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What it means to be “Extra”

Remember chillaxing, planking, or swag?

You can definitely answer yes, but you most likely can no longer say you can use them in your day to day language.

Words fade away after a while, and after “swag” held on to it’s legacy for way too long- by making it on every preteens sweatshirt and facebook banner, it eventually died away.

Remember YOLO?

Unfortunately, you can without a doubt say yes. You know who can really say they remember when YOLO was a thing? Zac Efron. He has it tattooed on his hand. What a shame.

These words are not as permanent as tattoos (small tear for Zac Efron), they eventually fade away when the newest terms become popular and begin to circulate.

The newest of which happens to be “extra.”

Extra- (adj)

  1. beyond or more than what is usual, expected, or necessary; additional
  2. larger or better than what is usual

 

Extra has become a term that is used to describe someone who is over the top and is believed to far exceed the bare minimum.

If someone was to always engage in the twitter drama, constantly craves attention, is an extreme over thinker, is the petty one, or is just “that kid,” they could be classified as extra.

On a more positive note, someone who wants to get straight A’s and downright refuses to do otherwise, feel it completely and utterly necessary to be apart of every after school activity, and is passionate in maintaining organization (excessive to do list making, being a little too obsessed with color coordination, etc.) they could also be considered as extra.

Some people would take extreme offense to being called such a term, while others would see it as someone complimenting their hard work and efforts to perform above the bare minimum. Since extra can really mean one of two radicals, it can be completely up for interpretation.

But what actually is the meaning of this term? Is this a compliment? Is someone trying to personally attack you? Is this a backhanded compliment?

Personally, I have only experienced being called extra in a negative light. One friend that has called me extra, and definitely not meant it as a compliment, is junior, Jake Stow. I took it upon myself to interview him, with him being a firm believer in the fact that the term “extra” is a complete insult and that my extra-ness is a true atrocity.

I asked Jake what his perception of the term was and he said, “I see the term as an insult, because I say it when my friends are embarrassing me.” He then provided examples, saying, “speaking loudly, talking weird, acting like a child, all of this while being in public.” He then proceeded to say that I do all of these things, which makes him believe that I am in fact, extra.

It makes sense that one would say that obnoxious and unnecessary behavior would be extra, since it is completely uncalled for and can prove to be too much. However, does it always mean that you’re annoying, attention-craving, and untameable?

Alyssa Varesio, a senior who is so very extra, says the definition depends on who it is coming from and what context it is being used in. Alyssa brings the aspect of competition into the picture, since she herself loves competition. Being extra can stem from a competitive nature, when one is trying to perform at the highest level to the point where it gets out of hand.

“I know I’m ridiculously extra so I’ve kind of just embraced the title. I’m a very competitive person, so it’s just natural for me to go above and beyond with whatever I do,” said Varesio. “When I’m really passionate about something I’ll go out of my way to participate or be active in whatever that thing is.”

So by Alyssa’s variation of the term, she just expresses a need for competition and passion, saying that she exceeds the bare minimum.

Is there any actual meaning to this word rather than the definition that it has held since the creation of the dictionary?

Probably not.

So why do we care about it?

I don’t know.

While this word may just be a fading trend, you must admit that it really is the only word that can be used to describe this dress.