The independent news organization of Duke University
Words don’t have to mean anything in and of themselves: They don’t have to conjure up a mental picture or reduce to some essential definition. Instead, we use words much like how we use game pieces, in a sort of language game we learn by observation.
The fact that you have friends at all? My condolences.
It’s true that you can change yourself to some extent. But there’s no reason for anyone, including you, to treat you only as what you can’t control.