definitely

i generally take offense to bad grammar, but two spelling errors stand out in my mind as capital crimes: 1) "definately"; and 2) "wierd". why are these two magical (and commonly-used) words so often mangled? even as i write these, my computer flags them in red as misspellings.  in a time where we have phones that complete our words and computers that allow us to double and triple-check words and definitions, how does this happen? 

i fear it's my generation. us (not-so-fondly) referred to as the millennials. there's all sorts of buzz going around about the folks born between 1980-2000 - the newest addition to the list of gimmicky generational names (i.e. "gen x", "baby boomers", etc). 

according to the latest news, we're hard to handle in the office and need an exorbitant amount of hand-holding. we're used to our lives being scheduled-up by our overbearing parents and we all think we're special. honestly, i don't doubt that most of us fall into this label in some way, shape, or form. but this my fellow peers, is terrible. some of the ideals of the millennial generation are great - shared purpose, civic duty, forward thinking - but some of them are crap. absolutely horrific. step up and take responsibility. realize that we're going to have to pay our dues. understand that we're not all good at everything. and for god sakes, check your spelling. something glaringly obvious (to me) that has been left off of all of these special reports is the millennial desire to create shortcuts. most of us barely (if at all) remember a time when we weren't allowed to copy and paste our manifestos and most of us do anything in our power to save a minute. somehow with all of these quick techniques, some of us have lost a desire for accuracy. 

definitely becomes definately, weird becomes wierd, and worst of all - says becomes sez. i'd like to make a plea for better grammar. we've already become the generation of text messaging and "like". please do not let us completely lose our integrity. spare 20 seconds from your day to check the spelling of words you're not quite sure about. take a second glance at that email before you send it out. we're supposed to be arrogant because we're the most educated generation yet. not because we're ignorant. and too proud to admit it.