Okay, I’ll admit it. When this term’s
creative piece was announced as “inspiration”, I was a tiny bit sceptical. When
I say a tiny bit sceptical, I mean something more akin to totally sick of the
word. I think I have some explaining to do.
To me, “inspiration” is just one of a
swarm of irritating “buzzwords”. Unfamiliar with the term? Try “evaluate”,
“holistic”, or perhaps “team player”. The media, teachers, bosses, and even
trusted friends are susceptible to bombarding us with these supposedly
engaging, wonderful words. I for one don’t really like them. They are used when
one is unable to articulate, are usually out of context and unhelpful.
Inspiration usually fits in with this unfortunate band of words, and as such I
expected a clichéd bundle of creative pieces.
Take the Olympic slogan “inspire a
generation”. I was inspired enough to play badminton one Friday lunch, before
the smell of chips was too enticing to ignore. On that note, JFS is no
exception to the buzzword craze- every classroom has a not so discrete “think
about your thinking” poster littered with big buzzwords surrounded by their own
horde of the little devils. (Despite loathing the paper pests, I now have an
odd affection for them, perhaps due to their ludicrous content.)
But after contemplating how a rant
would be brilliant (I still squeezed it in) I thought that the fault is not in
the word itself; it has a noble, humbling feeling that has been corrupted in
the modern day. Rather than ignore its capture, we must salvage its beauty from
the hollow clutches of society.
