probably never actually laughed out loud when I wrote it.  That just makes me a liar.  Don’t be a liar.

5. “Selfie”: A picture taken of one’s own image, typically using a smartphone, that is posted on social media sites.  This bothers me mostly because people insist on using a “hashtag” (honorable mention on my list) that says #selfie on the post.  “Really?  I couldn’t tell it was a “selfie” just by seeing the camera in your hand while you pose in a mirror and stick your butt out as far as you can!”  Stop saying this.

4. “Totes”:  Shortened version of “Totally”.  Don’t be lazy.  Very sick of the word.  (I do, however, “totes” love the James Earl Jones / Malcolm McDowell Sprint commercial.  Totes McGoats.)

3. “Twerk”: No need to explain what it is here.  Honestly, I just hate the word and I’m tired of hearing it.  The action itself is pretty impressive, strictly speaking from a lower body musculoskeletal control aspect, of course.

2. “Swag/Swagger”:  A term referring either to excessive confidence and personality or an excessive amount of material belongings.  It is frequently used in music.  Seriously, this word is insanely annoying and unless you are a pirate, please stop using it.  While we’re on a little bit of a music theme…

1. “Miley Cyrus”:  Ok, she’s not a word or term, but could she please disappear, too?

Please pass these around, don’t be an offender, and remember to add your own in the comments!

-Dr. Craig