I Hate Cliches

As a reader and a writer, I get bothered by phrases that I hear so much that they lose their meaning. Words like random, epic, fail, and whatnot are like nails on a chalkboard to me when people use them over and over again in everyday conversation. Here are some phrases that do the same:

1.) What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.-People who tell you this can't think of anything better to say when you've reached rock bottom and are being kicked by everyone around you. I believe that there's a purpose to pain. Sometimes it is to make you a stronger person, but more often than not it's there to warn you from doing that thing that caused the pain in the first place. And what if you don't intend to get stronger? Sometimes it's okay to just be hurt and expect nothing from the pain aside from sheer misery.

2.) Distance makes the heart grow fonder-Whoever said (and firmly believes in it) this has never been in a position where he has been separated from people he hates. Sure, I get warm fuzzies when I see people I love after a long separation, but being separated from people I can't stand is a big bowl of cherries with whipped cream on top.

3.) Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, at least you'll be among the stars.-I'm all for being optimistic and dreaming big, but this is pretty much bull. Shoot for the moon and all you end up with is sore arms and the unfortunate experience of landing in the cow paddy that you didn't notice because you were shooting at something unattainable.

4.) If at first you don't succeed, try try again and its mischievous cousin If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you've tried.-Glass half full people believe in the former. Glass half empty people believe in the latter.

5.) If you love someone, let him go. If he comes back, he's yours to keep-Someone has never been in love before. I've thought that if you truly love someone, you hold on tight. It's like fishing. Once you get that beautiful fish on your line, why let it go? OK--bad analogy, but why let go of something beautiful?

Is there some truth to these quotes? Maybe. But they still irk me. Maybe it's because I value creativity and originality. Maybe it's because they don't usually go my way or I hear them after some horrible failure. In any case, I figure there's a better way to say all of the things above.