6.23.2014

JB's June Writing Challenge: U is for ... Unsmart

My friend Lisa and I are always commiserating about how we can't deal with stupidity. The other day, she said, "These people are just unsmart." I decided that was my new favorite word.

Unsmart
True, this is not really a word. Sometimes you just have to make up a word to fit the situation. (We writers do that a lot, actually.) Unsmart doesn't mean stupid, exactly. We think it means that a person might know better but chooses the wrong option purely from lack of common sense. It's all about choices. Given any situation where you have a choice, do you make the smart choice or the unsmart choice? Have you ever made a decision and then looked back with regret, thinking, "Boy, that wasn't very smart. I should've known better." Unsmart.

Note that I said being unsmart does not mean being stupid. I've seen some of the smartest people I know make some very unsmart decisions. I've done it myself. And I'm not sure there's a soul in the world brave enough to call me stupid. (Or modest, for that matter.)

I'm sure you can think of any number of situations where an unsmart choice was made--it happens all the time, for instance, in professional sports. In business. In government. You could probably use the term to describe a tonsweight of decisions, in all manner of situations. So what comes to mind when you think the word unsmart?

We're starting the final stretch of the June Writing Challenge--only five letters to go. I've learned a lot these past three weeks, about a lot of different topics, as well as about myself and how I function. It's been a good journey, and I appreciate your taking it with me.

I'm anxious to see what tomorrow brings in the way of suggestions for a topic starting with "V"--and by anxious, I mean apprehensive. Again, let's keep it clean, folks, okay? G-rated topics only. Until then, read a book. It's not only good for you, it's a smart choice.

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