Tomato, Tomato, Potato, Potato

     English is not a passive language.
     Take one look at the image above and tell me that English is easy. I used to hear as a child and teenager that English ranked as one of the most difficult (if not the most difficult) languages in the world, and I didn't really believe it. English just came too naturally to me, and I could never understand why nobody wrote "your" when they meant "you're" and things like that. But then I learned Spanish. Oh my gosh, Spanish is so easy. At least, it's far easier than English by a long shot. First of all, there are rules. Second, the rules make sense. Third, the rules are consistent. But not in English. English takes rules, chews them up, and spits them out. And then your teachers just don't acknowledge the problem. "Smile and wave, boys."
     Hear our sum examples: (sea watt eye did their?) "Are, Our, Hour." Now, one of these things is not like the others, but which is it? Some of you will pronounce "are" and "our" the same, while others will say "our" the same as "hour." This has no respect to accent, region, or even upbringing. Everybody just says these things differently.
     Next up, "neither" and "either." For one thing, people change them up, like "Me either" when it should be "Me neither," but that's not what I'm after. These two words can be also be pronounced two different ways: "NEE-ther" and "EE-ther," or "NIGH-ther" and "EYE-ther" by the end of it. And, crazily enough, I have often heard people mix the two, saying "NEE-ther" at the beginning of the sentence and "EYE-ther." And it doesn't make the slightest difference to Americans, except a few people who get crazy about non-issues, which is most of America, so never mind. Some people care.
     The list is endless: Caribbean (I say cari-BE-an in the context of the movie or Disneyland attraction, and car-I-be-an when talking about the sea), New Orleans (or-LEANS for the Saints and the song from "The Princess and the Frog," OR-lee-ans for almost everything else), and a whole bunch of other tomato, tomato, potato, potato debates. I hope you realize how silly all of this looks in writing, but in spoken word, supposed mispronunciations can cause quite a stir at the snack table. Trust me.
     Beyond pronunciation, we English-speakers have another shameful secret which we prefer to brush under the rug: I before E.

     Couldn't've said it better myself. That last sentence makes me want to discuss double and triple contractions, but I have whole other post set aside for that, and I think you get the point. I hope so. If you have learned anything thus far, it's that English is stupid.
     Okay, so maybe it's not stupid, but I think we can all agree that it's complicated. But for those of us who were born in the United States and/or raised in America, it comes second-nature to us. It should, after all. We've been doing it and exposed to it for so long. But there are two things that I want to glean from the above principles:
     First, as I think I've said before (it's hard to keep track of my ramblings), when something doesn't matter, don't freak out about it. Just because you do something some way, that doesn't mean that everybody else has to do it that way, especially when the way you pronounce "our" makes absolutely no difference. Let it go. Let it go. You know the rest.
     The second and main point is this: be patient and considerate with other people. The direct relationship with this post suggests understanding with those who are learning English and have to suffer through all of these horribly inconvenient and untrue rules (guidelines), but a broader application implies consideration for anyone learning something new. Just because you've known how to do something for your entire life, that doesn't mean that anyone who fails in their first attempts is a failure. Struggle, failing, falling, getting up, dusting off, and trying again are all part of the American Dream. Failure is meant to guide us. And if people laugh at us for what we're bad at, we're going to stop trying to improve, and we'll never dare show what we think we're good at. Such shame in learning breeds only insecurity and pessimism.
     To those on the flip side, don't compare your weaknesses with their strengths. You will simply never match up that way. Instead, look for ways to improve, and maintain a true vision of who you are and where your value comes from. Some may think that looking up is the only way to climb, but you'll never be able to find your own footholds if you don't focus on the step you have just in front of you. So be patient with yourself, and be patient with others. We're all just trying to learn, one tomato and potato at a time.

If you feel like you're struggling, especially if you feel alone in doing so, please watch this video. God will not leave you comfortless, and there are always good things to come. Please don't give up.