Tuesday, October 25, 2011

"Reality is Boring"

Exaggeration: to magnify beyond the limit of truth; overstate; represent disproportionally; to increase or enlarge abnormally. (www.dictionary.com)

For me, this definition says it all. We ALL exaggerate. Some do it more than others (like myself), but we all do it. Why do we do it? It makes the truth sound better than it actually is. It is the point where fact suddenly becomes fiction.
I know I exaggerate because it makes what really happened appear to be more exciting. I tend to exaggerate over little things. For instance, if my mom were just “raising her voice” at me, I would tell people that she “yelled” at me, in order to make it sound more alarming. This sometimes gets me in trouble with the person I am exaggerating about. But every time I exaggerate, I use my genes as in excuse! I say, “What can I say? It runs in the family!” It’s the truth…well…maybe just a little exaggerated!
I also tend to exaggerate when it comes to my blogs. If you scroll down, you will find some blogs about my over-sea travels. I have mentioned my mom in those and her struggles in letting me “leave the nest.” She thinks I exaggerate her response and don’t fully understand her point of view. Because of my exaggeration, she wants to start her OWN blog in response to my blogs in order to express her feeling toward the subject without my exaggeration getting in the way.
My dad on the other hand, exaggerates just as much or even more than I do. Talking to him on the phone as I write this, he says to me, “I am the greatest proofreader in the world. I am almost like a superhero.” All I can say back to him is, “Really Dad? Really?” When I say exaggerating runs in my family, I really mean, I get it from my dad. When I asked him WHY he chooses to exaggerate he says, “I exaggerate because it makes for a more entertaining conversation. And most people’s conversations are boring, so they would benefit from an exaggerated sentence here and there! Reality is boring.”
The act of exaggerating makes life appear to be more exciting than it really is. It gives you an opportunity to be creative and innovative with your stories. For me exaggerating is more than just “stretching the truth,” it is allowing people to have a good laugh.

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