Best Self Magazine

I’m OK: What Does That Really Mean For You?

I’m OK: What Does That Really Mean For You? By Judy Marano. Photograph of neon OK sign by Jeremy Perkins.
Photograph by Jeremy Perkins

How a single word — OK — is so often used to cover the reality of our experience of life and closes us off from those who care enough to ask 

Did you ever stop and think about how many times a day you use the word ‘okay’ or the even shorter version ‘OK’? 

The word nerd inside me loves word history and this little word’s origin in filled with some fascinating lore. Some say the word comes from the Scottish, derived from ‘och aye’ or from the Louisiana French, derived from ‘au quai’. My favorite story is that it was used

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