Hot damn, I love the American dream, and I love hard working immigrants who show the rest of us, when we get lazy or self-pitying, how it's done.

Dennykmiu, it's great to have you here in the US. You're an inspiration. Thanks for being here, and thanks for posting!

Hoo-ah!

As opposed to our modern day computers, driven by steam and turtles.

> Acronym: this is a word, like radar or NATO, not a set of initials, like the BBC or the IMF.

Wikipedia:

> In 1943, Bell Laboratories coined the term acronym as the name for a word (such as SONAR) created from the first letters of each word in a series of words (such as SOund Navigation And Ranging). The terms initialism and alphabetism are neither widely used nor widely known. The term acronym is widely used to describe any abbreviation formed from initial letters.

First off, the word was created by a corporation; secondly, the term is widely used and understood to apply to words like "BBC" ("Three Letter Acronym"); thirdly, the "correct" alternative is not widely used or understood. So if you use the correct terms your communication would actually be less clear, which is, as I understand, the point of studying grammar/linguistics in the first place.

For more on this exciting subject, see David Foster Wallace's excellent "Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage":

http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/DFW_present_tense.html

Jonny looks around, confused, his train of thought disrupted. He collects himself, and stares at the teacher with a steady eye. "I want to code demos," he says, his words becoming stronger and more confidant as he speaks. "I want to write something that will change peoples perception of reality. I want them to walk away from the computer dazed, unsure of their footing and eyesight. I want to write something that will reach out of the screen and grab them, making heartbeats and breathing slow to almost a halt. I want to write something that, when it is finished, they are reluctant to leave, knowing that nothing they experience that day will be quite as real, as insightful, as good. I want to write demos." Silence. The class and the teacher stare at Jonny, stunned. It is the teachers turn to be confused. Jonny blushes, feeling that something more is required. "Either that or I want to be a fireman." --Grant Smith

I've slagged on Zed once or twice, but the above sentence is pure gold.

I'll definitely give Zed this: he's willing to take it as he dishes it out.

Thick skin is a necessary trait for anyone who wants to change the world.

Kudos to Zed.

Remember, too, that 20 is still way young. It feels old to you, because it's the oldest you've ever been, but you haven't really cut off any options yet.