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Friday, March 5, 2021

A History of the Exclamation Mark via Book Riot

It's been a busy week both in the news and for projects I have going on behind the scenes. Just a heads  up, I am working on a post about dealing with the Dr Seuss news and the RA implications for Monday. But for today, let's end the week with a fun history lesson via Book Riot, "The Exclamation Mark! A Brief History."

Why am I posting this? It's not specifically RA related. Nope. But it is Becky related. Any one who has ever interacted with me in person or online, personally or professionally, associates me with this punctuation mark.

So who better to point you to the article than me?

Seriously though, the exclamation mark and the emotion it denotes has had a complicated history. I feel this being an exclamatory personality. There are many who dismiss me or belittle me because I am so "enthusiastic." As all of you know, I don't care. I get the side-eye "compliments" about my enthusiasm and I know many are pejorative, but like the exclamation mark...I don't care! I am going to be me, and "me" is loud and enthusiastic. Like the exclamation mark itself, there is room for this type of personality in proper and professional circles. I am proof that people have to accept it.

Enjoy the brief history but also, look deeper into it than just the punctuation mark. There is a lot to learn about how we communicate and what communication is held to a "higher" standard than others. And it is not lost on my that you can extrapolate this all out further to EDI issues and how different genders and ethnicities also deem certain kinds of communication styles as "better" than others. Just read it and think about it. 

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