in love with the word like

At the age of 21, I am the first among my friends to embark on the journey of adulthood. As a recent college graduate with a degree in computer science, which is one of the most difficult fields in college, it took me about 5 months to find the perfect job. A stable job with benefits, and a 401k. Who has a 401k at the age of 21? Adulthood here I am and yet I still feel like that 16 year old in high school. Physically I still look like a 16 year old and I’ve been told I talk like one too. Well not necessarily a 16 year old, more like a valley girl.

About a month into my new job, my coworker who busted his butt getting me this job (that’s another story, I promise I will tell later on, it’s pretty good) confronted me about the way I speak. Apparently, whenever I speak, I sound like a valley girl and say the word ‘like’ too much for the adulthood’s taste. I never noticed it and my coworker said it’s probably because all my friends say it just as much as I do. He suggested that in order to succeed in the real world that I should try and sound more professional and drop the word ‘like’.

At first I felt like my coworker is trying to mold me into someone he deems appropriate for the real world. First he got me this awesome job and now he’s trying to change the way I speak. I was pissed off. Then I did notice I do say ‘like’ a lot and I can’t seem to stop. I’m in love with ‘like.’ Well, I was in love with it, but we need to break up. A few weeks ago, I met this girl who said the word ‘like’ way too much for me to handle. While she was talking to me, I didn’t really pay attention to her. You know how in tv when someone is talking and the other person is daydreaming, or thinking out loud that you can hear their thoughts? That’s how I felt. Over the many ‘like’s’, I contemplated on how my coworkers felt when I talked to them. Do they daydream when I speak to them too? Do they count the number of times I say the word ‘like’? After meeting this younger version of me I want to change. I need to go to one of those anonymous meetings and confess my addiction to the word ‘like.’ “Hi, my name is Monica, and like I can’t stop saying the word ‘like’.” Someone please help me break up with ‘like.’ I want to like sound grown up.