Some Words

Some words are just hard to say and read sometimes.

For example: my whole life, I've struggled with saying "comfortable." I never liked saying the word in all of its syllables - com-for-ta-ble - it always sounded funny to me. Probably because I always said it like, com-ver-ti-ble. And I don't think comfortable should sound so much like convertible, with an 'm.'

But I know it shouldn't sound like this - "comf-ter-ble." I know that's not right. But that was how I always said it growing up/how I still say it. Even though I know it's wrong. I just don't have time to add in that missing syllable.

My life is so hard sometimes.

Recently, there's been a different word that's been perplexing me and taking over my thoughts when I don't have to be thinking about anything in particular. And it bothers me mainly because I can't ever read it correctly, so that my brain speaks it right.

I can say it just fine. I just can't connect the right saying to the reading of it.

That word that's destroying my mind so unnecessarily is:

Ethereal.

I know it's spoken as e-THEER-ee-uhl, or however you want to break that down in writing.

But every time I read it, I immediately read e-ther-REAL. Total emphasis on the very end. Gross.

It's a very ugly word, e-ther-REAL. I don't like it. I hate seeing it, because I always initially think, "that's such a stupid sounding word." And then, a split second later, I realize that it's e-theer-ee-uhl, and I'm, once again, an idiot for reading it wrong.

It's mucho embarrassing. My brain is seriously embarrassed.

The last few weeks, I've even focused on that word obsessively, trying to accidentally "run into it" in writing, so my brain can get used to it.

Hasn't worked so far.

So I'm hoping writing about it will break the wall built in my mind around this word. Perhaps now I can conquer this ridiculously strong literary foe.

Maybe one day I can finally get com-for-ta-ble with this blasted word.