I have a note on my phone of potential icebreaker questions, like the extremely chill and easygoing girl I am. The questions range in seriousness, from “this or that,” “kiss, marry, kill,” and, of course, “would you rather?”
I love asking a good “would you rather” question, almost as much as I don’t love answering them. Like, would I rather wake up without my hair or my teeth? I don’t know. I guess my hair? I’d prefer to keep both.
There is one “would you rather” I ask, admittedly, far too often, given that it doesn’t really mean anything and wasn’t my own creation. But it does contain one of my favorite words, so I can’t seem to help but let it slip on numerous occasions.
“Would you rather never slay again or slay so hard that ‘slay’ loses all of its meaning?”
If you have made it to this sentence, I want to commend you. I know that last one wasn’t an easy read. But now, I’ll warn you, I’m going to spend the rest of this installment interpreting it.
The first step in understanding this question is understanding the meaning of the word slay. I would define slaying as doing something so well that people can’t help but notice and think to themselves, “wow, yas.”
I guess now I have to define “yas.”
Of course, to never slay again would mean to never excel to this extent ever again. This would be a pretty cruel fate, at least for me — someone who slays on the daily.
What would it mean to slay so hard that slay loses all of its meaning?
Has it happened, in the history of anything, that someone has achieved levels of greatness so high that nobody could ever possibly compare? Given how rarely people agree on the caliber of a person’s performance, I don’t think so.
Let’s just say it is possible, for argument’s sake. What would the implications be? Would it be worth it to slay this hard if it meant deleting slay from existence?
Either way, you’re never going to slay again. It’s just a matter of how you go out. Is it worth it to go out in a bang of slay, a slay meteor, say, one that renders slay’s very being extinct? Or should one make the noble sacrifice of no longer slaying in order to preserve its beauty?
I guess, at the heart of it, the real question is, “Would you rather be remembered in infamy or not be remembered at all?”
Talk about a question I don’t want to answer! I’ll say one thing’s for sure — neither of those feats are slays.
Alright, readers, I think we have learned an important lesson today: I need a hobby. One that isn’t pondering. I think a new hobby could slay.
Sylvie Slotkin is a Medill junior and author of “Communal Shower Thoughts.” She can be contacted at [email protected] or by fax. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
