I was at work yesterday when a girl and her mom walked by, the daughter said, "If you buy those for me I'm going to look retarded." The mom replied with, "Well then you are going to look retarded because I am buying them for you."

The "R" word, when was the last time you used it in your vocabulary? When was the last time you used it to described something you didn't like or something that you thought was stupid? It literally makes me cringe, just typing it brings so much sadness to my heart.

So many people use the word retarded and don't even realize the negative connotation associated with it. So many people use this word in replace of a negative, no good word. What most people don't understand is where the word came from.

It started as a term used to describe people who were different, who had different chromosomes or different ways of functioning. It was attached to a person who had a learning disability. It was a medical term that was used to diagnose, it was put in files and used as a label for someone. It was never used as an adjective, people didn't use it in everyday vocabulary. Over the years people have spun it and changed it, they have been ignorant and have turned it into a word with such negativity.

Why is that OK? Why is okay for that word to be used?

I guarantee that the people using that word have never spent any time with someone who has a Learning Disability. I guarantee they have never taken the time to get to learn about and love on those people. They are people just like anyone else. If anything they are way stronger, smarter and more talented than most people. They wake up and fight every day, they work harder than anyone and accomplish so much.

I have spent lots of time in Special Needs classrooms and, I can personally tell you, none of those kids need to be associated with that word. They don't need to be put in that box, they don't deserve to be labeled with a word that has evolved into something so negative.

So many young people use this word because they think it is "cool" or because it will make them seem "cool." But since when is using mean names considered cool?

I challenge anyone reading this to open their hearts to someone who is different, to someone who learns or functions differently. I challenge you to take the "R" word out of your vocabulary. I challenge you to find a more politically correct word, educate yourself on what that actually means.

In a world where there is so much negativity, why add more? Why add something that is so unnecessary? Spread love, not hate; do your part to make this world a better place. Love on everyone, get to know before you judge and don't use words you don't know the meaning to.