I grew up in the early 80’s, so the word ‘awesome’ was ingrained in my vocabulary. Every generation seems to have its catch phrases, and this was certainly the way many expressed themselves in those days. Over the past few years, I have been working to systematically eradicate the word from my speech. Those of you who grew up in the 80’s can appreciate how difficult a task this has been! My reasoning stems from the actual definition of the word. I don’t want to get too technical, but to paraphrase Webster, awesome simply means something that inspires awe. To complete the picture, the dictionary defines awe as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime”.