Oh...My Gosh
Stuart Roberson
ENGL 1100.46

One of the most common phrases used by teens and young adults today is, "oh my gosh." The phrase can be expressed due to various emotions and is seen as "omg" in almost every conversation on the latest online messenger service. In a single day, I use and hear this phrase numerous times. I honestly do not think I could go a whole day without saying it. As a matter of fact, I could not go ten minutes. One may hear these words in a positive or negative sense, depending on the way the speaker is feeling about a particular situation. The speaker can be excited, disgusted, surprised, or angry. My roommate Haley and I just happen to use these words in every conversation we have. We began using the phrase in fourth grade…

On the first day of elementary school, Haley and I were the first two students to Ms. Whitley’s class. Our teacher informed us that most of the children, who rode the bus, were sitting in the gymnasium until school began. Being kind and a bit shy, I leaned over and asked Haley if she would like to walk to the gym. She replied with a short and quick, "I don’t think so." I was outraged! I couldn’t believe my first and only "friend" of the school year wouldn’t walk with me. I rolled my eyes the other direction and thought to my self, "Oh my gosh, what is wrong with her? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" I was only trying to be nice and social, but obviously, she was not returning the favor. In this way, "oh my gosh" was used negatively, in that I was aggravated and appalled that Haley would not walk with me.

I can recall plenty of times when a group of my friends and I notice a hot guy. I don’t mean just any guy. There’s the occasional, "he’s pretty cute," "he’s ok," or "he has a nice body," but it is not everyday we say "he’s HOTT." Of course, if we are saying hot with a double t, an "oh-my-gosh" will come prior to these words. A few weeks ago, a group of friends and I drove to Wilmington for the night. On the way, we were stopped at a red light and a guy in a white Z71 truck pulled up behind our Jeep. All I could hear from the backseat was "OH my GOSH, he’s so freakin hot!" I asked if Haley would like for me to give him her number, since he was "oh so hot!" She really didn’t want me to, but I proceeded to write her name and number on paper anyways. I ran to his passenger window, threw the paper in his seat and said "here ya go!" I ran back to the car, only to hear all my girlfriends screaming "oh my gosh, you’re crazy, oh my gosh!" Haley’s hands were covering her face. She couldn’t believe I had actually done it! I was completely turned around in the front seat staring at Haley as she slowly looked up at me with an "I can’t believe you did that" look. All she had to say was "oh…mygosh." In this situation, the phrase is being used in a very positive manner. It is always exciting to see a cute guy and talk about him with friends.

Everyone is annoyed by someone or something. I personally have many pet peeves and small things that seem to irk me. A good friend of mine from high school has had a crush on Haley for about 3 or 4 years. They are very close, but Haley has made it clear that they are JUST friends. He is at UNC-Charlotte, so we keep in touch with him by e-mail and messenger. Almost everyday he sends her messages on AOL…even when she does not respond or her name is set to "away." The worst part is at night when we’re trying to go to sleep. In the middle of the night, I’ll be asleep and wake up to Haley saying, "oh my GOSH, are you serious?!" Ryan will be typing messages constantly, so we will have to turn off the computers. It is ridiculous! We feel bad for having to do that, but we do not want to tell him to stop talking. So, turning the computer off is the easiest way to solve the problem.

Haley and I are having a problem with our Internet port in our dorm. Only one of them seems to work, which means we have to switch the plugs every half an hour. We realized it the first day in our dorm, August 20. We didn’t think it would be a big deal and that we should just call and someone would come to check it out. Three men came one day and made sure the line was still in tact. They said everything looked great and that they would have to send someone else. Next, two other men came to make sure the network was not messing up, and of course, it was perfectly fine. Obviously, if both of us cannot use the Internet at the same time, something is wrong. Haley received an e-mail the other day saying that we were on a waiting list now. In a hyper way she said, "ohmygosh, areyou kidding me?!?" We were number 120 on the list! That means, 119 dorm rooms will be checked before ours…even though we reported it the first day of school. I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong. We were completely shocked and pretty mad to find out we might have to share Internet for a whole year.

Haley and I both participated in Fall Sorority Recruitment. We had to visit houses each day and then attend terminals later that night. Terminals are when each group goes down to the computer lab in Mendenhall Student Center and finds out which houses they will be going to the next day. One night we were waiting outside of Mendenhall and we realized that we hadn’t eaten dinner yet. We decided to split some nachos from the cafeteria. We were talking to other girls in our group and eating our nachos when I looked down and saw that I had dropped chili on my white jeans. I was like "oh my gosh, shoot!" I was more aggravated than normal, about dropping food on my clothes, because my jeans had just been washed. I can’t seem to get food from the plate to my mouth without spilling something on myself. "Oh my gosh" is used a lot when we are surprised or cannot believe something happened. Just like me dropping chili on my clean white jeans.

I think the most horrible thing ever is when we burn ourselves with a curling or straightening iron. For most girls, this can be a very hard decision to make when going out dancing for the evening. The other night, Haley and I were getting ready to go downtown to Cabana’s with a group of our friends. A guy Haley had met that night was planning on meeting us there to hang out. As we were getting ready, we were both trying to decide whether we wanted to wear our hair curly or straight. It is a difficult decision. I decided to flat iron my hair and Haley wore her hair curly. She put curl products in her hair to keep it from frizzing, and also used a diffuser while drying her hair to help the curl even more. It took me all of fifteen minutes to fix my hair, while it took Haley thirty. After drying her hair, she uses a curling iron to define the curls. I was putting on my make up when Haley screams, "ouch! oh my gosh! geez!" She had accidentally hit her neck with the curling iron. As you know, when you burn yourself on the neck, it looks like a hickey. This is another "oh my gosh!" moment that would be considered painful and embarrassing.

As I previously mentioned, Haley and I went through Fall Sorority Recruitment. A very good reason to say, "oh my gosh," was yesterday. Rush began Friday, September 9. It was not over until last night, which means we had to suffer all week and ponder over whether we would receive a bid to a sorority or not. They informed us that if we did not receive a bid we would be contacted over the phone and told not to come to bid night. Haley and I lay down and took a nap for two hours, hoping our phones would not ring, for the fear of hearing bad news. We did not get a phone call, so we showed up to Mendenhall for bid night right on time. As we were waiting, some of the leaders, also called Pi Chis, were told that the bids were not finished and that some of the girls would not be receiving bids. Haley and I got so nervous that our stomachs starting hurting. All we could do was be patient and wait. A few Pi Chis came in and told a select few that they would not be getting bids and that they could go. Haley and I could not seem to calm our nerves. We would not be happy until the bid letter was placed in our hands. Finally, one of the Exec members announced that when a name was called that girl could come to the front to claim her bid. After a few names were called, I started to get anxious. Eventually, my name was called, and I looked back at the girls and said, "AHHH, OH MY GOSH!" I was so excited! Haley was called shortly after me, and of course, she made the same expression. This is a perfect example of a very positive way "oh my gosh" is used. I was very happy and filled with excitement, which resulted in a very loud and joyful "oh my gosh!"

It’s amazing how a short, small phrase can be passed down through the years. I can’t remember a time when I did not use the words "oh my gosh." It most likely started in elementary school. I have no clue where I picked up the phrase or why it became so popular. I guess it is because it can be used for so many expressions and be said in so many ways. I do not think any other phrase can ever take the place of "oh my gosh," but I’m sure some may come close. "Geez" is a word that is used often, but could never be used more because it cannot be used for various expressions. In my opinion, "oh my gosh" will always be a phrase used and never forgotten in this generation.