Why Talking Too Much Is Not a Flaw – Y is for Yapper
Y is for Yapper, a label I now wear with pride. Gen Z has a word for people like me. A yapper. Someone who talks a lot, loves a story, and cannot answer a simple question without detours. They say it with mild exasperation. However, I receive it as a compliment. Over time, I have come to understand why talking too much is not a flaw, and is something most women realise only much later in life.
All through my growing years, curiosity shaped me. Questions came easily, and silence never felt natural. At school, debates mattered more than marks. At home, conversations stretched long after meals ended. Eventually, somewhere in the second half of life, the need to apologise for speaking faded away.
In hindsight, yapping was never a weakness. Instead, it was always a quiet strength waiting to be acknowledged.
What Gen Z Means vs What I Mean
Today’s slang paints a yapper as someone who talks endlessly about trivial things. Naturally, the label carries a hint of dismissal. An eyeroll often follows. Even so, that definition feels incomplete.
Look closer, and a different picture appears. Storytellers, writers, and memory keepers were all yappers in their own way. Across generations, women carried family histories through spoken words. Over chai, across verandahs, and during long afternoons, stories travelled and stayed alive.
Because of that, cultures survived. More often than not, a woman ensured that continuity.
That is the legacy I recognise, and I accept it with pride.
Twenty-Two Years of Finding My Voice
Life shifted. After my husband passed away, conversations reduced sharply. On one hand, there was no one to talk to in the same way anymore. On the other hand, a quiet expectation emerged. A widow should be softer, quieter, and less visible.
As a result, the talking did not stop. It simply moved. For 22 years, I did not yap aloud. Instead, I yapped on my writing. Expression found its way through words.
A column in The Hindu in 2004 brought in thoughtful readers. Blogging began for me in 2009. Later, I moved to a self-hosted platform in 2018. Over the years, two Kindle books took shape. An anthology included my work. Gradually, a community formed.
Encouragement came from readers who stayed. Messages arrived from strangers who felt understood. Clearly, expression was doing its work.
That is not noise. It is a connection.
The Silence Nobody Prepares You For
After seventeen years, there came another storm. Grief alters more than emotions. Words begin to feel unnecessary. Slowly, familiar spaces grow quiet. The blog pauses. The kitchen is still. Even the inner voice fades.
During that phase, silence did not heal. Instead, it created distance. The absence of my own voice became impossible to ignore.
Eventually, writing returned. Not as a decision, but as a need. A gentle nudge from my daughter helped. Waiting patiently, the blog welcomed me back. Unsurprisingly, the words were still there.
Without expression, a talkative person carries unspoken weight. That kind of silence can feel deeply lonely.
What Talking Has Taught Me
Over the years, writing about food, travel, loss, and relationships revealed something simple. Readers do not seek perfection. Rather, they look for connection.
When honesty replaces performance, responses follow. Comments appear. Messages arrive. Conversations begin.
Another truth also became clear. Women who are asked to speak less often have the most to say.
Be quieter. Be composed. Do not talk so much.
Such instructions are rarely casual. Often, they are directed at voices that carry depth.
At this stage of life, that expectation no longer holds value for me.
So Yes, I Am a Yapper
Food becomes philosophy in my conversations. Pickles turn into stories of identity. Every day moments become reflections. Even predictions from a palm reader can transform into travel tales.
Across blog posts, dining tables, and conversations, the yapping continues. Even Vodka, my dog, listens with steady patience. We actually have conversations!
If this is a flaw, it is one I accept fully.
Although Gen Z may roll their eyes, experience offers a different perspective. Twenty-two years of writing, shared stories, and meaningful connections stand strong.
The world does not need more silence from women. Instead, it needs voices that speak with clarity and courage.
Yap on.
This post is part of Blogchatter’s A2Z Challenge.
The Theme of my A2Z series is The Second Half
Find all my A2Z Blogs Below
- Aging Well Versus Looking Young
- Being Needed Less: The adjustment no one talks about
- Clutter of The Heart
- Doing Less Without Feeling Guilty
- Evolving Friendships in the Second Half
- Feeding Your Own Soul
- Growing Old as a Woman in India
- Humour That Saved Me
- Women’s Intuition: My 7th Sense
- Judgement: What I stopped carrying
- Kitchen Hacks: 25 Tried & Tested
- Lifelong Learning: From Letters to AI Prompts
- Matka Magic
- Neighbours and the quiet joy
- Old Photo Albums Versus Digital Photos
- Pickle Jars & Indian Achar
- Questioning Social Beliefs
- Relationships
- Social Rules Nobody warned you about
- Travel After 50
- Unseen Work of Women
- Villains Ive outgrown
@wordsmithkaur
@wordsmithkaur
